Hayward

The entrance on that one building is incredible. If only they could do that stuff today more often

Stunning architecture!

Both states

^ Thanks Rob! Grand Rapids is unusually impressive...even for Michiganders. I feel it's way ahead of the game in so many categories. BTW, you all should check out this guy's GR photo stream. Some incredible photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliott_andrew/3661521145/in/set-72157606347897556/ And stay tuned for my N Monroe/Medical Mile, Downtown, and East Grand Rapids threads. Lots more interesting architecture to come.

Great photos! I applied for a job and had a tour for a firm in the above building. Basically its ridiculously amazing inside.

I can't thank you enough for saying this. While I am LEED AP, after you read deeply into the manual you begin to question the whole system and why some credits are not worth more than others. Sustainability should be a standard, not a reward IMO

Well.............. They tried

Mt Elliot/Palmer in Detroit.....there's nothing there except for Packard Plant. Theoretically if the (shutting down vacated parts of cities) plan works itself out, I suppose we could do without this neighborhood completely since there's maybe 4 houses/block. Crime may move elsewhere, but then again you have cops patrolling less areas.

Great photos! Downtown still has a lot of density to be proud of.

Isn't it interesting to think about that? Like, the building I live in is as old as my grandmother. To think of all the people that lived here, and what my apartment looked like back in the 20's. The original phone is still mounted to the wall, but of course doesn't work lol.

The first one is like nothing I've ever seen. That porchlike structure is incredible. There really needs to be more effort to preserve these buildings.

Great photos! Wish I could live there.

There's a particular building stock built in the 40's and I wish I knew the appropriate name for it. Alot of these homes were small, square, and brick. Some had some elaborate stonework around the foundation and front doorways. I'd like to see these types of homes preserved. What's great is there are hundreds of blocks of these homes in many cities that are still intact.

So it appears my university doesn't want me anymore. I was at Ann Arbor's summer festival and decided to get a beverage (cheaper from the machines) around 10:00 pm. The university buildings lock at night, but I had my student ID. I went to swipe it and....ACCESS DENIED! Since I just graduated, it appears they've turned it off. $100,000, two degrees, and being employed with the U for two years you'd AT LEAST think they'd give me night access to buildings on campus for a few more years. :x

Here's an interesting question. Do you think this might increase crime? You always hear at festivals and big events when crowds gather purses, wallets, and cellphones are stolen. I feel like when everyone is up on the sidewalk there's a lot more eyes watching. With everyone scattered about I feel like these incidents would be less conspicuous. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know.

Thanks for the comments guys! mrnyc, about 4 years ago I got an internship in GR. My family drove through this neighborhood and at that time, new development had only begun with a few brave souls. It was a very rough area and tons of abandoned buildings. Most of this development happened simultaneously and is still continuing. Just about everything has been rehabbed except for one single block where a row of buildings is sinking. Surprisingly, these warehouse renovations are relatively small compared to ones on the North and westsides which are absolutely massive. That will actually be my second thread and downtown will be 3rd. I really love GR and would definitely live there. I had actually been offered a job there, but when the recession hit, a lot of architects were losing jobs and that offer basically evaporated.

State Dumps Dirt on Ramp With the approaches for a new cable stay suspension bridge already built, the state dumped dirt all over the pavement in attempt to stop further construction. http://freep.com/article/20090623/COL12/90623037/Detroit+bridge+company+accuses+state+of+dumping+dirt+on+newly+paved+ramp

Love some of those higher up views. Nice to see a few off the streets.

Heartside is a Neighborhood of Grand Rapids located South of downtown. An arena (which will be in my downtown tour) anchors the north end of the district. Only a few of the large warehouses have yet to be rehabbed into lofts. There's still a ton of new construction going on despite the recession. I'm not familiar with GR, but I believe there are plans to put in a streetcar system, which should really help connect this area to downtown. I plan to make a second thread of downtown. View over the Heartside neighborhood Tha End! :-D

It's part of the Guthrie Museum.

it destroyed the entire fourth floor. Two winters have devastated the lower floors. All the brick walls of the exterior remain intact though. A man who committed suicide by barricading and igniting himself was responsible for the fire.

You'll have to run it on Fusion or Parallel on a Mac, and be sure to allocate additional ram and do not run safari browser simultaneously. I won a key on simtropolis.

Excellent tour ink. With most of my family there, I've really come to love this city.

Nice shots. I really need to learn hdr. Took a walk through Detroit's middle eastern neighborhood of Warrendale and fell victim to wonderful Detroit cuisine Swear these were the best wings I've had in ages.

Actually he's somewhat correct. I've gotten away with walking in with a blank 8.5x11 sheet removed from the trash all folded up. Yeah..........got my tickets online.......... Nah, I wouldn't really recommend that. I got lucky, but have paid the $11.50 typically.