Famous people's places / Detroit – Downtown
The Hand of God
Carl Milles's monumental bronze sculpture of a man rising from a giant hand, standing outside Detroit's Frank Murphy Hall of Justice since the courthouse opened in 1970.
01 / The story of this place
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Swedish-American sculptor Carl Milles created The Hand of God, a monumental bronze figure of a nude man emerging from an enormous cupped hand, as a meditation on divine creation and human vulnerability; Milles made several versions of the theme, and a casting was placed outside Detroit's Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, the Wayne County criminal courthouse named for the former Michigan governor, US Supreme Court justice and Detroit mayor. The courthouse, a modernist tower on St. Antoine Street in downtown Detroit, opened in 1970 and remains the seat of Wayne County's criminal courts. Milles, who taught for decades at the nearby Cranbrook Academy of Art and became one of the most prolific public sculptors in the United States, died in 1955, so this casting was installed posthumously as part of the building's design. The dramatic statue has become a landmark and a favorite photo backdrop outside the courthouse entrance.
- Bronze sculpture by Carl Milles, longtime Cranbrook Academy of Art sculpture teacher
- Stands outside the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, which opened in 1970
- Named for former Michigan governor and US Supreme Court justice Frank Murphy
- Milles died in 1955; the casting was installed after his death
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 3
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Carl Milles 1875–1955 · sculptor
Worked here
A casting of his sculpture of a man rising from a giant hand, dedicated to Justice Frank Murphy.
- Frank Murphy 1890–1949 · mayor of Detroit, governor, U.S. Supreme Court justice
Memorial
Courthouse named after him, once home of the Recorder's Court and now part of the Third Circuit Court; a first-floor plaque is a Michigan Legal Milestone.
- Kym Worthy born 1956 · prosecutor, judge
Worked here
Home of the former Recorder's Court and of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, where she has worked as prosecutor and judge.
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
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