Detroit, Michigan

[Chadoh25]

Michigan Central Station. Michigan Avenue. December 2009









Roosevelt Park.

[Chadoh25]

Michigan Avenue









Campus Martius



Cadillac Square







City Hall













Campus Martius again









Michigan Avenue





Woodward Avenue















Campus Martius







Ren Center, Jefferson Avenue



Brush Park



Masonic Theatre

[Chadoh25]

Summer 2010

First we begin at Washington Blvd and Michigan Avenue

Washington Boulevard







St Aloysius



Book-Cadillac Hotel, Now a Westin. Built in 1924.









State Street











Washington Boulevard and Michigan Avenue

[Chadoh25]

Woodward Avenue.









Woodward Avenue and East Grand River Avenue













Clifford Street

Woodward Avenue

[Jaybird]

Awesome. Urbanity is KING in Downtown Detroit! It's good to know downtown still has many great buildings in tact. Sadly, I can't say the same for other areas of the city.

Great photo tour, man.

[Chadoh25]

Thanks Bud!

Grand Circus Park

















Madison Street















Woodward Avenue







Central United Methodist on Woodward Avenue

















Washington Blvd











On the right is the former site of the Statler Hotel. I firmly believe it's destruction was a terrible mistake.



Corner of West Adams Street and Park Avenue.

West Adams Street









Heading back down Washington Blvd again.





Washington Blvd and Clifford Street









West Grand River Avenue and Washington Blvd











State Street and Washington Blvd





Michigan Avenue and Washington Blvd









St. Aloysius

God is in the details!















Book Tower, Washington Blvd

[Chadoh25]

Eastown Theater, Harper Avenue.

The Eastown opened in a largely residential area on Harper Avenue near Van Dyke at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1, 1931, with the movie "Sporting Blood," starring Clark Gable. Advertisements in newspapers at the time declared the theater’s opening as the “dawn of a new entertainment era” and invited Detroiters to “thrill to the glory of Detroit’s newest, finest Palace of Happiness.’” The ads also proclaimed the theater’s opening as “the most glorious event in the history of east Detroit.” Business owners and merchants in the neighborhood pitched in by decorating the surrounding streets for the grand opening.

With 2,500 seats, it was comparable in size and elegance to most of the downtown theaters. The Eastown was built solely for “talking pictures,” and when it opened, admission was 15 cents for afternoons, a quarter for evenings and 35 cents for Saturday and Sunday evenings. Children got in any time for a dime. Patrons would get dressed up for a night at the movies, and uniformed ushers would guide them to their seats.

The complex was built for the Wisper & Wetsman movie chain, one of the largest independent operators of movie theaters in metro Detroit at the time. It was designed by architect V.J. Waier, who used a blend of classical styles for an interior that was mostly Baroque. It is his only known surviving work in the city. The building was constructed between 1926 and 1930 and featured a 6-foot-high lit dome in the auditorium with a gold-gilded ceiling. The lobby featured imported marble with a wide, elegant marble stairway flowing into the mezzanine. Like those theaters downtown, the Eastown featured office space and stores, but it also had 35 apartments. In addition, it had the grand Eastown Ballroom, with large arched windows, a band shell and an oak dance floor. Up to 300 people could dine there on fine linen and elegant china or attend weddings and banquets.

http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/places/east

[barona news]

only desert

people????????????????????????????????

[Chadoh25]

Originally Posted by barona news

only desert

people????????????????????????????????

Half of them moved to the burbs.

[Chadoh25]

Some photos from inside Michigan Central Station. Forgive the quailty of some of the photos, the lighting wasn't very good and we couldn't stay long due to security.













restaurant

Hopefully I'll get a chance to see more of the station at a later date. Next stop, Ghetto Fabulous Delray!

[Chadoh25]

Welcome to Downtown Delray

Delray is a neighborhood and former incorporated village, located on the south side of Detroit, Michigan. It is isolated from other areas of Detroit by industrial warehouses and Interstate 75. As a neighborhood, Delray has no legally defined boundaries, but its area usually extends south to the River Rouge, east to the Detroit River, west to Fort Street and Interstate 75, and north to Dragoon Street at Fort Wayne or sometimes further north to Clark Street.

