Latest news with #RiverWalk
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mike Duggan can't claim sole credit for Detroit's amazing recovery
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan gave a masterful presentation Tuesday evening that I heard as much as an opening speech in his run for governor as his final State of the City address. Speaking at the new Hudson's Detroit building, Duggan touted the city's fiscal stability during his three terms, the city's new investment-grade credit rating, thousands of new housing units built and even a slight rise in Detroit's population after decades of decline. A lot to celebrate, for sure. And Duggan can justly claim credit for much of it. But what Duggan and many others miss is how deep the roots of Detroit's recovery go. Key building blocks of Detroit's comeback were in place at least a decade before Duggan took office in 2014. And before his time in office recedes into the history books, it's worth taking another look at exactly how this amazing city came back from the dead. More from John Gallagher: I'm a historic preservationist, but these RenCen towers have to go Certainly, the city's fiscal stability during Duggan's term owes much to Detroit's spin through Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy in 2013-14. The Grand Bargain ― a financial agreement between philanthropy, the state and the Detroit Institute of Arts to secure the museum's collection and protect retirees' pensions in the bankruptcy process ― wiped some $7 billion of debt off the city's books, giving Detroit what former federal Judge Gerald Rosen, who served as mediator in the case, called the cleanest balance sheet of any city in America. Twelve years of balanced city budgets under Duggan flowed from that settlement. Then, too, the role of philanthropic foundations that pumped more than $300 million into the Grand Bargain followed years of an activist approach by philanthropy to help revive Detroit. The Kresge Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Hudson's Webber and other philanthropies, flush with legacy wealth from Detroit's glory years, were already bankrolling the RiverWalk, the revival of Eastern Market, and a host of other social, artistic and neighborhood programs before Detroiters elected Duggan. Indeed, it's fair to say that philanthropic dollars, which I sometimes think of as money from heaven, has underwritten a vast amount of Detroit's revival. And speaking of the RiverWalk and Eastern Market, those were just two municipal operations languishing under direct city control that were handed off during Detroit's woeful pre-bankruptcy years to non-profit conservancies and public authorities. A city government too broken and dysfunctional to create the RiverWalk or revive the market spun those off to a whole series of newly created non-profit entities, where they thrived. Nor were they alone. Campus Martius Park, the city's convention center ― now called Huntington Place ― the city's workforce development agency, the DIA and Detroit Historical Museum ― all these and others were spun off from direct city control into non-profit stand-alone entities that took them in many cases from mediocre to newfound success. Ditto the many improvements to Belle Isle Park, once the island was handed off to the state's Department of Natural Resources, during the bankruptcy, after years of neglect. And more: The long-term transition in the city's economy from one based entirely on giant auto-related corporations to a more entrepreneurial model with hundreds of new startups ― all started in the decade before the mayor took office. And of course Dan Gilbert moved his mortgage business from the suburbs to downtown in 2010, and had already begun his unprecedented work of revitalizing downtown's derelict buildings and filling them with his workers by the time Duggan was sworn in. More from Freep Opinion: In race to succeed Gretchen Whitmer, Gilchrist says he can unite Democrats Don't get me wrong ― I believe Duggan will rank among Detroit's greatest mayors. He ran a tight fiscal ship, won back the confidence of both residents and business leaders, restored the city's parks, nurtured a revival in many Detroit neighborhoods and used the leeway given him by the bankruptcy and Gilbert's efforts to keep moving confidently forward. You might even say his record sets him up as a credible candidate to be Michigan's next governor, as he hopes to be. But he didn't do it alone, nor did the revival start with him. One day, historians write the full history of Detroit's amazing urban recovery. They'll give Duggan his full share of credit. But they'll note the recovery was a mosaic, not a silver bullet. Duggan is one in a vast cast of players who believed in the city and worked to make it better. John Gallagher was a reporter and columnist for the Free Press for 32 years prior to his retirement in 2019. His book, Rust Belt Reporter: A Memoir, was published last year by Wayne State University Press. Submit a letter to the editor at and we may publish it online and in print. Like what you're reading? Please consider supporting local journalism and getting unlimited digital access with a Detroit Free Press subscription. We depend on readers like you. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mike Duggan was just one part of Detroit's comeback| Opinion
