Here's a small sort of urban grit tour of Saginaw, Michigan.  For those who don't know, Saginaw is located about 100 miles north of Detroit.  It has a population of 60,000, (400,000 metro) which has declined significantly from the 100,000 people in the 1960's.  The losses are attributed to the movement of automotive and manufacturing jobs overseas and elevated crime rates within the inner city.  Currently, Saginaw has the highest violent crime rate in the State of Michigan (measured/1000 people) far surpassing Detroit.  This has made an urban renaissance in Saginaw difficult, but there are visible signs of improvement occuring across the city. 

 

Saginaw originally used to be two seperate cities, seperated by a river.  Because of this merger, Saginaw has two downtowns, one on the East side, and one on the West.  The differences on each side of the river are noticeable.  While west side neighborhoods and business districts remain vibrant and stable, East side neighborhoods are plagued by gang violence, poverty, and blocks of abandoned houses.  Currently, private and public organizations are working to improve conditions in East Saginaw from building new homes, to sponsoring after school programs for teens.

 

In recent years, the west side has experienced a spike in violent crime.  We eventually moved out of the inner city, but I still have faith in Saginaw, and I believe that there is the ability for great change.

 

Before I start the tour, here are some demographics.

 

Official City Population 61,799 (2000 census)

Racial Makeup: 47% white, 43% African American, 12% Hispanic, 5.86% Other races (source: wikipedia)

 

I copied this photo tour from a thread I posted elsewhere over a year ago on a Mid Michigan forum, so excuse me if I get too precise on some captions.

 

On with the photo tour!

 

Downtown!

 

EAST SIDE

 

This is Saginaw's train depot.  It's located on the Northeast side, probably one of the worst parts of the city.  It's a neighborhood that was destroyed by the freeway construction, industrial pollution, and unemployment.  It's an area most Saginaw residents will tell you to never be.  I'm not sure when the train station closed.  It was torched by arson not long ago, but the city (when it had money) rebuilt portions of the inside and put a roof on.  They've been holding on to it, but there is no for sale sign.  I'm wondering if maybe there will be some grand plan for this area. 

 

Here's a pano.  This was actually the last pic I took of the station, because I heard a gunshot close by and decided to get the hell out!  :blink:

 

 

 

 

I decided to cross back beneath I-675 and look for some interesting stuff over near the Genesee corridor.  There's a lot of abandonment, but some houses like this could still be saved.

 

Warehouse with missing floors

 

I don't remember what used to be on this corner.  I have a wild guess Montgomery Wards used to be here, since I had heard there was one downtown a long time ago.  There was also a Jacobsons which remained faithful to its downtown location before the chain went dead.  It had really helped bring people downtown, and was actually quite succesful despite all of its suburban competition.

 

I like the arches on this building. 

 

Can't forget the arches on the Citizens Bank Building

 

WEST SIDE - HAMILTON SQUARE

I crossed the river onto the West side where we find this forgotten doorway beneath the Court Street Bridge.

 

These style of windows exist everywhere around this part of town.

 

 

The court street bridge was rebuilt upon the piers and support structure of the old bridge. 

 

Gotta love the brick streets.

 

The 303 Adams Warehouse is now owned by a company that manufactures tile and other flooring.  Hopefully they'll remove the "Available Space" sign which still has the old 517 area code on it.

 

How about publishing a new sign?

 

Warehouses and night clubs along Niagara St.

 

I'm suprised this building is actually occupied.  All 4 sides looks like this, I'd hate to work there.

 

So that concludes the urban grit portion of this photo thread.  Hopefully you didn't get the wrong impression of the city.  There are a lot of really nice parts of Saginaw, and some amazing architecture.  Anyway, it's time to get to something more positive, RENOVATIONS!  There will also be a few misc. pics thrown in.

 

Quite the contrast from the original.  This building is the third oldest in Saginaw.  A new upscale seafood restaurant will be on the first floor with lofts on the second and third levels.  The building behind it is also being renovated.

 

The finishing touches are put on the last building to receive a facade repair and repainting on Court Street.

 

Some renovated Hamilton Street businesses.  Lofts and apartments are on the top floor.  This area gets quite busy on weekends.  There's a bunch of bars, cafes, restaurants, unique shops, a theater, and night clubs nearby.

