A restoration of past glory, a renovation toward future growth, potential consequences and conflicts in the present.

That is the story of Michigan Central, a grand old and now new addition to Detroit's economic and cultural life.

Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown reports for our arts and culture series, Canvas. We spent a lot of time researching and understanding

the different types of materials.

Above soaring ceilings, all around,

columns, ornate chandeliers, arched windows.

This is the Grand Hall of Detroit's Michigan Central, an historic train station newly restored to glory.

Lead architect Richard Hess is with the firm Quinn Evans.

This is the original Tennessee rose-colored marble flooring.

Much of it reconstructed as it was, though not the old wooden benches on which several

thousand travelers once waited every day.

All these benches were gone, but we wanted to keep the reflection of what was here before and sort of that token of memory.

It's like the ghost of a bench.

Yes, it's like the ghost of a bench. That's a great way to put it.

The ghosts, both friendly and destructive, are everywhere, flitting through hallways and history.

The original 1913 building located in Detroit's Quirktown neighborhood, and designed by the same team behind New York's Grand Central, was the gateway to the city, a symbol of its industrial power.

Then the fourth tallest building in Detroit, the tallest train station in the world.

But as Detroit's fortunes changed, Michigan Central became a different symbol of decline.

After the last train left in 1988, the station sat abandoned and came close to being torn down.

A scene of decay, broken glass and walls, a derelict graffiti heaven, water damage throughout,

as Hess saw on his first visit here in 2011.

And the entire basement area was flooded with water.

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