From $1 house to front row seat: Detroit family celebrates Michigan Central's revival
(CBS DETROIT) — When Michigan Central celebrates its reopening on Thursday with a sold-out concert, one of the best views in the house will be across the street at a home bought for just $1.
"Now that $1 house is on the first-ever electrified street in America, across the street from an abandoned building that's now had thousands of great craftsmen bringing her back to life," Stephen McGee, the homeowner, said.
It's a far cry from what it was when Stephen McGee and his wife bought the vacant house in 2013.
"You either came to seeing the potential and the hope, or you were scared away," McGee said.
McGee and his family saw beyond the decay and spent four years renovating the house.
They finished right around when the Ford Motor Company bought Michigan Central.
McGee, who had been documenting the city for nearly two decades as a photographer for the Detroit Free Press, was given the unique opportunity to capture the six-year transformation.
"And I watched eight and a half miles of grout get removed from the ceiling; I watched 26,000 tiles be hand-cleaned without soap. There was a care — charismatic care — that was brought to this, that you see that care on their faces when they first walk in like it's truly almost a spiritual experience," McGee said.
McGee's three daughters have watched him go across the street to work but haven't stepped into the building — that'll change this week.
"June 6 is going to be a time that I will probably only be able to process years later, and at some point, I think I'm just going to, you know, everything's going to catch up, and it's gonna be pretty emotional," McGee said.
Those coming to celebrate the reopening will also have a chance to see McGee's exhibit, "Pillars," featuring towering photographs of notable Detroiters. This exhibit highlights the city's resilience and potential, like Michigan Central.
"The best of the best are here to celebrate the opening of this building so that people around the world take notice. If it wasn't that way, Jack White wouldn't possibly be here. If it wasn't that way, Big Sean wouldn't put his name behind it; Diana Ross, you know, these legends have weight with their name that are coming to a backdrop that means something to the world. The world just might not know it yet," McGee said.