The Heidelberg Project is the most positive and amazing thing you can find in Detroit. It is a combination of despair and joy, destruction and art, creativity and routine. This is a must-visit place in Detroit.

The Heidelberg Project dates back to 1986. Then the artist Tyree Guyton returned to his native Detroit and simply did not recognize his neighborhood: houses turned into ruins, and it was dangerous to walk along the streets, as many had bosom weapons and sold drugs in every yard. Tyree Guyton, in desperation, decided to do the same as all the residents of the district. However, he met a grandfather who, after the death of his three brothers, convinced Guyton to pick up a brush instead of a weapon.

Then Tyree Guyton began to paint the dilapidated and abandoned houses of the neighborhood with colorful circles. Gradually, local children began to join him. Together, they gradually cleaned the streets of Detroit. Guyton painted houses as well as constructed various installations from seemingly ordinary construction waste: old doors and sofas. All this, painted in bright colors, became an integral part of the district and began to delight the eyes of residents. This was called the Heidelberg Project.

In 1988, supporters of Guyton's work helped рim officially register his project. Thanks to this, it was saved. Tyree Guyton, inspired by the official registration of the project, transformed Heidelberg Street, improved and combined the already created objects into something unified. Everything is intertwined there: the street, trees, sidewalks, abandoned houses, vacant lots, nature, and even people.

For many years, the Heidelberg Project has been the subject of disputes between officials: some wanted to bring the street to a proper appearance, others argued that it is art so that nothing could be removed. Guyton claimed that this project was a kind of bitter pill for people, that it helped them look at the world with love and joy.