The Heidelberg Project

Two blocks of Detroit’s east side, transformed into one of the most famous outdoor art environments on earth. Since 1986, artist Tyree Guyton has been turning abandoned houses and vacant lots on Heidelberg Street into a riot of polka dots, salvaged objects, painted faces, and stuffed-animal sculptures — a defiant, joyful response to disinvestment that draws visitors from around the globe. The centerpiece is the “Dotty Wotty House,” covered head to toe in Guyton’s signature multicolored dots.

Honest heads-up: the project is always evolving. Guyton has spent recent years deliberately “deconstructing” and reimagining it (some houses have come down, by design and by arson over the years), so what’s standing shifts over time — and that impermanence is part of the point. Check the project’s site before you go, then come see what one artist did with paint, salvage, and stubborn hope.