Welcome to Detroit — Founded 1701 (Artifact Print)
Welcome to Detroit — Founded 1701 (Artifact Print)
A road sign in the style of a standard highway marker reads: Welcome to Detroit. Founded 1701. Above the text, a small figure of the Spirit of Detroit — arms outstretched, holding light in one hand and a family in the other — sits centered at the top of the sign. The black mat and natural wood frame hold it flat against the wall. It is direct, familiar, and entirely Detroit.
Detroit was founded on July 24, 1701 by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac on the banks of the Detroit River — a strategic narrows connecting Lake Erie to Lake St. Clair. Over three centuries it became a center of industry, music, labor, and resilience. The "Welcome to Detroit" sign is one of the city's most recognized civic symbols, updated over the years but always carrying the founding date. This version pairs the sign format with the Spirit figure — two of the city's most enduring icons in a single frame.
A document of arrival — the first thing you see when you cross into the city, rendered as a print worth keeping.
- Museum-quality matte print
- Printed on demand
- Available in multiple sizes
- Unframed
- Add optional custom text (location, date, or caption).
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The Foundry
Downtown Pontiac, Michigan · Historic Riker Building
The Foundry is a curated creator marketplace, vintage mercantile, and media studio inside the historic Riker Building in downtown Pontiac. Every piece on this page was selected, documented, and listed by The Foundry team.
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