Brodhead Armory. Built in 1930, designed by William Buck Stratton, with priceless W.P.A. art on the interior, and glazed exterior tile work by Buck Strattons wife, Mary Chase Perry – founder of Pewabic Pottery.
Now closed and awaiting total destruction.
I wouldnt exactly call this building “wide open”, but it certainly has been breached after its official closing, as shown here.
[detroitfunk adds: Here is a photo from the post I did years ago on the last open day of the Armory – notice the pristine condition of the parkay flooring]
theres an interesting story behind Gabriel Richard Park as well. the USS Yantic, a Civil War era sailing ship is buried underneath it; where the park was used to be docks. the anchor in front of the Armory belonged allegedly to the Yantic.
some more googling turns up good stuff.
I dont know the guy who took the photo personally, but my guess is that the damage to the parkay flooring is due to water damage, as indicated by the ceiling tiles. This particular mural already had significant water damage on the last day the building was open, which is the last time I was inside.
Heres the site source of the photo link:
http://team-lazy.blogspot.com/
Sad. I was in there many times back when it was in operation. My best friend left for the Marine Corps from there. It’s a beautiful building, inside and out. You would think it could be reused as a neighborhood rec center of some sort, at least to let folks play some b-ball in there in the winter, and maybe to give the area seniors someplace to go. But, what am I thinking, this is Detroit, where “demolition is progress.”
what an f*ing shame. With efforts to save WPA art around the country, we in detroit just let it rot. Ugh. Hey, the picture in the link, is that the floor buckling due to the heat being off? Or has someone gone at it with a crow bar?