We parked in a parking garage behind the Michigan Central building, and the walk to the building provided some nice views of the Ambassador Bridge as well as some of the new Gordie Howe Bridge, both of which span the Detroit River and connect Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario.

Michigan Central Station is the historic former main intercity passenger rail station in Detroit. Built for the Michigan Central Railroad, it replaced the original depot in downtown Detroit, which had been shuttered after a major fire on December 26, 1913, forcing the still unfinished station into early service. Formally dedicated on January 4, 1914, the station remained open for business until January 6, 1988, when Amtrak service was relocated. The station building consisted of a train depot and a 230-foot office tower with thirteen stories above two mezzanine levels. The tallest rail station in the world at the time of its construction, the Beaux-Arts style architecture was designed by architects who had previously worked on Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

Various parties started negotiating renovation plans in 2011, and in May 2018, Ford Motor Company purchased the building for $90 million for redevelopment into a mixed use facility as cornerstone of the company's new Corktown campus. After years of extensive exterior and interior renovation, exceeding $740 million, the station reopened on June 6, 2024. The restored station was hailed by a rail industry publication as "...a stunning example of what can be accomplished with historical vision, ample financing, and advanced construction and restoration technology."

Needless to say, I was impressed with the buildings current condition. I had never been here before, but I saw plenty of pictures from the time it say virtually abandoned. I will leave the pictures below to speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Michigan Central

A look at the Ambassador Bridge from where we parked at today.

The sign for the Southwest Greenway area where we parked.

A look at the Michigan Central from where we parked.

A look at the building from the walkway.

The side view of the building isn't quite as impressive as...

...the view of Michigan Central from the front.

A couple more looks at the front of Michigan Central...

Drew and Rodney standing on the walkway to the entrance of Michigan Central.

A closer look at the main entrance to the station.

One of the interesting aspects of the renovation is that they kept some of the graffiti tags that were found throughout the building while it sat empty. We overheard a tour guide say that they wanted to preserve some of each part of the station's history...

Drew sneaking into a photo.

A look at the public restroom on the main floor of the building.

I thought the lights in the restroom looked like lightsabers!

The atrium area of the station. I believe that this is where people would have went from the ticket booths on the right to the trains on the left...

Jayden posing for pictures in front of the Michigan Central backdrop...

A look at the ceiling in the "central" hallway.

The next few pictures will be a mix of "before" photos and some "after" following the renovation of the main entrance hall...

A look at The Shop, which is located where the former ticket booths were located.

Some more pictures from before the renovation...

Some flyers in The Shop.

A flier for the 1992 Detroit Grand Prix.

One of the walls inside of the The Shop, which would have been the inside of the ticket booths.

A really cool Detroit chess set for sale inside The Shop.

There is a room in Michigan Central that is full of artifacts from the renovation, things found in the building during the renovation, and just cool stories about the process involved in the renovation...

...including the above Guastavino Tiles described here...

...and this message in a bottle placed in the building in 1913...

Some blueprints of the building.

A tow tractor likely used to move luggage or mail within the building...

Some more stories and artifacts...

...including more graffiti...

This motorcycle helmet was found in the drop ceiling that was once in the room we were currently in. You can see what would have been covered up in later photos below...

A bread box recovered during the reconstruction.

These dishes came from the Michigan Central Terminal Restaurant that was inside the station during its early days.

A look outside the window of the "relic room"...

A collection of redeemed ticket stubs.

A U.S. mail tote bag.

An explanation of how Ford received some of the items back for the restoration of the building.

Some of the original elevator call buttons from the public elevators.

An old fire extinguisher along with some building details...

...like these acorn staircase finials...

...and rosette trim pieces.

A look at the carriage house outside the room we were in...

...and an explanation of the missing clock.

An adding machine from 1934...

...found in a room not in the original plans for the building.

Some children's toys.

Financial papers from the train station.

An ID tag from keys used in the bulding as well as some Michigan Central Railroad uniform cuff buttons.

A Big Beam No. 211 railroad flashlight.

An Adams and Westlake Company railroad lantern.

Drew checking out the ceiling of the room that we were in (referred to as the "relic room" above).

Another look at the ceiling of the room we are in.

A "Love Story" magazine cover from September 27th, 1941 alongside a postcard dated 1909.

The Michigan Central Railroad baggage agent's "found articles" ledger from 1927-1938 for items reported lost or found.

A pair of women's leather shoes from the 1940's found in the ticket booth, and a baseball from the 40's as well.

The original door topper from the Historic Reading Room.

A part of the original Carriage House clock.

Drew standing with an damaged original cornice that was taken down from the roofline...

An article explaining some of the restoration methods used.

A silicone mold used to recreate ceiling pieces.

The original Ram's Head trim from the Historic Reading Room.

An article describing the recovered Ram's Head.

Some stone trim.

Please click here for page two of the photos