Love the interior of the Guardian Building.

wow...just wow.  Interesting.

Amazing.  The thread's overall theme of "urban decay", interspliced with images of the GM building, draws on the not too subtle parallels between the two extremely well.  Especially convincing are the 9 lane roads, the complex intersections, and many surface lots, completely barren of any and all traffic.

Brush Park :(

Detroit will rise again.

 

Honestly, I think the best thing for Detroit would be a huge natural disaster like an unprecedented tornado. At least then, the federal government would be forced to take action on the city.

Where are the people?

I just want to cry.  Detroit might go down in history as one of the greatest rises to power and then falls from grace in history.  Truly depressing.

They are in cars.

Lots of Party Stores in Detroit.

 

Little to celebrate :(

Detroit is such a city of contrasts. Some areas are beautiful, but then, I really can't believe how horrible some of these buildings are. Are people having cook-outs in some of these houses?

 

I don't think Detroit will ever rise again.  At least Michigan has the lakes and the northern part of the state...

I don't think Detroit will ever rise again.  At least Michigan has the lakes and the northern part of the state...

 

Agreed.  Detroits economy isn't diverse and Detroit seems more reluctant to change than Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Minn.

I havent been to Detroit since I was like 9, but the one odd thing that I always remember is the steam coming from the man hole covers. I think GM could've done alot more with their headquarters than that massive cluster of buildings. Just like the Museum Plaza i'm sure some hate it and some love it though.

Wow, in the wealthest country on earth, this should not be! So sad!

I don't think Detroit will ever rise again. At least Michigan has the lakes and the northern part of the state...

 

Agreed. Detroits economy isn't diverse and Detroit seems more reluctant to change than Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Minn.

 

Detroit lacks a lot of the assets that have helped these other cities... for example, it never developed a cluster of elite educational institutions... UMichigan is nearby... but it's not Detroit.  It has an under-skilled, overpaid workforce.  And while there are some magnificent individual art deco structures... the cityscape does little to inspire confidence in an urban renaissance.  It's the archetype of the automobile dystopia.  It has some impressive suburbs, but the core city is devoid of "superstar" neighborhoods that can generate self-sustaining investment, development and population attraction.  I'm sure I'll get some flak, but I feel like speaking my mind.  I really don't hold out much hope for Detroit. 

 

One asset Detroit does have, however... is a significantly higher birth rate than many of its neighbors... and a larger immigrant community (esp. Arab communities).  This has helped offset a portion of its staggering out-migration this decade.  Continued flight will probably erode this, however.  With the auto sector tanking, there is little to attract anyone to Detroit, which strains under a toxic business/labor climate, corporate flight (Comerica), depressed entrepreneurship and innovation capacity, and a dysfunctional and decimated urban core. 

I was up in Detroit last week for business and in September as well with my bf and Detroit is definitely a fascinating city to say the least! I think downtown is quite nice, although it does have its rough parts; the buildings are absolutely stunning! I was fortunate enough to be staying at the Westin Book-Cadillac and I was very, very impressed!

 

Lots of things about the city fascinate me. These include the wide streets, Michigan lefts, New Center, the car plants, the social/political/economic dividers that are Alter Road and 8 Mile Road, the bustling suburbs (i.e. Birmingham, Royal Oak), and the old train station off of Vernor Highway West and Michigan Avenue (which is very impressive coming down I-96 to downtown).

 

Also, I noticed a few things about the city that I thought were very odd, or at least a bit strange. Why are almost all the freeways below-ground? Except for a few portions, every single freeway was below-ground and had a service drive running above it. Also, how did the address numbering system get so large? But nonetheless, a very fascinating city all its own!

Beautiful shots.

I don't think Detroit will ever rise again.  At least Michigan has the lakes and the northern part of the state...

 

Agreed.  Detroits economy isn't diverse and Detroit seems more reluctant to change than Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Minn.

