Appropriately named, the Renaissance Center signaled the rebirth of Detroit's inner city. Once a burned-out shell of its former self, corporations fled downtown Detroit as crime and poverty began strangling the city. But in 1976, Henry Ford II took a chance on downtown -- a chance that paid off. His success has been an example to other cities, and has been instrumental in the rebirth of downtown districts across the United States. The Renaissance Center is a city unto itself consisting of a central 73-story tower, ringed by four 39-story towers, flanked by two 21-story towers. From the Ontario side of the river you can see how it stands away from the heart of downtown and forms its own skyline. If the design looks familiar, it should. The same architect who put together the Renaissance Center plan is also the mind behind the Peachtree Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Just as that skyscraper added a touch of glitz that helped Atlanta flourish into the capital of the New South, the Renaissance Center has allowed Detroit to rise again.

Photograph courtesy of John Belliveau