Hart Plaza Grand Stairs

The City of Detroit General Services Department recently received $9M in federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan) funding for improvements at Hart Plaza.

Scroll to learn about the Grand Stairs project at Hart Plaza.

Other Considerations

The design team will generate ideas for acknowledging those recognized on the granite plaques and deteriorating brick pavers.

These maybe in a new location in the Plaza, but the names/content will be included.

Project Team

Juliana Fulton, Interim Chief Parks Planner

John DeRuiter, Assistant Chief of Landscape Architecture

Liz Rooney, Parks Planner

Brief History of Hart Plaza

Hart Plaza is located on the approximate site where Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac landed in 1701 and founded the settlement that became the City of Detroit. Planning efforts for the plaza began as early as the 1920s when prominent architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen set forth a vision for a riverfront civic center. Hart Plaza (originally called Civic Center Plaza) opened in 1975 and was designed by notable Japanese-American modernist Isamu Noguchi. It was renamed Hart Plaza in 1977 for Senator Philip Hart. The site contains many historical monuments and markers, and the entire site is nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. Hart Plaza has been a long-time city riverfront destination and venue for summer festivals, concerts, and special events, with a total capacity of 40,000.