Renaissance Center station

Last updated

Renaissance Center
DPMoverRenCenstop.jpg
General information
Coordinates 42°19′49″N83°02′24″W / 42.33020°N 83.03992°W / 42.33020; -83.03992
Owned byDetroit Transportation Corporation
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
ConnectionsAiga bus trans.svg DDOT 9
Construction
Structure typeElevated
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedJuly 31, 1987
Rebuilt2004
Passengers
2014487,758
Rank2 out of 13
Services
Preceding station Detroit People Mover Icon.svg Detroit People MoverFollowing station
Millender Center
One-way operation
 Detroit People Mover Bricktown
Next counter-clockwise

Renaissance Center station is a Detroit People Mover station in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located on Jefferson Avenue at Beaubien Boulevard, attached to the Renaissance Center complex. The station's lobby is located inside the Renaissance Center, on its second floor, with a street-level entrance connected by an elevator; a skybridge connects the lobby to the station structure.

Contents

The station serves the Renaissance Center, which provides access to the Detroit Riverwalk, and is connected by skybridge to the Millender Center, which also has its own People Mover station. [1] In 2014, this stop was the second most heavily trafficked (behind only Greektown) with 487,758 riders. [2]

History

The original Renaissance Center station opened with the system on July 31, 1987, and was built into a large concrete berm separating the Center from downtown Detroit. The station and berms were demolished in September 2002, after which the current station was completed, opening on November 22, 2004. [3] [4] [5]

The People Mover shut down temporarily on March 30, 2020, due to decreased ridership amid the COVID-19 pandemic. [6] Following the system's May 2022 restart, the station reopened on September 14, 2022. [7]

Public art

Both the original and rebuilt stations opened with tile mosaics created by George Woodman. The original station's work, Dreamers and Voyagers Come to Detroit, consisted of hundreds of multicolored hexagonal tiles, designed by Woodman to connect in infinite combinations. [8] It was destroyed in 2002 with the station's demolition, and Woodman was commissioned to design a replacement work, Path Games, for the new station. [5] Path Games emulates its predecessor, with 2,625 square tiles of similar design. [9]

The station's lobby also features Siberian Ram, a bronze sculpture by Marshall Fredericks, a Michigan sculptor best known for creating The Spirit of Detroit. Siberian Ram is displayed against a backdrop of green Pewabic Pottery tiles, similar to those used at Cadillac Center station, flanked on either side by Path Games. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EPCOT (concept)</span> Unfinished concept for a planned community

The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, shortened to EPCOT or E.P.C.O.T., was an unfinished concept for a planned community, intended to sit on a swath of undeveloped land near Orlando, Florida. It was created by Walt Disney in collaboration with the designers at Walt Disney Imagineering in the 1960s. Based on ideas stemming from modernism and futurism, and inspired by architectural literature about city planning, Disney intended EPCOT to be a utopian autocratic company town. One of the primary stated aims of EPCOT was to replace urban sprawl as the organizing force of community planning in the United States in the 1960s. Disney intended EPCOT to be a real city, and it was planned to feature commercial, residential, industrial, and recreational centers, connected by a mass multimodal transportation system, that would, he said, "Never cease to be a living blueprint of the future".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit People Mover</span> Public transport line in Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit People Mover (DPM) is a 2.94-mile (4.73 km) elevated automated people mover system in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The system operates in a one-way loop on a single track encircling downtown Detroit, using Intermediate Capacity Transit System linear induction motor technology developed by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 656,500, or about 1,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pewabic Pottery</span> Historic pottery studio in Detroit, Michigan

Pewabic Pottery is a ceramic studio and school in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1903, the studio is known for its iridescent glazes, some of which grace notable buildings such as the Shedd Aquarium and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The pottery continues in operation today, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renaissance Center</span> Skyscraper group in Detroit, Michigan, US

The Renaissance Center, commonly known as the RenCen, is a complex of seven connected skyscrapers in downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Renaissance Center complex is on the Detroit International Riverfront and is owned and used by General Motors as its world headquarters. The central tower has been the tallest building in Michigan since its completion in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fisher Building</span> United States historic place

The Fisher Building is a landmark skyscraper located at 3011 West Grand Boulevard in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. The ornate 30-story building, completed in 1928, is one of the major works of architect Albert Kahn, and is designed in an Art Deco style, faced with limestone, granite, and several types of marble. The Fisher family financed the building with proceeds from the sale of Fisher Body to General Motors. It was designed to house office and retail space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guardian Building</span> United States historic place

The Guardian Building is a landmark skyscraper and class-A office building in downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Financial District. Built in 1928 and finished in 1929, the building was originally called the Union Trust Building and is a bold example of Art Deco architecture, including art moderne designs. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, and is currently owned by Wayne County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Whitney Building</span> Residential/hotel in Detroit, Michigan

The David Whitney Building is a historic class-A skyscraper located at 1 Park Avenue, on the northern edge of Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Grand Circus Park Historic District. The building stands on a wedge-shaped site at the junction of Park Avenue, Woodward Avenue, and Washington Boulevard. Construction on the 19-floor structure began in 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renaissance City Apartments</span> Mixed-use building complex in Detroit, Michigan, United States

