“Play is everything you do without having to”.
Mark Twain.
Hello, young Padawan
Today, we will resume our tour of Detroit, focusing on the Grand Circus Park district. American cities, since they are contemporary, are organized fairly functionally. Thus, Grand Circus Park is a charming little green area where all the stadiums and theaters are gathered, just a few minutes walk from each other.
Basketball with the Pistons and Hockey with the Red Wings are played at Little Caesars Arena (the new stadium opened in 2017 after a few years in the suburbs, ed), Baseball at Comerica Park with the Tigers, and Football is at Ford Field with the Lions (NFL).
In each state, each team has its own stadium. Of course, when the teams are not playing, the different stadiums host events like concerts, cross-country competitions, or big tire car competitions called “Monster Truck,” but we Europeans can’t understand, lol.
There are also theaters like the Fillmore (blue cross on the map below, which we will see later in a separate article, ed), the Fox (yellow cross), or the Little Gem Theater (red cross). It’s time to visit this lovely, quiet neighborhood outside match or event periods. Let’s go.
The Grand Circus Park is the pink semi-circle area on the map of Detroit above, and to help, there is the Guardian Building, at the bottom of the map, article here, and the green circle on the right is the casino in the Greektown district, article here.
The Grand Circus Park, by day, is decorated with multicolored contemporary works.
The Little Gem Theatre.
Yes, this is a real building, not a painting, lol.
It’s marked on it: this is Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. Rrrrr!
Little ode to Jazz. Art is everywhere in Detroit.
Even the parking lots are decorated, lol.
Time for Football with the Lions.
Cars with big tires, if you’re European, you definitely can’t understand, lol.
Little Caesars Arena. Yes, I went to see a Timberlake concert. Yes, I was dragged there almost by force, lol, and yes, I yawn a lot. Sorry to the fans, but in my eyes, this guy has as much charisma as a cooked whelk.
On the other hand, I loved seeing Guns N’ Roses play in a small venue (Little Caesars is tiny for them, who have played in the biggest stadiums in the world). The Pistons and the Red Wings are really two teams that I love, with a slight preference for Pistons basketball, but the heart has its reasons that reason ignores.
The Guns, with close-up on Slash’s hands.
And the little night visit, because the city had put pretty decorations on the trees.
And there you have it, dear Padawan. I hope you enjoyed the little tour of this neighborhood, day and night. I’ve spent a lot of time here when the area is deserted, as the contrast between stadiums and theaters packed with people and the silence between two events is striking.
I wish you a lovely weekend, and see you next Friday!
XO 🏀
The Fox Theater at night.