After years of legal wrangling, the City of Detroit finally cleared the way in February for its plan to destroy the colorful urban junkscape known as the Heidelberg Project. On February 4th, a demolition armada of bulldozers, police and city workers arrived and pulled down as much as 30% of the art attached to abandoned houses and hanging from the trees.

Notable victims: the "Happy Feet" house was leveled, along with another house not even on Heidelberg Street, where artist Tyree Guyton was storing all the artwork saved from the 1991 demolition of the original Heidelberg Project.

Guyton's legal defense team has filed a $3 million lawsuit against the city.

Detroit's latest bulldozer onslaught was scheduled for April 7, and Heidelberg supporters were planning to rally. The Project is considered the third largest tourist attraction in Detroit.

Another setback for Guyton: his Shoe House, in St. Paul, Minnesota, is in trouble. The new owner doesn't see the thousands of shoes attached to its exterior as "art" -- he's planning to redecorate. [04/10/1999]

February 10, 2012