What was built over several decades, is coming down in less than a year.
Last night, the fifth house in the world-renowned art installation on Detroit's east side was burned.
The Heidelberg Project's Clock House burned last night around 11 p.m., according to the Detroit News:
The suspicious fire tore through the Clock House, near Elba Place and Ellery, about 10:50 p.m. Sunday, according to Battalion Chief Edward Voss. Smoke rolled through the neighborhood, blanketing it like fog. Fire crews arrived within five to seven minutes, but it wasn’t enough time to save the art display, said Voss.
It's the fifth house to be destroyed by arson in the last two months.
Heidelberg supporters wonder if the remaining three houses will be standing at the end of the year.
The three remaining houses, according to the News, are the Dot House, the Numbers House, and the Teddy Bear House.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, and the agency is assisting the Detroit Fire Department in investigating the fires.
The News reports that police have not made specific plans to increase patrols in the Heidelberg area.
Heidelberg organizers have raised nearly $39,000 toward a goal of $50,000 to increase lighting and private patrols in the two-block area.
Michigan Radio's Emily Fox spoke with Guyton after the third house, the Penny House, was burned. Guyton told Fox the fires have inspired him to make more art:
“No matter what happens, the arson fires, the demolitions, that magic in here keeps telling me, do it, do it, don’t stop. Oh, it gives me energy, I’m saying turn it up. I’m like, that’s the best you got?,” Guyton says.
Guyton began the Heidelberg Project in 1986 to call attention to the extreme blight in Detroit's neighborhoods. Anyone who has information about the fires is asked to call the arson unit at the Detroit Fire Department (313-596-2940), or the ATF at 888-ATF-FIRE.