 

This restaurant and hotel reopened a few weeks ago after the entire building was renovated.

 

Gotta put that two car garage somewhere. 

 

This block has a sad story.  Throughout the last decade it experienced two major fires.  One brought down the historic 7 story Saginaw Hotel.  When the building collapsed, it fell onto a neighboring building engulfing it in flames.  Years later, an apartment fire on the third floor of another building on that block spread through the attic into neighboring buildings next door.  Only three original structures survive.  The building on the far left is brand new, and has a nice design actually.  A 4-5 story office building is slated to go up next door.  You can still see a chunk of the facade of the building that once existed next door above the Jimmy John's section. 

 

Ahh, the Samari, or once was the Samari.  The restaurant went out of business and the building is being renovated to apartments on the second floor with retail or restaurant space on the ground floor.  And I hope it gets painted differently.

 

This building used to be abandoned, but someone moved in.  The boards were removed, new windows were installed, and all the lights are on.  There's also alot of construction work going on inside.

Now I'll switch back to the East Side where we find these two renovated buildings on Janes.  There will be retail on the ground floor and lofts on the second.

 

Now for two random images

Side of the Saginaw Waterworks.  Hate to brag, but we got the best damn sewage plant in Michigan  :thumbsup: Sometime I should go pay the waterbill in person there.  I've actually never been inside.

 

The Zilwaukee Bridge carries I-75 over the Saginaw River.  It rises 125 feet and covers a distance of 1.3 miles.  Defects in construction have caused a series of closures since its opening in the late 80's, but it still serves its purpose well.

 

 

 

THE END

 

Wow! With those first few photos, I was beginning to think that Saginaw was competing with Gary, Indiana for Worst in the Midwest. Pretty sad.

 

The efforts at bringing back life are heartening; I wish them success!

 

 

Nice work, I enjoyed!

 

Keep them coming!

looks like we found the lorain of michigan.

 

wow, the waterworks building is a jaw dropper.

 

The Lansing of Michigan.

That waterworks is astonishing...very cool...

 

The Lansing of Michigan.

 

No I promise you I will never take pictures of the "skyline" from hospital parking garages.  Promise.

We don't have towers named Boji either.

 

 

I forgot to mention that nearly 75% of Saginaw's downtown was demolished for urban renewal projects.  What came in its place was  new state and federal buildings, an arena and large auditorium, along with a shopping mall, and a new hotel.  Other blocks that were entirely leveled were for office buildings that never came.  Today, the state office building is half empty, the federal building was demolished, the mall is abandoned, but the hotel, arena, and auditorium are doing very well and have done expansions.  But the other projects which leveled blocks of businesses are gone.  The building where I worked this summer used to be in the middle of it all surrounded by a couple of nice 7 and 10 stories buildings in the heart of the shopping district.  They are gone and now it's the only building left standing on the block.  Across the street are a few scattered buildings that managed to remain

 

Here's a shot from the roof of where I worked.

I remember my parents taking me into this large ten floor furniture store where that green grass triangle is.  The store still exists, but in the suburbs in huge 1 level warehouse type structure.  :-(

 

And from the ground.  Besides the Citizens Bank building, I felt like we were the only building downtown that was 100% occupied.

 

Across the street is the historical museum and the old Police Station which is being turned into lofts and retail.  The good thing is Saginaw's museums and schools are doing well, which helps make the problems with the city a lot less complex.

 

A shot just outside the downtown

 

 

It all seems very depressing, but major steps have been taken to improve the city.  The city's biomedical sector has grown significantly, and new hi-tech industry is moving in.  The loss of automotive jobs has slowed despite increases elsewhere, and the population isn't dropping as quickly as it used to (although the metro is growing).  If only the issues with violent crime, drugs, gangs, etc can be addressed can Saginaw improve.

 

 

 

 

 

interesting & all too familiar rustbelt history. hmm, 75% of lorain's downtown was also destroyed. keep the pics coming!

It appears to be in better shape, or at least have more architectural integrity then Lorain. The waterworks building is stunning!

^ it sure does seem in better shape, lorain never recovered from a tornado in the 1920's. i'd like hayward to hit us w/ some saginaw housing too sometime.

that is a badass sewage plant.

 

I'm also fond of clevelands........