Woodward Avenue (M-1) - Automotive Heritage Trail
Hart Plaza, MI

Named in honor of Senator Philip A.S. Hart, this riverfront plaza is the site of many of Detroit's most popular activities. Walk through the plaza to see a Michigan Historic Marker, which describes the significance of the site. Learn about the plaza's origins as a former coal yard and as an office site of one of Henry Ford’s inventors. Many consider this site the birthplace of the Ford Motor Company.

The Plaza attracts millions of visitors each year with events such as the Electronic Music/Techno Festival, Praise Fest, African World Festival, and the Fort Detroit International Jazz Festival. The centerpiece of the plaza is the Horace E. Dodge Fountain designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1979. It pays tribute to one of the Dodge brothers of auto manufacturing fame. The Plaza also features several amphitheaters, an ice skating rink, and other statuary like the City’s founder Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the first International Memorial to the Underground Railroad.