Today, the reconquest of Detroit begins. In 1701, Cadillac established a fort on the the strait between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair as a strategic point to protect French trading interests in the Great Lakes region. The strait (de troit) remained a French possession until it was ceded to the British in 1760.
The French legacy remained in the street names and the families and heritage of Detroit.
I may not be French, but today, I purchased one square foot of property in Detroit and we will erect a miniature Eiffel Tower if possible. But, this is just the beginning of the french reconquest of Detroit!
The purchase was made possible through the Loveland Project. You can buy a square inch of Detroit. With the purchase of a square foot, you recieve a deed and a magnifying glass to read it with. If you aprticipate in the project, you will be able to say, "I've got 12 inches in Detroit" with a straight face. Do not underestimate the value of this.
Check out TheMakeLoveland Project here and for a real time experience with the artists who are involved in it, check out their blog, 7billionfriends.....If you have been reading this blog, you know of my attachment to Detroit and today, I can proudly say...."I've got 12 inches in Detroit!".I will keep you updated on this project as it progresses....
la reconquête de Detroit commence maintenant!
5 comments:
Good idea.
I have suggested in the past regarding Detroit- where I lived for 7 years- that the city 'sell' the thousands of vacant parcels of land to the neighborhoods so that they can plant crops for their use and to sell.
Further, they could 'fix up' sections of this neighborhood land to make a mini park or small recreation area- baseball diamonds, hoops...
Detroit has to do something to keep the people happy who wish to continue to live there.
It seems like an easy 'fix' to me.
"I can proudly say...."I've got 12 inches in Detroit!"
I've been getting similar spam email, I've been tempted, but I'm pretty happy with my 7 inches.
(haha, J/K.. I couldn't resist!)
I've got a parking ticket in Pittsburgh!
Steve, I will propose the reintroduction of the metric system in my tiny empire and your 7 inches will have become, magically, a manly 17.7 cm!
Mark, did they give you magnifying glass to read the ticket with as well? My deed 1 inch square deed comes with a magnifying glass...
Mudrake, The more I hear and read about what is actually happening in Detroit, as a community, I get the feeling that Detroit is going to become more like Berlin.
When I lived in NYC, I lived in a part of Manhattan no one wanted to live in and as SOHO had risen a decade before, The East Village became the center of the world for art and music.
There is definitely something that exists in the border between imagination and possible reality happening now in Detroit.
I hope that the French really do reconquer Detroit, and Michigan. I've been trying to persuade that my motown naisance qualifies me for French Citizenship!
Of course, the UK citizenship also allows me residency as well.
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