Posted March 27, 200916 yr A couple years ago, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed all of Downtown Detroit on the endangered list because of plans to level most of the urban core for parking. While this happened awhile ago, Several buildings were still lost. The 8-story Madison Lenox Hotel was torn down illegally The Statler-Hilton (16?), People's Clothing (14 stories), a row of buildings on Woodward, Motown Music Headquarters, and the Olde Building were all leveled for parking. The Lafayette Building (google this) is now slated for demolition. It will be turned into surface parking. Mike Ilitch, owner of the Pizza Pizza empire and Olympia entertainment leveled a bunch of buildings behind the Fox Theater for parking. The areas is surrounded by many city blocks of.....you guessed it....parking. Downtown Detroit is losing major buildings almost every year, so I'll use this thread to post photos of what has come down. I may even do some now and then's when I get the opportunity. For now, I'll post updates on the future of the Lafayette building.
March 27, 200916 yr Detroit Sold For ScrapApril 5, 2006 | Issue 42•14 :-D DETROIT—Detroit, a former industrial metropolis in southeastern Michigan with a population of just under 1 million, was sold at auction Tuesday to bulk scrap dealers and smelting foundries across the United States. http://www.theonion.com/content/node/46937?utm_source=infocus
March 27, 200916 yr Oh, my goodness .. I totally bought that until I saw it was from The Onion!! Hahahaha .. sheesh!!! I was gonna say!
March 27, 200916 yr So essentially, Downtown Detroit is on its way to becoming Downtown Columbus. Very, very uncool.
March 27, 200916 yr At least downtown Columbus is building...stuff...though...yeah...like trendy tapas! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 27, 200916 yr Tapas. How 2002. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=-&sll=42335957,-83048851&latlng=42335957,-83048851,620621055206407954
March 27, 200916 yr So essentially, Downtown Detroit is on its way to becoming Downtown Columbus. Funny. But let's not get crazy. If downtown Columbus was Downtown Detroit, the Ohio Theater would have been turned into a parking garage! Ever seen that picture of an old Detroit movie palace with the cars parked in it? Back to Detroit - one of the earliest websites I remember visiting was called "The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit". It morphed to another address and I think its been shut down now. But it had the most comprehensive pictoral rundown of Detroit buildings that were either threatened, abandoned, falling apart or recently demolished. It was like touring modern day ruins. Spooky yet thrilling.
March 27, 200916 yr It's part of detroityes.com now: http://www.detroityes.com/0tourdetroit.htm#The_Fabulous_Ruins All hail the brilliant Lowell Boileau.
March 27, 200916 yr Tapas. How 2002. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=-&sll=42335957,-83048851&latlng=42335957,-83048851,620621055206407954 I'm sure Small Plates will be closing soon, like Sweet Georgia Brown... :( "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 27, 200916 yr Fabulous Ruins is part of Detroityes. It's just that it's been pushed to the back since the photos are over a decade old. It would be nice to see a fresh update of all the same sites to show what exactly has been lost. From my personal opinion, I would say downtown Columbus is more intact than Detroit's. Columbus is not faced with the specter of increased abandonment like Detroit is facing. There's also no tools or mechanisms in place to perpetuate development in downtown Detroit. Greektown and maybe the Penobscot block are the few exceptions, but even around Campus Martius things are quiet.
March 28, 200916 yr Only the second post is The Onion. The first is all too true. As far as comparing Detroit to Columbus with regard to missing buildings, I'd say on a percentage basis, the two downtowns show comparable losses. Columbus has done a better job of filling the holes back in with newer buildings, but let's not forget the startling amount of surface lots at the heart of Columbus' downtown. Considering the sheer size disparity between the two downtowns, though, and it's hard to compare. You can fit the entirety of downtown Columbus within a fraction of the area of Downtown Detroit--I bet you could get it all within Gratiot, Michigan Ave, Jefferson and Adams (Grand Circus Park). Fact is, Columbus's downtown was never that large to begin with, and at no time in her history did Columbus see such a singular and sustained period of economic growth the likes Detroit enjoyed for 60 solid years. When you soar that high, it's going to hurt coming down. Accept, however, that Detroit has lost--or is in danger of losing--more important buildings than Columbus has ever had, and you can see the gravity of the situation.
March 28, 200916 yr How do people define downtown Detroit? The area inside the loop 75/375/John Lodge seems about the size of Downtown Columbus - though it seems more dense to me. Detroit overall definitely has more tall and historic buildings though. I think the Parisian hub and spoke layout makes it look really large too.
