Places / People Mover / Stop 8 of 13
Detroit People Mover stationRenaissance Center
The station at the foot of the Renaissance Center, demolished in 2002 and rebuilt in 2004; the busiest on the system in 2024.
- Code
- RC
- Current station
- November 22, 2004
- Boardings 2024
- 170,756 (1st)
- Boardings 2014
- 487,758 (2nd)
01 / Story
The station’s story
The original station opened in 1987, built into the massive concrete berm that walled the Renaissance Center off from the city. When General Motors opened the complex up to downtown in the early 2000s, the berms and the station were demolished in September 2002, cutting the loop for two years. The new station opened in 2004: its lobby is on the RenCen’s second level, linked to the platform by a skybridge, with a street entrance by lift on Jefferson Avenue.
The demolition destroyed George Woodman’s tile mural “Dreamers and Voyagers Come to Detroit”; the artist designed “Path Games” for the new station, 2,625 tiles in all. In the lobby stands “Siberian Ram”, a bronze by Marshall Fredericks, sculptor of the Spirit of Detroit, against green Pewabic tiles (1993).
It has always been among the busiest stations: second in 2014 with 487,758 boardings behind Greektown. It reopened after the pandemic on September 14, 2022 and took first place in 2024 with 170,756 boardings. It can be reached through the building from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at weekends; after 10 p.m. non-hotel guests take the lift down to Jefferson Avenue.
- The busiest station of 2024
- Marshall Fredericks’s bronze “Siberian Ram”
- George Woodman’s “Path Games”
- Direct access to the Renaissance Center and the Riverwalk
02 / From the window
What you see from the car
From the platform, the Riverwalk and the river lie to the south, with Windsor beyond. Here the loop starts to climb as the car turns north above Beaubien Street toward old Bricktown.
03 / Art in the Stations
Art at this station
George Woodman · 1987
Dreamers and Voyagers Come to Detroit
tile mural (destroyed 2002)
Hundreds of coloured hexagonal tiles designed to connect in endless combinations; destroyed with the original station in 2002.
George Woodman · 2004
Path Games
tile mural, 2,625 tiles
The artist’s new work for the rebuilt station: 2,625 square tiles echoing its lost predecessor.
Marshall M. Fredericks · 1993
Siberian Ram
bronze sculpture
A bronze ram by the sculptor of “The Spirit of Detroit”, set against green Pewabic tiles between two panels of Path Games.
04 / Timeline
Station timeline
The original station
Built into the concrete berm, with George Woodman’s hexagonal tile mural.
“Siberian Ram”
Marshall Fredericks’s bronze ram arrives.
Demolition
Along with the berms and the Woodman mural.
The new station
With the “Path Games” mural.
Reopens
In the third post-pandemic wave.
Number one
170,756 boardings, overtaking Greektown.
The station is part of the loop today; today’s departures are shown above, per timetable.
05 / Curiosities
Curiosities
In Real Steel (2011) the Jefferson Avenue entrance with its “Jetsons-style” People Mover played “Tarryton Towers”.
Poor soil at the Renaissance Center meant more than $1 million of underground reinforcement during the original construction.
A closer look
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
Every figure is compiled from the sources below, including the DTC’s official pages, board minutes and its 2025–2026 planning documents. Where sources differ, we give both. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed and credited per author.
06 / Nearby
A short walk away
Places, restaurants and venues from our guide, with straight-line distance and an estimated walking time.
2 min walk · 142 mRenaissance CenterThe glass towers that define Detroit’s riverfront skyline, right beside the Riverwalk.- 4 min walk · 272 mThe Elephant RoomA bar and kitchen next to Saint Andrew's Hall in Bricktown, with an outdoor patio and a wide range of DJ nights.
4 min walk · 275 mSaint Andrew’s HallAn intimate concert experience inside a historic Detroit community hall.
6 min walk · 394 mThe Spirit of DetroitA city symbol: a green bronze figure holding a golden sphere and a family.
7 min walk · 409 mMonument to Joe Louis — The FistThe Fist: a monumental gesture connecting boxing history with wider struggles for equality.
7 min walk · 420 mDetroit RiverwalkWater, skyline views, and room to move: one of Detroit’s best settings for an unhurried walk.- 7 min walk · 450 mSolo Latin-éBilled as Detroit's only all-Latin burlesque and drag revue, staged each year around Latin Heritage Month.
8 min walk · 469 mMotor City PrideMichigan's largest Pride festival: two June days of stages, drag and DJs at Hart Plaza, plus a Sunday parade downtown.
8 min walk · 483 mGuardian BuildingColorful tile, geometric patterns, and an Art Deco skyscraper with an extraordinary interior.
Around the station
- GM Renaissance Center and Wintergarden the station’s building
Detroit’s tallest complex, with its glass-roofed Wintergarden.
- Detroit Riverwalk 3 min
The riverfront promenade starting behind the RenCen.
- Hart Plaza 8 min
Festivals and riverfront monuments.
07 / Events
Events near this station
Upcoming events at nearby venues, from our event guide.
No events at nearby venues in our guide right now.
All events ↗