Port Detroit Building Re-Named For Carl Levin

DETROIT (WWJ) - The Wayne County-Detroit Port Authority Building is now the Carl Levin Building.

The senior U.S. Senator of Michigan was honored Thursday morning at the Detroit River, where the Port Authority building now displays his name and a bronze plaque.

Levin, who will retire next year, was recognized for helping the project take shape along the river, starting back in 1998.

He said returning the river to the public has been part of the city's story the past 40 years.

"There's a romantic yearning; there's an economic component to it -- but it's a spiritual need for people to come back to where they began, and particularly if it involves water," Levin said.

"We're in love with our river, and somehow or other true love will find a way," Levin said. "We're finding a way with our people, with the great leaders who we have, to come back to our river and to make it our own again."

Since the building opened in 2001, Port Detroit has hosted 60 Great Lakes cruise ships and thousands of visitors to the city.