March 28, 200916 yr Comparing those boundaries with, say, I-670, I-71, I-70 and 315, the areas are approximate, but there is definitely a density difference. Throw in New Center, Medical Center and Wayne State and the territory broadens. But whereas Columbus' buildings cluster along the Broadstreet/High Street axis, Detroit's cluster along Woodward, Jefferson, Adams, Lafayette, Michigan and, to a degree, Gratiot. All I know is that the impression I get of Columbus is a bout 6 square blocks of any sort of density, and then big leaps inbetween. Also, having a handful of historical buildings in Columbus compared to Detroit's whole armada leaves a big impression. Bottom line, Columbus never boomed they way Detroit or even Cincinnati for Cleveland did and it has the (lack of) buildings to prove it. Additional point of comparison: given the boundaries above, you could fit Downtown Columbus one-and-a-half times over into Belle Isle (or as ColDayMan so colorfully calls it, Madagascar).
March 28, 200916 yr The problem with Detroit (today) is that even though it left a treasure chest of fantastic buildings downtown and sections like the Fisher Building and the beautiful Ford Hospital, the majority of Detroit's core has been suburbanized (strip malls, Church's Chicken, chandalier'd McDonald's, a trashy Utrect, horrendous Magic Johnson Starbucks, a bouncer-prone Anita Baker IHOP, cul-de-sacs, vinyl housing, and the glorious Martha Reeves) along with the wide streets + vacant lots (talking Cass Park, north Brush Park, east Midtown, Grand Blvd), it seems less "dense" than Columbus' central city, structurally EXCEPT for (hilariously) downtown. Downtown Columbus wiped out itself early on in the 70's with horrific parking lots, two story credit unions, trashy Wendy's, and a couple of drive-thru McDonald's that serve nasty McFlurries. Detroit's downtown is a bit more intact in the core but outside of the Campus Martius/Hart Plaza corridor, thins out quickly near the McNamara, MGM, and edges of Greektown. Visually, Detroit is more impressive due to the different angles the two grids of downtown (i.e. Book Cadillac view from Shelby) almost giving it a Pittsburgh look with terminating buildings. But really, both should be bitchslapped for destroying their core but Columbus at least kept the central core neighborhoods entirely intact except for Franklinton and sections of Olde Town East/King-Lincoln. Detroit is like a cluster of older towers, CoBo, and then post offices surrounded by fences, demon dogs, and a Tubby's. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 30, 200916 yr Hey hey hey, how many times are you going to trash on Columbus this week for their yuppy population? There are no yuppies on the entire west side - there's a W.g. Grinder's on Broad St. but that's about as close as it gets.
March 30, 200916 yr Columbus has a lot of immigrants and a top ranked library system. That's my definition of 'function'. ;)
March 30, 200916 yr They still use the downtown library, go to Columbus State (downtown), etc. Your point is moot.
March 30, 200916 yr The closest thing any Great Lakes city has to a neighborhood that gentrified is probably Elmwood Village in Buffalo (yeah, crazy considering the economy there). Uhh did Chicago, Milwaukee and Cleveland pick up and move to the west coast or something? What city/county doesn't use their downtown library? Thank you for proving my point! Inner city doesn't matter. It's connected with whatever is around it and despite immigrants being in more suburban locations, they're usually technically in Columbus. Northland isn't that d@mn far. You're just bitter! Go trip over a pot hole in Spain or wherever Toledo is.
March 30, 200916 yr ColDayMan did a good call on Detroit. I guess I was pretty suprised myself over the wide open spaces surrounding downtown.
March 30, 200916 yr The Curse of Lake Erie. I guess Canada got the worst of that since there is no city of any size on the Canadian shore. Not even a Sandusky.
March 31, 200916 yr ^Short North in Cleveland? Maybe Little Italy or Tremont? I'm not saying they're exactly like Short North, but you make it sounds as if there is no gentrification in some of these Great Lakes cities at all. Honestly, in terms of gentrification, I find Victorian Village more impressive than Short North.
March 31, 200916 yr Watching Tiger Stadium get taken down sucked. I like Comerica, but it just can't compare. Also, I do have a question. What got taken down for Comerica (and Ford Field)? Were those surface lots between the baseball stadium and the Fox Theater there before the stadium was built? There were a number a demolitions, and a few buildings were flat-out moved--the Elwood Diner and the Little Gem Theater were carted several blocks over to the Adams and Brush area. A number of midrise buildings were lost including the YMCA that my Grandfather crashed at when he ran out of cash on his grand trip from New York to California. I'm glad he stuck around. Sadly (conveniently), I recall there were a number of empty lots down there. Still, the city handed it all over to Illytch for better than nothing. Bah! Hate Illytch.
