We are having 50 year anniversary of Lafayette Park, Detroit,which was advertised in the beginning as "suburbs in the city; city in the suburbs". Planned by Mies van der Rohe, famous architect, so architecture students from all over the world walk through from time to time. I saw an interesting film on the history at one of the anniversary events. Van der Rohe has some utopian commie comments in his writings, quoted in the film.
The "park" effect is made by the large number of trees not only in the official park part, but next to the townhouses/courthouses. (Some of the trees I've known for 45 years :>). You can see it especially from the highrises, like One Lafayette Plaisance , the Pavilion,where I had a paper route when younger. We are right downtown too. I can walk to Comerica Park or GM headquarters or the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.
It was built as urban "removal" on top of old Black Bottom !
We used to have cross-class (cross the tracks mix; literally there's a railroad track at St. Aubin) softball teams in the sixties :>). We won some parks and recreation championships.
I live there (here). My family has lived here in townhouse since 1961. Townhouses are kind of a cross between a house and an apartment.
Detroit's overall depopulation, from approximately 2 million in 1950 to less than 1 million today makes it less cramped in general, but it's still a city. If the economic blockade on Detroit were ended, it might be a model for other places - less cramped , but not sprawling.
Oh, yea , Lafayette Park townhouses/courthouses are cooperatives, not condominiums.
When you leave Detroit, you ain't goin' nowhere :>)
Charles
Lafayette Park, Detroit
>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Park%2C_Detroit#column-one> , search <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Park%2C_Detroit#searchInput>
The Lafayette Park development <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhoods_and_projects_in_Detroit%2C_Michi gan> is a large park and complex of apartment buildings ( AND TOWNHOUSES AND COURTHOUSES - CB) just east of downtown Detroit, Michigan.
Constituent Buildings
( This fails to mention some of the main buildings; the townhouses and cooperatives - CB)
Building Name Floors Year Completed 1300 Lafayette East Cooperative <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1300_Lafayette_East_Cooperative> 29 1961 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961> Lafayette Pavillion Apartments <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Pavillion_Apartments> 22 1958 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958> Lafayette Towers Apartments East <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Towers_Apartments_East> 22 1963 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963> Lafayette Towers Apartments West <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Towers_Apartments_West> 22 1963 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963>
Facts
This 78-acre urban renewal project was originally called the Gratiot Park Development. Planned by Mies van der Rohe <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mies_van_der_Rohe> and Ludwig Hilberseimer <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Hilberseimer> it includes a landscaped, 19-acre park with no through traffic, in which these and other low-rise apartment buildings are sited. The apartment buildings of Lafayette Park are classic examples of Mies' International Style , with their simplicity, clean proportions, and cladding of tinted glass and aluminum .
The park and development are located roughly half-way between downtown and Chene Park <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chene_Park> , and is also close to Belle Isle <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Isle> and the MacArthur Bridge <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacArthur_Bridge> . There is also easy access to I-375 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_375_%28Michigan%29> , Gratiot Avenue <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratiot_Avenue> , and Jefferson Avenue <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Avenue> .