StoryCorps Detroit Podcast: Chalk Drawings on the Hudson Building

A Detroit artist uses the Hudson Building as his personal studio.

StoryCorps

Maurice Greenia, Jr. is an artist and performer from Detroit. In the mid-1990s, he decided to brighten up the boarded-over display windows of the Hudson Building.

“I was trying to do something positive for the city and downtown.”

In this episode of StoryCorps Detroit, Greenia talks with his friend, Jennifer Gariepy, about creating over 500 chalk drawings on the Hudson’s Department store in the years before the building was imploded.

See some of the drawings here.

The real estate company, Bedrock, is planning to erect a skyscraper at the site of the former Hudson Building. If completed as designed, it will be Detroit’s tallest building. See renderings of the futurist structure here.

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Click here to find more episodes of the StoryCorps Detroit podcast on wdet.org. Or subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you like to listen.

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StoryCorps Detroit is hosted by Sascha Raiyn. This episode was produced by Laura Herberg and mixed by Rahsaan Cherry. The interview featured in this episode was edited by John Forrest and originally recorded by StoryCorps at the Detroit Institute of Arts in the summer of 2017. The StoryCorps Detroit theme music is by Will Sessions.

Authors

  • Sascha Raiyn
    Sascha Raiyn is Education Reporter at 101.9 WDET. She is a native Detroiter who grew up listening to news and music programming on Detroit Public Radio.
  • Rahsaan Cherry
    Rahsaan Cherry is WDET's Audio Production Assistant. He is best known by his nickname, RAHS.
  • John Forrest
    When not fixing cars or lasers, John enjoys working at WDET as a StoryCorp intern.
  • Laura Herberg
    Laura Herberg is a Reporter for 101.9 WDET, telling the stories about people inhabiting the Detroit region and the issues that affect us here.