The curtain is rising on Gordon Square Arts District. Last week’s groundbreaking for the renovation of 1920s-era movie palace, Capitol Theatre, finally provides the West side with an indie film house. Nonprofit Detroit-Shoreway Community Development Organization owns the building and will oversee the $7 million facelift.

The confluence of $24 million to renovate storefronts and install a new streetscape at W. 65th Street and Detroit Avenue, an area once riddled with crime, and the creative programming force of Cleveland Public Theatre’s James Levin are a model for reinvention and a reminder that the best artist communities often grow naturally and, sometimes, over the space of 15 years.