Custom designed holiday card projects by Albion Design, artist Maggie LaNoue...

Holiday Cards of Riverfront Development Projects

Detroit Riverfront
Conservancy

Conceptual art by Maggie Lanoue

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This view from Belle Isle in Detroit shows
the Belle Isle bridge and in the distance on the left,
the Ambassador bridge to Canada. The Renaissance Center
is featured, and some silos are also shown on the right.
Those silos were later torn down to make room for
future development projects along the Detroit Riverfront.

This design was created to mimic the logo of
the Detroit Riverfront Corporation, with some liberties
taken such as replacing the deciduous trees
with evergreens for a holiday touch.

Learn more about the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

For the 2006 Detroit Riverfront holiday cards,
the Conservancy chose to feature the newly opened Milliken State park,
that created after where the old silos had been torn down. A scaled down
replica of the Tawas Point lighthouse was built here,
and the Riverwalk extended to this point.
The goal is to have the Riverwalk extend from
the Ambassador bridge to the Belle Isle bridge.

Above, the Milliken State Park and Harbor Lighthouse. William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor boasts a 63-foot lighthouse, which is a scaled down replica of the recently renovated lighthouse at Tawas Point State Park, originally built in 1876. Tawas Point Lighthouse is the sole representative of a true Victorian-era style station built on the Great Lakes. Maggie combined many photos with art, including the bench, Riverfront signs, lights, and birds huddling, and recreated them with hand painted touches in Photoshop, adding mist and wispy snow. This was the 2007 holiday card design for the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy.

This art by Maggie LaNoue features a Detroit Riverfront landmark in Rivard Plaza, the Cullen Family Carousel.
The Carousel was handcrafted and specially designed for Detroit.

It features creatures native to the Detroit River, including sturgeon, egrets and walleye, along with the mythical River Mermaid and River Monster.

The carousel opened in June 2007, and quickly became a favorite a Detroit destination for families visiting the Riverfront.

This winter scene by Maggie was used for the Conservancy’s 2008 holiday cards. It features the Gabriel Richard Park, which is located just east of the Belle Isle Bridge. This park is the furthest eastern edge of the Riverfront redevelopment project directly across the Detroit River from Belle Isle. The Detroit RiverFront Conservancy has enhanced the park with a plaza and pavilion, located along the river’s edge. During summer months, Gabriel Richard park is an especially pleasant place to visit, with fountains, fishing outlooks butterfly gardens and a labyrinth. There is a RiverWalk Cafe, open in season.

Read about the "9 basic steps" that show
how this was created scene from the original photo here.

The Dequindre Cut Greenway, an urban recreation was officially open to the public in 2009. This art was featured on the 2009 Detroit Riverfront Conservancy holiday cards. The 1.35 mile greenway offers a pedestrian link between the Riverfront and the Eastern Market. Formerly a Grand Trunk Railroad line, the area is well known for its urban artwork and graffiti.

There are separate lanes for pedestrian and bike traffic. Each card of the series brought many comments from the recipients and became collector’s items. Framed prints of the original art are in the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy home offices in the Renaissance Center.

Back to the article about Maggie's card projects called
Revitalization dreams...

Attention businesses, and organizations:
Contact us for more information on custom card pricing.
We can review photos of your ideas
for custom cards at no obligation.
Custom cards often cost no more
than generic cards in runs of 1,000 or more.