This Week on One Detroit:
Pewabic: One of the nation’s oldest pottery and ceramics factories
Over in Detroit’s East Village, a neighborhood down by the river on the city’s east side, you’ll find a working piece of machinery that’s been operating since the time of Henry Ford’s Model T. The Pewabic Pottery ceramics factory has been running its antiquated clay mixing machine since 1912.
Pewabic makes vases, decorative and architectural tiles that emerged as part of the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 1800s. You can find Pewabic’s ceramic work in buildings like the Guardian Building, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Comerica Park, and other places around the city.
“We started at a time when this was really popular throughout the United States,” Pewabic Education Director Annie Dennis said, “We were really one of the oldest continuously operated historic potteries so there are not many more left like us.”
The original driving force behind Pewabic was Mary Chase Perry Stratton, who worked with other Detroit artisans and designers when the city started to grow as a manufacturing powerhouse. Dennis has been looking into Stratton’s past. “We are finding she had connections to the Detroit suffrage movement,” Dennis said, “I think it was really inspiring for women artists to find a woman-run organization and that’s no different today.”
One Detroit Senior Producer Bill Kubota visits Pewabic to learn about its storied past in ceramic art and design and how it’s still going strong today.
Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum working to preserve Detroit’s automotive history with new funding
The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, located in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood, is an integral part of the Motor City’s legacy. Built in 1904 by Henry Ford, the plant was the birthplace of the Model T. “It was really the Silicon Valley of its day,” Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum President and COO Jill Woodward said.
Visitors to the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum can see over 65 rare vehicles including a collection of Ford’s letter cars that preceded the Model T plus a rebuilt version of the secret experimental room where Ford made the very first one.
This year, the plant — now a U.S. National Historic Landmark and nonprofit museum — turned 120 years old. Recently, the plant was awarded a $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities to support infrastructure improvements and increase accessibility to its visitors.
The volunteer group behind the nonprofit that turned the plant into a public museum has also taken on a $10 million capital campaign for renovations and preservation of the historic structure for the future. One Detroit’s Chris Jordan took a tour of the museum with Woodward to learn about the iconic collection of Detroit automotive history that sits within its walls.
Residents of Detroit’s Indian Village preserve historic neighborhood for next generation of homeowners
Indian Village, a neighborhood on Detroit’s east side bordered to the south by the Detroit River, has a storied past. The neighborhood is just three mansion-lined streets wide, but they’re a mile long, stretching north to Mack Avenue.
At the turn of the last century, Indian Village was the place some of Detroit’s business leaders made their homes as the city began to grow into an industrial powerhouse. Families including the Fords of Ford Motor Company and Scripps of the Detroit News owned homes here. Visitors to the neighborhood will likely find a lot of maintenance and repair work underway for the uniquely designed houses. In recent years, property values have surged.
One Detroit’s Bill Kubota toured the neighborhood and discussed the history of the national historic district with residents.
Outdoor Adventure Center brings Michigan’s nature and recreation to Detroit
Virtual kayaking, snowmobiling, ATVing and more can all be found at The Outdoor Adventure Center along the Detroit Riverfront. It’s run by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The center aims to entertain while educating its visitors by bringing Michigan’s outdoor activities to its indoor facility.
Located within the historic Globe Building, the center resides across the street from Milliken State Park and Harbor on the Detroit River and was a building used to build steam engines. Beyond the numerous recreational activities and exhibits at the center, it also offers educational opportunities to learn about forestry, wildlife, archery and more.
“We want to make sure that everybody knows what we have to offer in this beautiful state,” Assistant Director of Outdoor Adventure Center, Missy Sharp said. “We hope that they (then) take the chance and go and visit our beautiful state parks throughout the state.”
The Outdoor Adventure Center is open to the public on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at various times; on Thursdays the center is open to groups by appointment only. One Detroit contributor Sarah Zientarski talks with Sharp about what Detroiters and other visitors can experience at the center.
Things to do around Detroit this weekend: September 6, 2024
Festivals, festivals, festivals — from the BRED Hip-Hop Theatre Festival and the Trenton Art Festival to the Plymouth Fall Festival and the Old Car Festival, there’s plenty to do this weekend.
There’s also an event at the Royal Oak Farmers Market that supports multiple sclerosis and an outdoor writing event with InsideOut Literary Arts. Contributor Cecelia Sharpe of 90.9 WRCJ shares some events coming up around town this weekend.
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