42°19′ N   83°02′ WINDEPENDENT CITY GUIDE · HU / ENDETROIT + MICHIGAN
QUARTER
DETROIT
A train at Michigan Avenue station, August 2025
Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0

Places / People Mover / Stop 2 of 13

Detroit People Mover stationMichigan Avenue

A free-standing station at Cass and Michigan Avenue, across from the downtown bus hub, with two humorous and colourful artworks.

Next car: 15:38
Code
MI
Opened
July 31, 1987
Boardings 2024
57,691 (9th)
Boardings 2014
148,979 (5th)

01 / Story

The station’s story

Signed simply “Michigan”, the station at Michigan and Cass is downtown’s western gateway: across the street is DDOT’s hub, the Rosa Parks Transit Center, and a block away on Washington Boulevard stops the DAX airport express. It is one of five free-standing stations designed so future neighbours could connect at platform level.

It was among the first six stations when service resumed on May 20, 2022. Before the pandemic it was one of the busiest, fifth in 2014 with 148,979 boardings. In 2024 the City Walls programme added Fel’le’s (Kenyada Kelsaw’s) mural “A Peaceful Place” to its exterior.

In autumn 2026 the escalator is out of service, so use the lift. At the corner of Washington Boulevard stands the statue of General Alexander Macomb, a veteran of the War of 1812 whose family once owned most of Macomb County, Grosse Ile and Belle Isle.

  1. Kirk Newman’s “On the Move” bronzes
  2. Allie McGhee’s “Voyage” tile mural
  3. Transfer to the Rosa Parks bus hub and the DAX airport bus
  4. 2024 City Walls mural (Fel’le)

02 / From the window

What you see from the car

The car glides over six-lane Michigan Avenue. Look west down the avenue and Michigan Central Station’s tower in Corktown can come into view, where the DTC is planning a multimodal hub.

03 / Art in the Stations

Art at this station

  • Allie McGhee · 1987

    Voyage

    tile mural

    The brushstrokes look spontaneous but were meticulously calculated. McGhee, a painter, learned tile-making for this work, cutting clay from cardboard templates and building up glazes layer by layer.

  • Kirk Newman’s “On the Move” beside the escalator (2009)
    Jason Paris · CC BY 2.0

    Kirk Newman · 1987

    On the Move

    cast bronze figures on tile

    Fourteen humorous bronze figures dash up beside the escalator to catch the train. The largest, 23 feet (7 m) from toe to toe, leaps a whole floor; one woman carries a briefcase in one hand, a baby in the other, with a child running behind.

04 / Timeline

Station timeline

  1. Opens with two artworks

    Works by Kirk Newman and Allie McGhee greet riders.

  2. A Winter Classic car

    A Winter Classic-wrapped train at the platform; one of the best-known photos of the station.

  3. Among the first six to reopen

    On the first day of the post-pandemic restart.

  4. “A Peaceful Place”

    Fel’le’s City Walls mural.

  5. The station is part of the loop today; today’s departures are shown above, per timetable.

05 / Curiosities

Curiosities

  • The largest bronze leaps from the ground floor and “flies” to the upper level; a mother chases the train with a briefcase, a baby and a toddler in tow.

  • McGhee was a painter who learned tile-making specifically for this work.

The Michigan Avenue station platform (2025)
42-BRT · CC BY-SA 4.0
Kirk Newman’s bronze figures on the Michigan Avenue station tile wall (2015)
Eugene Kim · CC BY 2.0
Kirk Newman’s “On the Move” beside the escalator (2009)
Jason Paris · CC BY 2.0
A Winter Classic-wrapped train at Michigan Avenue station (2012)
VasenkaPhotography · CC BY 2.0
A train arriving at Michigan Avenue station (2025)
Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25

Every figure is compiled from the sources below, including the DTC’s official pages, board minutes and its 2025–2026 planning documents. Where sources differ, we give both. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed and credited per author.

06 / Nearby

A short walk away

Places, restaurants and venues from our guide, with straight-line distance and an estimated walking time.

Around the station

  • Rosa Parks Transit Center across the street

    Hub for DDOT buses and SMART express lines.

  • American and Lafayette Coney Island 5 min

    The two rival hot-dog diners, side by side since 1917 and 1924.

  • Westin Book Cadillac 4 min

    The restored 1924 grand hotel.

  • Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building 3 min

    The federal office tower.

07 / Events

Events near this station

Upcoming events at nearby venues, from our event guide.

All events ↗