The historic Michigan Central Station will reopen to the public on June 6, and Michigan Central organizers announced details for the celebration and how people can get free tickets and tours.
According to Michigan Central, the "Michigan Central OPEN" celebration on June 6 will open with a 90-minute outdoor concert in front of the station headlined by well-known Detroit musical artists. The lineup has not yet been announced.
VIDEO: Watch more details about Michigan Central's celebration below:
It will also show short films, appearances by local leaders and creators from around the state.
Starting June 7-16, Michigan Central will host an OPEN House, giving people a first look inside the station's historic ground floor with a range of exhibits, entertainment, art and more.
Registration for OPEN Live and OPEN House will begin online at michigancentral.com on May 17 for neighbors surrounding Michigan Central Station, and on May 21 for the general public.
VIDEO: Meet the father-daughter duo helping to restore Michigan Central:
After its reopening event, the station will begin a phased-in reactivation of the building over the next several months as they add more restaurant, retail and other building tenants and partners.
According to organizers, the first floor will be open for tours on Fridays and Saturdays through August. Expanded hours will be announced in the fall when the first phase of commercial activations open to the public.
Ford acquired the historic building in 2018 and began a years-long restoration and rehabilitation project.
“I am truly excited to share the historic Michigan Central Station restoration with the entire Detroit community and beyond," said Bill Ford, executive chair of Ford. "This is a milestone we can all celebrate. Michigan Central Station was once a symbol of Detroit’s decline, and now it is going to represent its renewal and bright future. This monumental project has taken more than 1.7 million hours of work and reflects Ford's dedication to the community, Detroit's role in shaping the future of mobility, and the opportunities that our city, state, and region continue to offer.”
The station opened in 1913 and once considered one of the best train depots in the U.S., serving more than 4,000 passengers a day at its peak. It closed in 1988 and remained vacant until Ford purchased the property in 2018.
Officials say over the past six years, more than 3,100 skilled trade workers have worked over 1.7 million combined hours to restore the building.
When it's complete, it will include 640,000 square feet of retail, hospitality, community, and office spaces as part of Ford's innovation hub in Corktown.
“At Michigan Central, we’re harnessing Detroit’s long-standing leadership in mobility and economic innovation to create a thriving, global destination for accelerating bold ideas and new solutions that shape our shared future,” said Joshua Sirefman, CEO of Michigan Central. “At the heart of this is The Station, an iconic building that now serves not just as a reminder of our city’s history, but a powerful catalyst for growth and opportunity.”
