Have you been to Harbor Island? Go in summer, of course. Take Jefferson Avenue way out east until you hit Alter Rd, the city’s edge…but still the city, don’t forget that. A right on Alter, follow the road down until in meets the river and bends around to a seemingly abandoned boathouse and pier.
The Fisherman’s Marina. An ironic marquee sign still stands proudly, both tragically and comically boasting of “Beer-Wine-Food!,” “Boat Hoist-Wells-Fuel Dock!,” and “Live Bait-Tackle!” next to a sizable structure, now dilapidated and slowly disintegrating, that by all appearance, no longer hosts any such things.
The lone 1970s Buick (a boat itself, haha!) and the graffitied shell of some old dinghy, marooned in the parking lot in front of the building, call out to better days and present questions perhaps best left unanswered. But as is often true in this city - looks can, and do, deceive…
Around the side of the boathouse, you will find the most interesting of affairs - especially for this place - a river sports launch! Introduce yourself, talk with the wiry woman with open-carry confidence and lean biceps from years on the water. Kayaks go for $20 an hour.
Hop in a kayak, time to get out on the water – there is so much to explore! Before you paddle off, your host may toss you a beer. Accept it and don’t ask too many questions. Ho hah hehee! What a treasure to find, friend!
But rather than the river, we advise you focus on is the neighborhood itself - Harbor Island. An unexpected and beautiful oasis of waterside living - a community carved out of old industrial canals on the river’s edge, a strange and wondrous world unto its own.
Chaotic, jumbled, and richly charactered. Unique. Each home and structure is different - no clear income class or racial demographic seems to hold the place – a good thing. Rather, what defines the neighborhood is its boats. Boats new and old. Boats anchored by all the houses. Boats lifted up into the yards like classic cars.
Maybe a man peers out at you as he brings in his tugboat, “Titan.” While perhaps another pilots his skiff out for a bright and early jaunt. The family with a gorgeous vintage wooden speedboat “Loup Garu,” the Werewolf, may wave at you as you float by. Even the “Admiralty,” what can only be described as a small pirate ship, might be found, moored regally, aside one of the grander homes.
Ah, you would be excused for placing yourself at some old, towny seaside community in Maine or on some bayou inlet along the Gulf Coast. But no friend! This would be Harbor Island, a little know place tucked away at the land’s end of Detroit’s post-urban sprawl. A true hidden gem. A place to drift.
Harbor Island. Detroit. Michigan, USA.
There are secrets to be found. Go there.