There’s something brewing over at the Michigan Central Station train depot in southwest Detroit. The depot sits as a gateway in between Corktown and Mexicantown. While Mexicantown is picking up somewhat, Corktown is still experiencing the economic hit of the Tiger Stadium loss when the team moved to Comerica Park in 2000. The station is one of the first things you notice when you cross the Ambassador Bridge from Canada into the United States, and there’s no question that while it’s an architectural masterpiece, it remains a tremendous eye sore and a black mark for the city.

On April 7th, the City of Detroit decided it was time for the building to come down, and entirely too many people disagree with that decision. So with the help of Wayne State student John Mohyi, state Senator Cameron Brown, Dan Stamper and the Detroit International Bridge Company (who owns not just the Ambassador bridge but the Train Station as well), an effort was put underway to try and find a use for this iconic relic of Detroit’s past.

Numerous times since Amtrak moved out in the late 1980s, there have been proposed solutions for what to do with the building.

• Before the Casinos opened in Detroit (Greektown, the MGM Grand, and Motor City Casino), MCS was a possible location for a casino / hotel.
• There were talks of it being an IT hub for the massive cables that connect the internet between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit.
• The Kwame Kilpatrick Administration pitched the idea of using it as a police headquarters or FBI regional hub for the area.

All of these project ideas and more have fallen through, and the depot sits idle, with the exception of the urban exploration and the occasional movie shoot (such as the first Transformers film) or photo op. The razor wire around the front perimeter does little to deter visitors, and the cement rises up ever so as if to dare people to try and jump over it. This all despite the fact that the back of the building is completely and entirely wide open.

Razor wire outside of the Train Station makes it look more like a prison

The Detroit International Bridge Co. (which owns the station) is owned by Matty Moroun, a reclusive billionaire who gained control of the bridge after buying out Warren Buffet in the 1970s, and he’s kept close control ever since. His control has survived scrutiny, the increased security following the September 11th attacks, international political struggles for control over the bridge, and the calls from numerous citizens demanding that he give up control. Yet Matty holds strong, holding on to the things that have given him such great wealth: he is approximately the 325th richest person in the country (and possibly the most hated person in Detroit). The aspects of the train station seem like peanuts compared to what he does with the bridge, such a vital source of trade that over 25% of all trade between the United States and Canada comes across this bridge.

Main terminal area of Michigan Central Station

But that’s not to say that the Train Station isn’t full of potential. Instead of looking for one solid entity to control all aspects of the massive station (half a million square feet), current efforts are looking to partner with numerous organizations to try and make something happen. There is interest in the architectural and historical communities, the art community, business, commerce, residential living, and even use again as a train station for the sake of high speed rail. There’s a lot of opportunity, and a lot of chance for something positive to happen.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to see what is unfolding first hand. And last Tuesday (June 30th), a volunteer effort began actual work cleaning up the debris from inside the station. Even though the plans aren’t set in stone, that hasn’t stopped the effort to get the station to an improved condition. Mohyi partnered up with Summer in the City, a group who mentors inner city kids and works on urban garden, mural, demolition projects, and much more and Facebook Volunteers to get the manpower in order to get the job done. And while things are just getting started, the place is already looking much better.

The inside before the cleanup began

The same area after a lot of debris has been cleared away

Over one ton of debris was removed after day one, and I’m sure there was at least a another ton moved after day two. However, I opted for the more lucrative (and less dusty) prospect of landscaping.

Phil directs Summer in the City Volunteers to where they need to dig for plants

With around 1000 plants to go in, a lot of man power was needed. Lots of coordination and decision making had to be made on the spot to make sure that everything was going to work as appropriate, as well as to make sure that no kids would be in the danger area close to the razor wire.

While the on-the-fly decision making was going on all over the place, nobody was exempt from the cleanup efforts themselves. It wasn’t a case of “This is what needs to be done, go have them do it”, it was instead a case of “This is what needs to be done, let’s go do it”. Meaning even the people “in charge” of the whole ordeal were doing as much dirty work as anybody else, if not more. John was constantly running around getting things done, as was Jennifer.

I was also glad to see that the local media took an interest in what was going on. Fox2 Detroit, NBC affiliate WDIV, and ABC affiliate WXYZ were all on hand at some point during the day to see what we were up to.

Jennifer talks to Channel 7 while John looks on.

You can view the Channel 7 Story here.

There is still a very overwhelming amount of work to get done. There’s a few ways that I am encouraging everyone who can to help.

• Join the Facebook group Save Detroit’s Michigan Central Station.
• Attend the Facebook event Save Michigan Central Station Volunteer Effort.
• Go go the volunteer section of Save Michigan Central.com and sign up. You will need the online registration and the waiver from Summer in the City to participate.
• Email John Moyhi at jcmoyhi@gmail.com and tell him you want to help. Additionally, you can ask him any questions about what’s going on or you can of course ask me via john@cruzweb.net

So don’t just sit around this summer. Here’s your chance to be a part of bringing back Detroit, at least some part of it.

***NOTE***
To all that are finding this page through a link, there is an update on what’s happened with more information and insight here. So once you’re done, check it out.
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