February 5, 2023
They say he’s still lost in there somewhere, perhaps not even realizing he’s lost anymore. Or even remembering what brought him there in the first place or where he was coming from when he first set foot inside the Renaissance Center.
Some say the RenCen (as the complex is affectionately known) is now a much simpler structure to navigate, and that even complete strangers not familiar with Detroit’s twisted sense of humor can stroll around the various hither, thither, and yon walkways without getting (too) lost, eventually finding an entrance or an exit (does it really matter…?) that will permit them to re-enter the outside world - even if it’s not the portal through which they first made contact.
But it wasn’t always like that.
Longtime Detroiters can still remember those once-upon-a-days when you could walk around the RenCen for hours trying to find a particular store or location, only to eventually settle on some other find because you had become convinced that someone had lied to you about the existence of whatever store it was that they swore was in one tower or the other on…was it Level 300? Where if you hung a right at the escalator and then…
See, that’s what they say happened to our hero. We will call him the Renaissance Man. All he wanted was…well, he can’t remember, actually. But all he wanted was something important, and the RenCen was supposed to be the only place in Detroit - or maybe even the tri-county area - where this particular very important item could be found. Which (interesting sidenote) was interesting, because usually, everything important was to be found in the suburbs.
Anyway, it is believed that Renaissance Man entered the RenCen through the Jefferson Avenue portal, although no one can recall for sure why that is believed. But the point is that, upon entering, he was somehow swallowed up and has since never left. Some say that there are others as well and that upon occasion you can see them wandering around the circular walkway, flickering in and out of view like old human-shaped television sets with bad reception. You might recognize them as standing out from the crowd because they are the only ones not tethered to a cell phone or earbuds. And of course, because they appear to be caught between dimensions.
They also mutter a lot and talk to themselves, paying no attention to anyone around them, but then that could be anyone these days.
