June 30, 2014
Rediscovering the Garden
It’s a vision that George Stewart and Michael Byrd have dreamed about. And after 15 years of filling out paperwork, scrambling for financing, and basically waiting for the city’s revival to catch up with their dreams, it’s coming together.
Paradise Revisited: As a young man, George Stewart came to Detroit from Baton Rouge, La., to attend Wayne State University and study for his Ph.D.
He was drawn to the city’s nightlife. “Detroit was alive,” he recalls. “It was socially rich. There were house parties, the Flame Show Bar, the Chesterfield … Paradise Valley … Detroit was vibrant.”