Lectures & Forums

Learning at the Opera - Summer 2008

What Makes a City? Wednesday Evenings in July

Preservation Wayne is proud to present its annual Learning at the Opera lecture series on Wednesday evenings this July.

This summer's series of lectures is entitled, What Makes a City? Throughout the series we will investigate some of the important things that make a city vital and interesting place to live, work and play.

Here's the lineup for What Makes a City?:

Design! - July 9 - Mitch Cope and Gina Reichert of Hamtramck’s Design 99 share the unique vision for their stylish new retail store and why they believe good design matters in a city like Detroit.

Trees! - July 16 - Rebecca Salminen Witt, President of the Greening of Detroit talks about her award winning organization and its mission to guide and inspire others to create a 'greener' Detroit.

Architects! - July 23 - Valerie Marvin, of the Michigan State Capitol, offers new insight into 19th Century Detroit architect Elijah E. Myers, who designed more capitol buildings across the United States than any other architect in history.

Neighborhoods! - July 30 - Mary Leonard of the University District highlights the District's vibrant history and the residential designs of the 1920s and 1930's that make it one of the Detroit's most architecturally diverse and distinctive neighborhoods.

All lectures run from 6:00-8:00PM. Tickets for the lecture are $15 per person, and can be purchased online through the Michigan Opera Theatre Website. Click here for tickets.

Preservation Summit

Tuesday, August 23, 2005, 6:30 PM
Masonic Temple, Detroit

The Preservation Summit is a meeting of regional Detroit preservation advocates facilitated by the Midwest office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The goal is to build a coordinated effort for historic preservation and economic development in the City of Detroit. Participating organizations include: American Institute of Architects - Detroit Chapter, Cityscape Detroit, Detroit Historic Neighborhoods Coalition, Friends of the Book-Cadillac Hotel, Friends of the Penn Theatre, Jefferson East Business Association, Michigan Historic Preservation Network, MotorCities National Heritage Area, Preservation Wayne, Riverfront East Alliance, Save Fort Wayne, and Woodward Avenue Action Association.

Superbowl XL: Building or Unbuilding Downtown?

Tuesday, January 27, 2004, 7:00 PM
Century Theatre, Detroit

In January 2004, Preservation Wayne teamed up with Detroit Synergy, Cityscape Detroit, and Friends of the Book-Cadillac to present a standing room only forum titled “SuperBowl XL: Building or Unbuilding Downtown?” at the historic Century Theatre. A distinguished panel including Ernie Zachary, Stephen Vogel, and Christina Lovio-George discussed the opportunities and challenges Detroit faces in preparing for a surge in visitors and media exposure in 2006.

Loft Forum

In the late 1990’s, Preservation Wayne, Cityscape Detroit and other community partners launched the Loft Forum series to educate the development community about various incentives available for the rehabilitation of historic structures. Since then, dozens of projects have multiplied in Midtown Detroit and other neighborhoods throughout the city, with many more slated to come on-line in the next two years.