Telegraph
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
From rollercoasters to rodeos – your guide to the ultimate family holiday in San Antonio, Texas
When sightseeing with children, parents must become social chefs, carefully seasoning holiday itineraries to ensure everyone is happy. The good news for those looking to travel as a family is that San Antonio, Texas, is a destination with all the right ingredients for success. The best way to get your bearings in this beautiful city is with an open-air Go Rio boat tour of the leafy San Antonio River Walk – complete with a tide of family-friendly jokes as you float through the beautiful heart of this 300-year-old city. From here, you'll be spoilt for choice, even for a week-long trip. San Antonio is known as the Theme Park Capital of Texas, boasting more than 160 rides across an impressive collection of parks, from Six Flags Fiesta Texas with its towering rollercoasters (headlined by the infamous Iron Rattler) to AR's Entertainment Hub with its indoor bumper cars and virtual-reality games and Schlitterbahn, considered be be among the world's best water parks. Then there's the extraordinary Morgan's Wonderland, which is hailed the world's one and only ultra-accessible theme park, with its autism-friendly sensory playgrounds, four-seater ziplines and wheelchair-compatible swings. The park is seasonal, so check dates on the website. If you're on foot after your River Walk cruise, it's a simple stroll through San Antonio's typically sun-drenched heart to the Shops at Rivercenter – home to two of the best downtown family attractions: the Sea Life Aquarium San Antonio and Legoland Discovery Center. The former is packed with engaging child-friendly exhibits and underwater tunnels, while the latter is an opportunity to get hands-on with millions of Lego bricks in the company of trained master-builders, before checking out the jaw-dropping Lego reproduction of the city itself. If learning is your priority, San Antonio has you covered too. The main children's museum – the DoSeum – is designed as a place where play and teaching overlap for kids of all ages, from the self-explanatory Spy Academy and Musical Staircase to the impressive Imagine It – an innovative area dedicated to teaching youngsters how to construct and write good stories. There's even a space called Little Town – exactly like a mini city, with shops, building sites, an airport, bank and post office – which is designed for babies and toddlers to explore in tiny cars. While the DoSeum justifiably gets the lion's share of attention, don't sleep on San Antonio's other family-friendly favourites, including The Buckhorn Museum, where you can learn all about the Lone Star State's pioneering past, before sitting down to a Texas-style family feast in the cowboy-themed restaurant. When it comes to Texas history, however, one site stands out above all others. The Alamo, a fortified Spanish Mission which saw a history-altering battle between Texan settlers and the Mexican Army in 1836, remains the number one free attraction in the entire country, with an on-site museum providing basic introductions to the Wild West legends involved in the battle, such as famed frontiersman Davy Crockett. Opened in February 2025, the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park combines the Alamo with four neighbouring historic Missions, to create Texas's only Unesco World Heritage Site. For kids with energy to burn (and sun cream judiciously applied) San Antonio has plenty of outdoor spaces to enjoy too, from sprawling Brackenridge Park – which also contains the city's world-class zoo and its 3,500 animals – to the San Antonio Botanical Garden, with its 38 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, including the Family Adventure Garden (think treehouses to play in, water features to splash in, and a maze to explore). With its rich history, thrilling theme parks and fascinating cowboy culture, San Antonio is a city that promises unforgettable experiences for families – particularly if you can time your visit to coincide with one of the big annual events that take place throughout the year, from the epic Stock Show & Rodeo each February to the otherworldly Dias De Los Muertos Festival in October – an occasion which young fans of Disney's Coco will immediately adore – and the Tejas Rodeo Company's weekly rodeos up in Texas Hill Country, between March to November. And if you want to get any more hands-on and get your feet in the stirrups, a day or two at a dude ranch like Rancho Cortez with its Lassoo Lessons will get you hollering like a proper cow girl or boy. Whenever or however you visit San Antonio, the only problem you will face – like the heaped plates of spicy Tex-Mex being served all over town – is that there is simply too much good stuff to get through.
