By Railfan & Railroad Staff’
An all-star concert that will air on NBC is just one of the many events planned to celebrate the reopening of Detroit’s iconic Michigan Central Station, following an extensive six-year renovation by Ford Motor Company.
Originally designed by architects Warren & Wetmore and Reed & Stem, the same team behind New York’s famed Grand Central, the New York Central’s Michigan Central Station first opened its doors in 1913 as one of the country’s most spectacular transportation terminals. It saw 4,000 daily passengers at its peak, but, following decades of declining rail travel, was shuttered in 1988 and sat vacant for three decades, experiencing severe neglect, weathering, decay and vandalism.
In 2018, Ford acquired the massive building and began restoration work with the plan to turn it into office space for the company, as well as a new community center. Since 2018, workers have spent more than 1.7 million hours restoring the station. Ford even went as far as reopening an Indiana quarry — the same one that supplied the stone for the station’s exterior 100 years ago — for the project.
“Our construction teams have accomplished what many thought was impossible,” said Ron Staley, Executive Director of Historic Preservation for Christman-Brinker, the Detroit-based joint venture that led the restoration work. “The result is amazing, like no other project any of us have worked on in our careers, and I look forward to everyone experiencing the space at this week’s opening and for generations to come.”
Ford is among the building’s first tenants and eventually plans on having 2,500 employees based at Michigan Central by 2028. Space is also available to other companies as well as for events.
“Michigan Central means a great deal to us all. In many ways, this building tells the story of our city,” said Bill Ford, executive chair of Ford. “This Station was our Ellis Island – a place where dreamers in search of new jobs and new opportunities first set foot in Detroit. But once the last train pulled out, it became a place where hope left. In 2018, I decided it was time to change that by reimagining this station as a place of possibility again. Over the past six years, Ford Motor Company and teams of forward thinkers, designers, community leaders, and more than 3,000 skilled tradespeople have worked to bring this landmark back to life.”
To celebrate the reopening of the building, Ford is hosting a week-long event highlighted by a sold-out, 90-minute outdoor concert on June 6. “Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” will be aired live on NBC’s streaming service Peacock and then again as a one-hour primetime special on June 9 on NBC. Executive-produced by Eminem and Paul Rosenberg, the evening will feature special performances by Diana Ross, Jack White and others.
