I stopped in the Detroit Dry Dock Engine Works building to look around. Its such a huge interior space, the noises in there are unreal and cave like. Birds of all kinds made other worldly sounds. This is of course the building where a young Henry Ford learned machining skills. You might think such a place would be preserved.
“1892” still under the wooden flag pole hilt.
MACHINE SHOP ESTABLISHED 1892
Or is it 62 ? 52 ?
A fashion photo shoot on the rubble of the Screw Factory
Remember this stretch of Merchants Row on Woodward ? Starts with the Fred Sanders storefront on the left (beauty supply).
Parking lot now.
Madison Lenox Hotel ? Soon to be a parking lot.
I was being sarcastic.
As a country we’ve been subsidising suburban expansion at the cost of our cities and their architecture.
The dilemma I’m faced with is this. Which is worse, a Detroit full of decaying architecture or a Detroit full of asshole Yuppie pigfuckers?
I mean visit Portland, who needs that!?
I understand your comment, but at the same time, wouldn’t we perserving a history of decline? Wouldn’t the preservation of many of the buildings in Detroit become a catlog of the city’s fall?
Is it all a bit much for simple Super Bowl parking? Yes. Does it provide any real sense of future development? No. Is it probably all the city can afford?
Hey, the white-flighties gotta park somewhere when they visit downtown. Why not bulldoze some more landmarks? History-shmishtory.