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Another fire destroys a house in Detroit's Heidelberg Project

The "House of Soul" was destroyed by fire this morning.
Heidelberg Project
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Facebook
The "House of Soul" was covered in vinyl records.

This Tweet came from The Heidelberg Project this morning:

The "House of Soul" was part of the world-renowned art installation on Detroit's east side. This comes a month after another house in The Heidelberg Project burned down.

On October 5th, the "OJ House" was no more:

The remains of the OJ House in the Heidelberg Project. The house burned down on Oct. 5th.
Credit The Heidelberg Project
The remains of the OJ House in the Heidelberg Project. The house burned down on Oct. 5th.

In a statement, the organizers behind The Heidelberg Project, Tyree Guyton and Jenenne Whitfield, said they knew the OJ House fire was sent intentionally by a "young man."

They had this message for the person they say is responsible:

We want you to know that we understand your pain. We realize that all you’ve grown to know is destruction and that you see no way out. This is precisely why we are here. Our work is not about tangible “things,” it is about the Power of the Human Spirit. We recognize that there is a fire in you and we are here not to extinguish it, but to offer you a better reason to fuel it. Though you have tried, you cannot destroy the Heidelberg Project; it’s bigger than all of us now. Instead, we invite you to join our family in creating a better neighborhood, a better Detroit, if not for anyone else than for yourself. As Tyree has said, “If you believe, you can change it…” We believe.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Detroit fire officials are calling the latest fire "suspicious." A volunteer for the art installation told the paper that there were no electrical connections in the house. 

The Heidelberg Project was first maligned by city officials (the city demolished some of the art in 1991), but it's now internationally celebrated.

Mark Brush was the station's Digital Media Director. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. He was 49 years old.
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