Yeah, you pretty much got the whole metro (even Flint, Port Huron, and Mt. Clemens!) except for the Whore herself + Birmingham.  I think I even see Warren Avenue in Dearborn in one of those photos.  And wow @ that shot of the Silverdome and downtown.  Quite a distance between the two. 

Here you go...

 

 

Birmingham

 

Ann Arbor (best I got..)

 

 

Wow, the sheer magnitude of the city is startling.  It's built on a much grander scale than any Ohio city.  It makes the emptiness that much more shocking.  What great downtown architecture also.  Awesome thread.

This is really an awesome thread. It shows the good stuff and the devastation/urban prairie. If you just view downtown, Detroit still looks like a huge city despite the fact it's now well under 1 million people. There are still dense sections of old skyscrapers that look like pockets of New York City. Then you get a little outside downtown, and there's practically nothing (at least occupied). There are some urban prairies very close to the core. It's such a sad, haunting place. With that said, I just see it as a larger scale version of Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo. I don't know why Detroit is always singled out in the media. You can find similar poverty and devastation in other Rust Belt cities.

 

I really love the location though. The river is gorgeous and this is one of the busiest spots on the Great Lakes for shipping activity. I love those freighters! Further north, Port Huron is another great spot for freighter watching, plus they've got Lake Huron.

^Here's a shot of some of the freighters near Port Huron/Sarnia.

 

^^I don't think that Cleveland has actual acres of grassland so close to downtown, at least not on that scale. We tend to pave over that stuff so we can park on it.  I think Detroit gets singled out also because it was obviously such a prominent and densely populated city.  The skyline almost looks like Philadelphia.  The contrast is just so much more startling than it would be in Cleveland, Toledo, etc.

Great shots!  Any idea what they use those old lake steamers for in the picture below?  It is odd that they are docked next to that facility.

 

I believe those are the old Boblo Island boats. Boblo Island is a defunct island amusement park that you had to take the ferry to reach.

 

http://www.boblosteamers.com/history.html

Wonderful photo set! It really gives a comprehensive view of the city that I don't think would be possible to get on the ground without living there. Sharp, crisp photos in perfect light.

Those pictures are incredible. In some I know something is missing... old Cass Tech... Too bad you didn't get shots of Toledo... ;)

 

I wonder if there's someplace where you could see both Flint and Detroit skylines from the same vantage point... or even Detroit and Toledo...

You get an F....a big giant F for not getting Ann Arbor!!!!  Just kidding.  What a complete set!  Some of the angles are absolutely incredible.

Wow!

 

What an impressive set of photos! Thanks for sharing. From looking at pics of the skyline, you would think Detroit is still a bustling city and one of America's largest. Sadly, neither is true for Detroit.

Agree these are some great photos!

 

Which neighborhoods were the photos which had older A-frame neighborhoods largely intact?

^ Hamtramck, which is an enclave of Detroit.

Fantastic set of photos!  BTW, part of the reason that Detroit has been singled out for it's devastation is the large scale burning of the city that continues year round.  Detroit has more fires than New York City (or any city) and most of the vacant lots that can be seen in the photos were the result of arson.  Television crews from around the world having been going to Detroit for 30 years to document Devils Night and show just how crazy us Americans are.

powerful!