 

Detroit lacks a lot of the assets that have helped these other cities... for example, it never developed a cluster of elite educational institutions... UMichigan is nearby... but it's not Detroit.  It has an under-skilled, overpaid workforce.  And while there are some magnificent individual art deco structures... the cityscape does little to inspire confidence in an urban renaissance.  It's the archetype of the automobile dystopia.  It has some impressive suburbs, but the core city is devoid of "superstar" neighborhoods that can generate self-sustaining investment, development and population attraction.  I'm sure I'll get some flak, but I feel like speaking my mind.  I really don't hold out much hope for Detroit. 

 

One asset Detroit does have, however... is a significantly higher birth rate than many of its neighbors... and a larger immigrant community (esp. Arab communities).  This has helped offset a portion of its staggering out-migration this decade.  Continued flight will probably erode this, however.  With the auto sector tanking, there is little to attract anyone to Detroit, which strains under a toxic business/labor climate, corporate flight (Comerica), depressed entrepreneurship and innovation capacity, and a dysfunctional and decimated urban core. 

 

I agree almost 100%. I have some relatives in the suburbs outside Detroit, and for suburbs, they have some really great ones.  Suburban Detroit can be very pleasant, but once you get to the city...not so much.

Excellent photography, both from an artistic and a technical standpoint. The images are strong in composition and visual content, and well-lighted and razor-sharp in detail. I love this set!

Amazing shots, love the D, the good and the bad - it is a fascinating place.

That picture of the junk car with the teddy bears in it really takes me back.  I was living in Detroit, near Wayne State, and I brought this girl home from the bar.  Skip ahead to the morning, and it turns out she drives a Chevette spray painted blue with a big superman symbol on the hood.  The car is filled with mutilated dolls, including one with no head that must always sit between us.  She was a musician too.

 

Anyway, one thing inner city Detroit has going for it is the massive street festivals.  Nothing I've ever seen can compare.  Dally in the Alley is the best one.  I think it's the weekend after Labor Day every year.  Fourth Street Fair is the other one I remember.  They had a band playing on top of flaming appliances with female wrestling on the stage behind them.  Detroit can be really fun, in an end of the world sorta way.

The mood here is captured well for the city at the moment. 

 

Back in 2005, things appeared much different.  Houses in Brush park were beginning their "pre-renovations," buildings downtown were being fixed up, our stadiums were bright and shiny, and though struggling... the auto industry did not seem to be on the brink of disaster.  Today a lot more has been lost.  If not a difficult market for new development around the city, the global market has made it impossible.  Foreclosure has devastated tens of thousands of more homes in just a few years, and much of what has just been built sits empty.

 

I really can't say things will get much better soon when the city faces a crisis of non-existence.  If you've been following Detroit news locally, just about every facet of this city faces disaster.

 

Detroit will rise again, but in an entirely different form.  There's no such thing as failure forever, just as there is no such thing as perpetual success.  When the city does revive itself, I can most certainly guarantee you that very few things you see in these photos will exist in 30 years.  Even at this point, at least half a dozen of Fang's photos show buildings who's futures are numbered in days.  Its best gems like the guardian and fisher buildings will continue to exist for another century, but their surroundings will have made drastic adjustments.

 

I really love these Detroit threads, and appreciate how well you captured the city considering it was such a rushed tour.  Not to mention your photos are stunning of a particular building that at least 90% of photographers have an impossible time photographing with such low light.

Thank you!

 

Ian, thanks for the insights on Detroit, and for your hospitality.  We'll have to do another Detroit tour some time.  I didn't get enough Ann Arbor pics to justify its own thread, and didn't want to detract from the Detroit vibe in this one, so maybe I'll post them some time.  Regardless of what happens to Detroit, I will always love it! (Unless it becomes completely suburbanized).

Michigan Central Station, 1987

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbtyUsnrY2I

 

This just breaks my heart!

And for you youngin who don't remember the imfamous Devils Nights in Detroit, look that up on YouTube as well.  Blocks after block after block of Detroit was burned down throughout the years during the late 70's and throughout the 80's. The event started to ebb in the 90's.

