Exterior construction finishing up at Workers Row House

The last time Model D covered the historic Workers Row House in Corktown, it was naked. We're now happy to report it is much more modestly attired in a coat of cedar siding.

Less than one-third of the wood is original to the structure. "We were trying to maintain as much as possible of the original structure, but it is a 150-plus-year-old house," says Tim McKay, the executive director of the Greater Corktown Development Corp.

The next and final step of the project's first phase is a build-out of the center unit, which initially will be used for office space and as the neighborhood's welcome center. The budget for this first phase is $125,000.

The two end units will then be developed as interpretive sites, one dedicated to the 1850's, and the other to the years between the Civil War and the turn of the century.

The next step will be the restoration of the building next door, which will house restrooms, a catering kitchen, a bookstore and souvenir shop, space for tour orientation and offices. The center space at the row house will then be dedicated to the 1900s into the 1950s. "The interpretive plan that exists says that our goal is to tell the story of a century of the development of the city of Detroit, by the people that built the city," says McKay.

The total cost of the Workers Row House is estimated to be $1 million. McKay sees banking on the neighborhood's history as a sound investment in its future. "Part of Corktown's success has been based on its history," he says. "Cultural tourism is a real component of economic development in Corktown."

Source: Tim McKay, Greater Corktown Development Corporation
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh