This fire occurred early this morning (Sunday 11/28/10) in Brush Park in the Luben Apartments (aka ‘The Castle building’). Thanks to Di for the heads up on this tragedy.
CLICK HERE to see the detroitfunk post on this building from a year and a half ago.
13 Responses to Luben Apartment Fire
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thanks…
Wow Dawn, that is hardcore !
i was heartbroken yesterday when i went up to detroit and saw the castle gone!! i have it tattood on my back, i loved that building!!!!
DF:
Your pictures are haunting; there is an epic sadness to the tone of these photos as well as many others you have shot. I admire your artistic ability in telling the story of Detroit.
Though I have never lived in the city, I grew up in the metro area and it pains me greatly to see this stuff … though I do think you’re doing the right thing by publicizing it.
It does, just another typo ! L U B E N ….
lol
>I have the Sanborn map now, it was “The Luden”.
Um … I thought the map said “LUBEN”?
thanx to Mac
I have the Sanborn map now, it was “The Luben”.
Well…this is eerie. I took pictures of this place just six days ago. Glad I got them before the firebugs showed up. Tragic.
Shame that it went the way it did, but hardly surprising. It’s crazy how they immediately call in the demolition crews for certain buildings, while others sit for years in the same condition as this one before the city does anything about it.
The thing that gets me is that there are cities in Michigan that take care of their old buildings. I lived in Grand Rapids for four years of my undergrad and the first thing that struck me about the city was that they still had a lot of old buildings and they were being well-maintained and even re-purposed. That and a group of young women could walk around many parts of the city without much fear unlike the current state of Detroit.
I really feel that Detroit is demolishing and letting its history go up in smoke in more ways than one. Never mind the fact that the city is a prime example of pre-WWII architecture.
BTW, have you ever done a piece on the old bishop’s mansion the Fisher brothers built for the Archbishop of Detroit in the 1920s? I think it’s in Palmer Woods.
http://detroityes.com/webisodes/2006/02-FabulousApartmentRuins/204.htm
See, on Lowells site it is “Luben”.
I cant find anything but people calling it “luben”, and i cant find a real source. Thats bugging me….I know you have your set labeled “luden”. Got any Sanborn maps ?