 

I love Detroit, but I too feel it will never come back until it admits, like Cleveland has to some extent, that it must come back different, smaller, better.  It needs to reinvent itself.

I read that this year's Devil's Night fires were way fewer even than last year's. I don't know if that's from better prevention and control, or just because everything that would burn has already been burned.

 

In the mid-eighties I boarded a train to Toledo at Michigan Central Station. Aside from four or five people waiting for the train, I think the only people in the building were the ticket agent and one cop working in a sort of precinct office there. The building was getting shabby and dusty, and some areas were barricaded off with plywood partitions, but it was intact and showed no vandalism or tagging. The lobby area was vast and grand.

 

To kill time until my train I walked around the outside of the building to look it over. The cop cautioned me that I shouldn't be out there by myself. That was in the middle of the afternoon. I didn't see anyone else around except for one or two cars that passed on a nearby street.

 

A recently-deceased friend of mine used to work for MDOT out of an office in that building. He said it never lived up to the developers' expectations as commercial space, and except during the WWII era, only a very small portion of it was ever occupied.

I agree almost 100%. I have some relatives in the suburbs outside Detroit, and for suburbs, they have some really great ones.  Suburban Detroit can be very pleasant, but once you get to the city...not so much.

 

Yes, but that can be said for many of our former big cities.  Cleveland still has many areas which are nice inside.  I'll look at St. Louis, DC, Philadelphia.

 

Those cities, and I'm ashamed to admit I've seen them, beautiful suburbs.  Philly 'burbs are spectacular. 

 

But the perception (my own) and real issue with Detroit is that so much business moved out of the city.  Our offices in cities throughout the country are in the heart of every city.  Not Detroit.  People (based on information at my company) are afraid to move/work in Detroit proper.

 

It doesn't feel safe or look clean.

Does anyone hold out any hope for Mich. Central with the incoming president and his strong rail promices?

Downtown Detroit really isn't bad at all, and it has some residential base.  The abandoned skyscrapers are disturbing but the place is still functional despite them.  There is potential for a decent stretch all the way from there to New Center.  Otherwise, I agree with Evergrey regarding the lack of anchor neighborhoods.  Mexicantown is an exception, though it's not all that far from downtown.  What I don't get is did these neighborhoods never develop, or have they been torn down? 

I don't think we'll ever see MCS converted into rail purposes ever again.  It's far too distant from downtown to be a convenient destination.  Much of the passanger rail has already moved up to New Center as well.  Freight trains still pass through and perhaps the international trading center is still the best re-use for the facility.

 

Keep in mind, the building is privately owned, and the current owner is so powerful, that not even the federal government can strong arm this building from his grasp.  There's more than enough money to renovate this building a hundred times over, but the owner is far too stubburn to do anything.

 

I agree 327, downtown is still very functional, but it could be far better if the neighborhoods could support it.  While many people work downtown, there's not a whole lot of places to shop or eat which would require the residential base to support it. 

 

Did the neighborhoods ever develop?  They did, in fact they were once quite dense.  As Detroit declined, most of everything was demolished that was vacant.

Does anyone hold out any hope for Mich. Central with the incoming president and his strong rail promices?

 

We're not likely to see any change there soon, in my opinion. The size and devastated condition of the building mean that there'd have to be a lot of commercial tenants in addition to passenger service to justify the huge cost of making it serviceable, and its physical location doesn't make it likely that a lot of office tenants will be lining up in the near future to lease space.

I agree almost 100%. I have some relatives in the suburbs outside Detroit, and for suburbs, they have some really great ones.  Suburban Detroit can be very pleasant, but once you get to the city...not so much.

 

Yes, but that can be said for many of our former big cities.  Cleveland still has many areas which are nice inside.  I'll look at St. Louis, DC, Philadelphia.

 

Those cities, and I'm ashamed to admit I've seen them, beautiful suburbs.  Philly 'burbs are spectacular. 

