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 adjacent to Hart Plaza, 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.
History 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. In 1890, Hazen S. Pingree, Detroit's mayor, suggested the location would be ideal for the creation of a waterfront center for city functions. However, the project was not carried out. In 1924, the architect Eliel Saarinen was commissioned by the AIA of Michigan to compose a waterfront civic center design. Due to World War II, development did not begin until the late 1940s. The first parts to go up in the area were the buildings, including a veteran's hall, an auditorium, and the city-county building. Hart Plaza was a departure from Saarinen's original design, which was originally to be a grassy lawn area. Instead, the current concrete plaza was built, with several built-in amphitheaters for concerts, as well as Dodge Fountain. The firm of Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls did the final design, 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's 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 2011, the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority added a cruise ship dock and passenger terminal known as Port Detroit to the area between Hart Plaza and the Renaissance Center. In 2024, Hart Plaza cohosted with the Fox Theatre the 2024 NFL draft.
Events
Thousands of people from the Midwest and Canada come together during the summer for celebrations, concerts held in the plaza's two open-air amphitheaters, and festivals generally held from May through September.
Events held at Hart Plaza over the years include:
Surroundings 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), Water Square (at the former location Joe Louis Arena) and Huntington Place. 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.
Layout The park is eight acres in size and is bound by the Detroit River to the south, East Jefferson Avenue to north, Bates Avenue to the east, and Civic Center Drive to the west. It consists of the upper level at the level of Jefferson Avenue, which is a supported cement slab faced in carnelian granite and concrete, and suspended above the lower level at the level of Atwater Street. The plaza was designed by Detroit-based architects Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in consultation with Japanese American architect Isamu Noguchi. The plaza's main entrance is located at the foot of Woodward Avenue, south of the Monument to Joe Louis. At the entrance is the Pylon, a stainless steel spire sculpture designed by Isamu Noguchi. Located west of the entrance is the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark, whose centerpiece is a 63-foot tall steel arch sculpture by David Barr and Sergio de Giusti titled Transcending. 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. The lower level of Hart Plaza includes an open-air amphitheater near the center of the courtyard, 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 at the southeast corner of the plaza, art gallery, and loading dock.
Memorials and sculptures
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac statue 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.
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