Are you familiar with the orange man on top of a hill?

Several orange men have places on rooftops in Detroit

Are you familiar with the mysterious orange man on top of a hill? You might have seen him if you've driven along I-96 near South Lyon.

Or, maybe, you've seen one of the several orange men on rooftops all over Detroit. So, what are they? What do they represent? Local 4 is tackling this mystery.

From nearby Grand River Avenue you can enter the James Atchison Memorial Park and if you're willing to take a hike through weeds and up a hill on what used to be a landfill you can reach the top.

John Sauve created the sculpture along the freeway as part of a larger project called Man in the City. He said the sculpture means whatever you think it means.

On the first day the man on the hill was installed an angry mother called the South Lyon city manager to complain. She wanted the sculpture taken down, that was eight years ago. Since then there haven't been any more complaints, just curiosity.

There are little men around Detroit too. The Detroit Historical Society has one and the Detroit Opera House has two. But the creator won't tell where they all are.

Sauve said he wishes the arts wasn't the first thing cut when communities make budget cuts.

Watch the video above for the full report.


About the Authors:

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.