Philip A. Hart Plaza Informations

Coordinates: 42°19′42″N 83°02′40″W / 42.3283851°N 83.0443216°W / 42.3283851; -83.0443216

Philip A. Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit, is a city plaza along the Detroit River. It is located more or less on the site at which Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701 when he founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit, the settlement that became Detroit. In 2011, the Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority opened its new cruise ship passenger terminal and dock at Hart Plaza, adjacent to the Renaissance Center, which receives major cruise ships such as the MS Hamburg and the Yorktown.

The 14-acre (5.7 ha) plaza, which is named for the late U.S. Senator Philip Hart, opened in 1975 and has a capacity for about 40,000 people. At the center of the plaza is the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain, designed by Isamu Noguchi and Walter Budd in 1978.

The area where Hart Plaza stands today is believed to be where Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701. The waterfront area became the main source of communication and transportation to the outside world until the inventions of the railroad and telegraph. By the mid 19th century this area was covered by docks, warehouses, and other industry, as was most of Detroit's waterfront of the time.

It wasn't until 1890 that Hazen S. Pingree, Detroit's mayor at that time, suggested the location would be ideal for the creation of a waterfront center for city functions. However, the project was not carried through.

In 1924, the architect Eliel Saarinen was commissioned by the AIA of Michigan to compose a waterfront civic center design. However, World War II got in the way of its development, and it wasn't until the late 1940s that things got under way. The first parts to go up in the area were the buildings, including a veteran's hall, an auditorium, and the city-county building.

Finally, it came to the creation of what is now Hart Plaza. What was created was a departure from Saarinen's original design, which was originally to be a grassy lawn area. It was decided to build the current concrete plaza instead, with several built in amphitheaters for concerts, as well as Dodge Fountain. The final design was done by the firm of Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls, with the help of Isamu Noguchi.

The plaza opened in 1975 and in 1976 was dedicated to Philip Hart, a United States Senator from 1959 to 1976. However, the park was not completed until 1979.

On the city's 300th birthday — July 24, 2001 - a statue was unveiled depicting Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac arrival at what would become Detroit in 1701.

On October 20, 2001, the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad opened — commemorating Detroit's role in the Underground Railroad. It was sculpted by Edward Dwight, after winning a competition to design the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad.

Transcending, an arch sculpture and the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark, was dedicated on August 30, 2003. It is located west of the entrance to Hart Plaza near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Jefferson Avenue

In 2006 the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority added a cruise ship dock and passenger terminal to the site.

Thousands of people from the Midwest and Canada come together during the summer for celebrations, concerts held in one of the plaza's two open-air amphitheaters, and festivals generally held from May through September.

Some of the events held at Hart Plaza over the years include:

Hart Plaza is surrounded by many important areas and buildings of the Downtown Detroit area. It is within a few blocks of the GM Renaissance Center (RenCen), Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Center. In recent years, Hart Plaza has become a part of the Detroit International Riverfront.

Visitors to Hart Plaza can see across the river to Windsor, Ontario's riverfront and the Belle Isle State Park.

The park spans from the Detroit River to East Jefferson, with the main entrance at the end of Woodward Avenue, near the Monument to Joe Louis. At the entrance is "Pylon" - a stainless steel spire sculpture designed by Isamu Noguchi. Located west of the entrance is Transcending - an arch sculpture and the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark. Near the center of the courtyard is the focal point of Hart Plaza, the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain, also designed by Isamu Noguchi. Near the courtyard area is an open-air amphitheater. The lower level of Hart Plaza includes an open-air amphitheater, dressing rooms, food preparation areas with kitchen service food court, three sets of public rest rooms, permanent beverage booths, temporary storage areas, offices, Detroit Police Department post, art gallery, and loading dock. Isamu Noguchi helped design the layout of the plaza.

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac — the founder of Detroit — is shown in this sculpture depicting the moment he arrived at that spot in 1701. The sculpture was a gift to the City of Detroit from the French-American Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Chapter and was unveiled on the city's 300th birthday — July 24, 2001. The bronze statue was designed by William Kieffer and Ann Feeley in 2001.

Located on the riverfront of Hart Plaza, the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad commemorates Detroit's role in the Underground Railroad. It was sculpted by Edward Dwight, after winning a competition to design the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad, and dedicated on October 20, 2001. The project was a collaboration between Detroit 300 and the International Underground Railroad Monument Collaborative. The companion monument by the same sculptor, Tower of Freedom, is located in Windsor, Ontario's Civic Esplanade, on Pitt Street East near Caesars Windsor, and features a former slave raising his arms to celebrate his emancipation while a Quaker woman offers assistance to a woman and her child as another child looks back toward Detroit.

Several routes of the Underground Railroad went through Michigan. Detroit's terminal, whose code name was Midnight, was one of the largest terminals of the Underground Railroad. At first, Michigan was a destination for freedom seekers, and by the mid-1830s, there was a modest population of former slaves living there who aided other former slaves to escape to freedom. However, Canada became a safer sanctuary after slavery was abolished there in 1834. With passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, many runaways left their homes in Detroit and crossed the river to Canada to remain free. Some returned after Emancipation in 1863. This statue commemorates the route through Detroit. Another crossing point was south of Detroit near where Amherstburg, Ontario is located.

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