 

But the perception (my own) and real issue with Detroit is that so much business moved out of the city.  Our offices in cities throughout the country are in the heart of every city.  Not Detroit.  People (based on information at my company) are afraid to move/work in Detroit proper.

 

It doesn't feel safe or look clean.

 

DC has some of the nicest suburbs I've ever seen as well.  Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Silver Spring in MD and Alexandria and a few of the parts of Arlington in VA are very nice. 

 

As long as there are equally nice parts in the city, I see nothing wrong with having nice suburbs.

I had heard that at one time there was a proposal put fourth to turn the MCS into the new police headquarters. Whatever happen to that idea???? 

the woodward corridor has some nice burbs, but try driving down gratiot.  that suburban landscape is bleak and featureless, with thrift stores aplenty. 

I had heard that at one time there was a proposal put fourth to turn the MCS into the new police headquarters. Whatever happen to that idea????

 

From wikipedia:

 

Detroit Police Headquarters - In 2004 Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced that the city was pursuing options to relocate its police department headquarters and possibly consolidate other law enforcement offices. However, in mid-2005, the city cancelled the plan and chose to renovate its existing police headquarters

A police officer spoke to one of my block clubs here in Cleveland and stated that Detroit is the only city in America in which vacant high rises are boarded up above the ground floor levels. 

^I wonder if, in some cases, that makes it more likely that some buildings can be salvaged and protected from the elements.

That's what everyone in metro Detroit told me when I asked them how they could have let their city become what it is today.  "We have nice suburbs."  Guess what, so does everybody.

A police officer spoke to one of my block clubs here in Cleveland and stated that Detroit is the only city in America in which vacant high rises are boarded up above the ground floor levels. 

 

There's been serious problems where boards placed over windows 18 floors up have fallen and smashed vehicles.  Fortunately no one has ever been hurt. 

 

Don't know if this is because of vandals or purely neglect.  Actually, some vandals shoved a piano out of a floor high up in the abandoned Broderick Tower allowing it to smash to pieces on Woodward Ave.

You know things are bad when there is little hope left for Detroit even in a place of energy and enthusiasm like UrbanOhio. I'm a little embarrassed, but mostly saddened, to admit this is why I'm a former Michigander.

You know things are bad when there is little hope left for Detroit even in a place of energy and enthusiasm like UrbanOhio. I'm a little embarrassed, but mostly saddened, to admit this is why I'm a former Michigander.

 

It's nice to know that you're still in the Midwest though.  Welcome to Ohio!

You know things are bad when there is little hope left for Detroit even in a place of energy and enthusiasm like UrbanOhio. I'm a little embarrassed, but mostly saddened, to admit this is why I'm a former Michigander.

 

Honey we're glad to have you in Cleveland!  Tell more friends to come on over!

So I was back downtown today, and man do Detroiters like to talk up a storm.  One person had to tell me how his new job pays over $1000 /week but he still prefers to claim someone else's 3 kids on his income tax.  Another told me how he's trying to build "an estate" around his home by buying up the vacant lots nearby.  Not complaining though, better interesting and nice people than those who say nothing at all...aka the suburbs.  But they'll talk for 10 blocks about whatever, and elevate their voices so everyone nearby or across the street can hear.

 

Regardless of how bad things can get, I don't think I've ever met someone from Detroit who was depressed.  People in general there always seem happy.  There's always been this attitude where no matter how bad things get, everything always works out in the end. 

So I was back downtown today, and man do Detroiters like to talk up a storm. One person had to tell me how his new job pays over $1000 /week but he still prefers to claim someone else's 3 kids on his income tax. Another told me how he's trying to build "an estate" around his home by buying up the vacant lots nearby.

 

lol!

 

I need to come up there again for a better Detroit tour.

If you do, can we please not go to MGM casino food court.  I've only been there 15 times in the past 3 weeks.  I know it's the greatest, but I need a break from that $6.50 bucket of chicken.

That Ren Cen food court sounds tempting after you mentioned they have far more tenants now than the one (Burger King) that was available when I was there.

Yeah they got Fish City now. oooooooooo!