THE HEIDELBERG PROJECT

Once in Detroit, or even before, you'll hear about this wacky art project located on the East Side, not far from the Eastern Market. "Crazy, weird, awesome", the city's residents are not short of inspiration to describe this project initiated by Tyree Guyton and his grandfather more than 35 years ago. Basically, a street transformed into an open-air museum. The houses are covered with paintings and inscriptions, the street with signs indicating different times, and the lawns with sculptures made by Tyree from recycled objects. Since 1986, his small project of integrating art into his East Side community has grown into a large machine with educational, social and tourism projects. Not all the neighborhood residents are the first defenders of this zany street. In fact, in the last few years, many of these houses have been burned down, and then some of them have been rebuilt by the members of the project. One thing is certain, this project is controversial and worth a visit for that reason alone. Guided tours are available for small and large groups (register online at least two weeks in advance), but you can also just go for a walk through these urban sculptures, straight out of Tyree Guyton's imagination. The project is constantly evolving and each year brings its share of disappearances and novelties. A must-see in Detroit!