Hart Plaza

Hart Plaza known as the Philip A. Hart Plaza. Philip Hart was a United States Senator from 1959 to 1976. This 14-acre (57,000 m2) land was dedicated to him in 1956. Hart Plaza is located Downtown Detroit, between the Detroit River and East Jefferson. In 1979 was the completion of the Philip A. Hart Plaza. Hundreds of people come together during the summer for celebrations, concerts and festivals from May to Labor Day. People all over the Midwest and Canada join together for free, fun-filled entertainment. Hart Plaza is surrounded by many important areas and buildings of the Downtown area. You could visit the GM Renaissance Center (RenCen), Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Center. There are a lot of things that happen in these buildings such as The North American International Auto Show (Cobo), many concerts and Detroit Red Wings games (Joe Louis), and there are offices and restaurants in the RenCen. In recent years Hart Plaza have been added to by the Detroit International Riverfront. The blocks south of Jefferson were cleared to make room for the city’s Civic Center. Instead when you arrive at the end of Woodward and Jefferson you come to the end of Woodward and the beginning of Hart Plaza. The end of Woodward is a huge sculpture of a 24-foot bronze arm and fist suspended from a 24-foot pyramid; this is a statue of Joe Louis' arm. When you get to Hart Plaza you are signaled that you have made it with Isamu Noguchi’s stainless steel Pylon. As you are walking through Hart Plaza you would pass another sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, which is the focal point of Hart Plaza, the Hoarce E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain. The lower level of Hart Plaza includes an open-air amphitheater, dressing rooms, food preparation areas with kitchen service food court, three sets of public rest rooms, permanent beverage booths, temporary storage areas, offices, the gallery, underground theater and loading dock.