Publications

David CLEMENTS has authored two works created from his extensive photographic collection and his intimate knowledge of Metropolitan Detroit.

MultiColor Motown – Focus on Blue

Blue is not the most common color in Detroit architecture – it competes with the sky and is hard to see at night – but it’s a constant in the landscape.  Spray Services is a current business that supplies paint equipment for auto repair. Sam’s Auto Parts’ sign still stands on 8 Mile, and OK […]

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Willie Jones – The Secret Heart of Detroit Soul

There he was on stage, dressed in a red satin suit: the 82-year-old veteran showman Willie Jones. He was in his element performing Friday night at Detroit A Go Go 2018, four live shows of ventage Detroit performing artists  at Bert’s Warehouse in Detroit’s Eastern Market. The event was produced by Brits Phil and Kim […]

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DETROIT’S RENEWED PROSPERITY – WILL IT REACH McCLELLAN STREET?

In 2012 I met Kathina Cary. She was delivering a foil covered meal to a local resident at the end of the block. She lived just off the corner of McClellan Street and Goethe (locally pronounced GO-thee) Street, once a prosperous and dense North-South street on the East side of Detroit. Kathina had envisioned a […]

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River of Fire – Detroit Downriver – Ecorse, Michigan

I arrived late to the City of Ecorse annual River of Fire Walleye Fishing Tournament. The Ecorse Heavy Hitters Fire Department hosted the tournament, proudly displaying their shinny fire engine parked at the dock gate in case of fire run. I didn’t see any “River of Fire”. The Ecorse Dock office on the Detroit River […]

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Red’s Jazz Shoe Shine in Detroit’s North End

In 1891 Detroit annexed 6 square miles of Hamtramck Township, called the North End, east of Woodward and north of Grand Boulevard.  This area is now pocked with empty buildings and open land. Scattered throughout the community are small churches, each struggling to retain congregations, and an ever-present supply of champagne. One of the few […]

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Art In Detroit Public Places

Art In Detroit Public Places Photographer: David Clements Author: Dennis Nawrocki Wayne State University Press The Detroit area is home to numerous significant works of public art in its parks, libraries, schools, and hospitals. This new and updated edition of a classic guidebook considers over 150 pieces organized by section into six geographical districts of […]

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TALKING SHOPS: Detroit Commercial Folk Art

Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Archaeology Author: David Clements Wayne State University Press Visit our online store here selection of TALKING SHOPS images for sale. Cruise down the streets of Detroit, through vast residential neighborhoods, industrial landscapes, and huge areas of open land and I still feel a vibrant and evolving city. What I have discovered […]

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