May 21, 2024
*Photo credit: Michigan Central
The Detroit News
May 20, 2024
Sarah Rahal
Ticket registration for Michigan Central Station’s reopening community celebration opens online Tuesday for its kick-off concert and 10 days of open house tours next month.
After six years and $940 million invested by Ford Motor Co. to restore the massive building and surrounding structures, officials announced online registration for its open house celebrations launches at noon tomorrow through http://michigancentral.com.
Festivities commence on June 6 with a “Live from Detroit” 90-minute outdoor concert in front of the station “headlined by some of Detroit’s biggest stars.”
The standing-room-only show will feature short films, appearances by local leaders, creators telling stories of innovation and culture.
Gates open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 8:30 p.m.
Performers have not been released. The concert is produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, an Emmy-winning production company that has produced Super Bowl Halftime Shows. The outdoor concert will also be livestreamed.
“There’s no place like Detroit, and we couldn’t be more excited to showcase the city through its own incredible artists,” Collins said in a press release. “We’re going to create an unforgettable welcome party for Michigan Central with this new chapter in Detroit history that celebrates the visions of these unique performers who are bound together by a shared love of their city.”
Starting June 7 through June 16, Michigan Central will host its Open House Tours, offering a first look inside the Station’s restored ground floor coupled with a range of exhibits, entertainment and art.
Next door, on the front lawn of Newlab at Michigan Central (the former Book Depository building), visitors can enjoy music and local entertainment, hear about opportunities for innovation, community events, and skills programming at Michigan Central. There will also be places to purchase food, drinks and commemorative souvenirs.
Free ticketed tours will be available from noon-10 p.m. June 7; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. June 8; and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. June 9. The open house and festival continues from noon-8 p.m. June 10-13; 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. June 14-15; and 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. June 16.
“After a six-year restoration by Ford and so many others, Michigan Central Station will re-open, reimagined as a place of innovation and culture open to all,” Mary Culler, chair of Michigan Central, said in the release. “This is a historic moment not just for Michigan Central but for those near and far who love Detroit, and that’s why we’re creating an opening worthy of this achievement that invites everyone to join us for the station’s next chapter, no matter where they are located in the world.”
When the station opened in 1913, it was the world’s tallest and one of the grandest train depots in the United States.
It closed in 1988 and remained vacant until Ford acquired the 30-acre property in 2018.
Ford acquired the station and several nearby buildings for $90 million from the Moroun family, the billionaire owners of the Ambassador Bridge. With the state approving tax breaks at the time estimated at $207 million, there was the promise of a revitalization of the shuttered icon.
That year, 40,000 visitors waited to see the vacant 1913-built rail stop before extensive renovations began. More than 60,000 people are anticipated to attend the grand opening next month over the 11 days.
More than 3,100 workers have put in more than 1.7 million combined hours to restore the station to its original architectural grandeur, while retrofitting it with modern technological infrastructure to support its next chapter, officials said.
Over time, the station’s towers will start filling with three floors of Ford employees, a potential hotel and 640,000 square feet of retail and collaborative innovation spaces. After the grand openings, the building will begin its reactivation phase over several months to bring restaurants, retail and other commercial and community-focused partners to take up the tower residency.
The first floor will be open to visitors for tours on Fridays and Saturdays through the summer. Expanded hours will be announced for fall when the first phase of commercial activations opens to the public.