The Millender Center is a mixed-use complex in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The complex spans two city blocks, containing a retail atrium, Detroit People Mover station, and parking garage on its first seven floors, plus the 33-floor Renaissance City Club Apartments and a 20-floor Courtyard by Marriott hotel. Developed by Forest City Enterprises and completed in 1985, the Millender Center is now owned by General Motors, and integrated with GM's Renaissance Center complex across the street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of metropolitan Detroit</span> Architecture style of Metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, USA

The architecture of metropolitan Detroit continues to attract the attention of architects and preservationists alike. With one of the world's recognizable skylines, Detroit's waterfront panorama shows a variety of architectural styles. The post-modern neogothic spires of One Detroit Center refer to designs of the city's historic Art Deco skyscrapers. Together with the Renaissance Center, they form the city's distinctive skyline.

George Edgar Woodman was an American ceramicist, painter, and photographer.

Carlo Alfred Romanelli (1872–1947) was an Italian sculptor, born in Florence, Italy August 24, 1872 and died August 9, 1947. He came to the United States in 1902, settling in Los Angeles, California. He moved to Detroit, Michigan in the early 1920s. He was the son of Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli (1856–1928) who created the 1927 bust of Dante Alighieri on Belle Isle Park in Detroit. Among Carlo Romanelli's Detroit works are the bronze tablet of Cadillac's landing, now at the Cadillac Center People Mover Station downtown, and La Pieta at the entrance of Mt. Elliott Cemetery. Carlo attended the Royal Academy of Art in Italy and studied with his father and sculptor Augusto Rivalta; Rivalta's Detroit statue of Christopher Columbus (1910) is now at Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Times Square station (Detroit)</span> Detroit People Mover station

Times Square station is a Detroit People Mover station in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located on Grand River Avenue between Cass Avenue and Washington Boulevard, adjacent to the Rosa Parks Transit Center, the main downtown hub of the Detroit Department of Transportation bus network. The station takes its name from nearby Times Square, which in turn, took the name from the defunct Detroit Times newspaper formerly headquartered there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Circus Park station</span> Transportation hub and transfer station in Detroit, Michigan

Grand Circus Park station is a public transit station in downtown Detroit, Michigan, served by the Detroit People Mover and the QLine. The station takes its name from the adjacent Grand Circus Park. It is also the terminus of the D2A2 commuter bus to Ann Arbor, and serves as a transfer point to SMART's FAST Michigan and Woodward express bus lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadillac Center station</span> Detroit People Mover station

Cadillac Center station is a Detroit People Mover station in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located at the intersection of Gratiot Avenue and Library Street, beneath the One Campus Martius parking garage. It is named for the Cadillac Center, a shopping center proposed for construction nearby in the 1980s, but never built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greektown station</span> Detroit People Mover station

Greektown station is a Detroit People Mover station in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located on Beaubien Street at Monroe Street in the Greektown Historic District, for which it is named. The station's lobby is located inside Hollywood Casino at Greektown, connected to the platform structure by a short skybridge. Its exterior features a large neon sculpture designed by Stephen Antonakos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millender Center station</span> Detroit People Mover station

Millender Center station is a Detroit People Mover station in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located inside of the Millender Center, on the building's fifth floor, with elevators and escalators inside the building connecting the station to street level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial District station (Detroit)</span> Detroit People Mover station

Financial District station is a Detroit People Mover station in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Located on Larned Street in the city's Financial District, the station is attached to 150 West Jefferson, with direct access from the platform to the building's lobby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Riverfront station</span> Detroit People Mover station

West Riverfront station is a Detroit People Mover station in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located on Steve Yzerman Drive across from the former site of the Joe Louis Arena, near the intersection of 3rd Street and Jefferson Avenue, where M-10 terminates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntington Place station</span> Detroit People Mover station

Huntington Place station is a Detroit People Mover station in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located inside the Huntington Place convention center, on the third floor near Congress Street, with elevators and escalators inside the building connecting the station to street level.

References

  1. ↑ Station Guide. Detroit People Mover. April 25, 2024.
  2. ↑ Lawrence, Eric D (June 24, 2015). "People Mover's Grand Circus Station back in service". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ "New entry plaza will be the end of Renaissance Center renovation". Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council. April 2, 2004. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  4. ↑ O'Leary, Chris (July 14, 2009). "Detroit's People Mover: seizing the opportunity to correct a mistake". On Transport. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Bullock, Lorinda (November 17, 2004). "Renaissance Indeed: Tile Art Reborn". Detroit Free Press . pp. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Rahal, Sarah (May 19, 2022). "Detroit People Mover resumes service with free rides for 90 days". The Detroit News. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Sept. 14 Special Notice - Partial Loop Service 7A-5P". Detroit People Mover. September 14, 2022.
  8. ↑ Conn, Pamela; Marx, Sue (1988). "Art in the Stations: Detroit People Mover" (Video) – via YouTube.
  9. ↑ Walt, Irene (2004). Art in the Stations: The Detroit People Mover. Art in the Stations Committee. ISBN   0-9745392-0-1.
  10. ↑ Walt, Irene (2004). Art in the Stations: The Detroit People Mover. Art in the Stations Committee. ISBN   0-9745392-0-1.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.