March 31, 200916 yr ^Short North in Cleveland? Maybe Little Italy or Tremont? I'm not saying they're exactly like Short North, but you make it sounds as if there is no gentrification in some of these Great Lakes cities at all. Honestly, in terms of gentrification, I find Victorian Village more impressive than Short North. The Short North is a part of the Victorian Village. It's just the commercial strip for the neighborhood (along with Mr. Italian Village himself in this thread). "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 31, 200916 yr ^I was debating that with a friend. He is from Columbus and he always separates the two. Honestly, everyone I've talked to about these neighborhoods always seem to separate them. Why is that?
March 31, 200916 yr C-Dawg, I see your point. Little Italy in Cleveland has galleries and restaurants, but not much retail. The same can be said about Tremont.
March 31, 200916 yr It doesn't seem like there is any realistic way forward for Detroit. I'd argue it fits better with places like Gary, East St. Louis, and Camden than any of the places in Ohio, Michigan, even Western New York. It would seem that out a long time into the future I could see a Detroit come back - more likely flowing from Ann Arbor and Detroit suburban counties than out from the core. SE Michigan may be having rough times, but it'll find a way forward, I don't have the same faith in Detroit as a city with citizens.
March 31, 200916 yr Still, the city handed it all over to Illytch for better than nothing. Bah! Hate Illytch. Why on earth is so much power in the hands of one man? The same can be said about Matty. Just how crazy is this guy? He's building a second bridge to Canada. The US Government said NO! The Canadian government said NO! Last time I passed through, the approaches for the bridge were being constructed on the U.S. side. That takes guts. I'm imagining a half completed cable stay bridge on the Detroit river at the border. Ilitch looks at everything from a business approach. He doesn't actually care about what's best for the city, but rather what's best for himself. People give him too much credit for the Fox, Comerica, and Gem. They are great accomplishments, but they haven't actually fixed downtown's problems 24/7. The tradeoff for all the stadium developments was leveling dozens of structures that could have been the backbone for a great urban neighborhood. Even the buildings he is trying to "save" are in deplorable condition. It's a really complex issue that's exhausting to type up. If you read about this guy, you might think of him as a saint, but there's a lot to be explained from a planning perspective and what the future is for downtown.
March 31, 200916 yr ^I was debating that with a friend. He is from Columbus and he always separates the two. Honestly, everyone I've talked to about these neighborhoods always seem to separate them. Why is that? Because it's like "High Street" and "Ohio State." Two brand names that are presumed separate but they aren't. Think of it like "Times Square" and "Midtown Manhattan." "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 31, 200916 yr I think the Short North is a euphemism. Most people in the metro area are ignorant to the fact that Italian Village and Victorian Village exist on both sides of High St. People don't have time to be learning neighborhood boundaries and all that jazz.
April 1, 200916 yr "Short North" today functions as it did when it was merely vice cop slang: a general locator.
April 4, 200916 yr The Curse of Lake Erie. I guess Canada got the worst of that since there is no city of any size on the Canadian shore. Not even a Sandusky. I'd say no city is better than a bowel movement of urban decay.
April 7, 200916 yr I know how some of you LOVE country music, but the words of this song tug deep and don't stray too far from the TRUTH of today! "
April 7, 200916 yr I counted a total of one black person in the second video, and he may have actually been Greek. Very revealing. There's a Rorschach-test quality about Detroit; whites and blacks see the town through entirely different lenses. This is why I appreciate Eminem's vision more: it's more complicated. More soulful. More gray.
April 7, 200916 yr The Dispatch had a short note today that the Mayor of Indy was robbed in Detroit after the Final Four game.
April 7, 200916 yr speaking of demolition in Detroit..... http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/soapdishbehindthefence.aspx
April 7, 200916 yr http://freep.com/article/20090407/NEWS01/90407070/Council++Tear+down+Central+Depot++at+owner+s+expense The landmark train station is to be demolished. I really, really hate to see this one go, but I honestly can't present any defense to save it. I wish some miracle would come along. For once though, the city council is right. It's just not right to let this billionaire sit on this rotting property. Something must be done, I just wish the end result had never been demolition. Currently, the building is a hot-spot for urban explorers due to its easy accessibility and high profile nature. Neglect and the elements have seriously destroyed the building, although renovation has always been possible, but at a high price tag of $300 million.
April 8, 200916 yr I'm not. This means I get a Church's Chicken off the exit to Canada! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 9, 200916 yr MCS as it was in the 70's vs 2008. This is a jaw dropper, and best now and then I've ever seen of this building. You must check this one out. http://onlyndetroit.com/html/decay/ond-0016-all_abord.htm
April 13, 200916 yr Was there any happenings after MSU Lost to UNC??? I hav'nt heard of any... just curious... With that said.. I will never forget driving up 75 going into detriot and seeing an Ugly abandoned building standing as we welcome mat to the city... Got to love urban regression!
April 13, 200916 yr I think everyone was pretty well behaved. There weren't any articles of MSU riot behavior. Though..uhm... not a whole lot left to burn.
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