In 1930, Delray had approximately 23,000 residents. While there are no precise population statistics for the neighborhood today, estimates range from approximately 1,900–6,000 residents. This substantial loss is due to the increase in polluting industries that moved to Detroit. Today, Delray is considered one of the most polluted areas in Detroit. Much of Delray today consists of riverfront industries, while a number of residential properties are not maintained. Due to this high level of disrepair, in 2007, the Detroit Metro Times described Delray as "the closest thing to a ghost town within a city."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delray,_Detroit

West Jefferson Avenue





West Jefferson Avenue and Cary Street























West Jefferson Avenue and SW End Street













Holy Cross Hungarian Church, South Street.









Next Stop, St Ann's Church

[Jaybird]

I feel like such an outsider, having never been near or toured the Michigan Central Station... but someday I will.

Delray has to be the most dilapidated of all Detroit's neighborhoods.

[Resident]

I love Detroit.

[mgk920]

I cannot help but think that if/when true high-speed rail-passenger service reaches the Detroit metro area that the very BEST place for the Detroit station, especially if a Schengen-style border agreement between Canada and the USA is in place by then, would be the Michigan Central station.

How sound and rebuildable is that structure?

Mike

[Jaybird]

Originally Posted by mgk920

I cannot help but think that if/when true high-speed rail-passenger service reaches the Detroit metro area that the very BEST place for the Detroit station, especially if a Schengen-style border agreement between Canada and the USA is in place by then, would be the Michigan Central station.

How sound and rebuildable is that structure?

Mike

It looks no worse than the Book-Cadillac did when it was abandoned, before its restoration, except all the Windows are broken, but I think the building certainly looks structurally sound.

[hudkina]

I believe the train station is not only structurally sound, but it's overbuilt. The building was constructed in 1913 when steel-framed structures were still a relatively new concept. The amount of steel they put into the building is much more than the amount that would go into a modern skyscraper.

As far as Delray, it should have been leveled decades ago. That whole area of the city is nothing but dirty industry and pollution. I'm sure the cancer rate in that area is much higher than in many other areas. Not only that, but the city built the waste water treatment facility right in the heart of the neighborhood adding a strong "odor" that can be smelled throughout much of the neighborhood.

[johndenver]

Great pictures, especially the ones of the train station.

[Chadoh25]

Originally Posted by hudkina

I believe the train station is not only structurally sound, but it's overbuilt. The building was constructed in 1913 when steel-framed structures were still a relatively new concept. The amount of steel they put into the building is much more than the amount that would go into a modern skyscraper.

As far as Delray, it should have been leveled decades ago. That whole area of the city is nothing but dirty industry and pollution. I'm sure the cancer rate in that area is much higher than in many other areas. Not only that, but the city built the waste water treatment facility right in the heart of the neighborhood adding a strong "odor" that can be smelled throughout much of the neighborhood.

THANKS for clearing that up! I remember walking down the street and saying "What the hell is that smell and where is it coming from!". But to be fair, Cleveland, especially along I-77 near the industrial valley has some pretty gross smells! lol


St. Anne's Church.











Random Michigan Avenue

Michigan Avenue and 23rd Street

[Chadoh25]

Cass Tech, Cass Avenue. October 4th, 2010.

Cass Technical High School, formerly known as Cass Union School, was founded in 1861. Cass Union School was established to provide training in woodworking and metal trades for young men. The school was built on land given to the City of Detroit by former Secretary of State and Michigan Governor Lewis Cass. The donated land formed a triangle at Second Avenue, Grand River Avenue, and High Street West. That land had a pickle factory on it, but they transformed it into a school building.

In 1918, Cass Technical High School lent its space to Ford Motor Company outside of regular school hours to allow their employees access to the industrial training facilities within the building. During the 1920s Cass held classes in chemistry, bacteriology, biology, and dietetics for local nurses in addition to printing classes.

In 1970, concern over the condition of the school building surfaced. It was feared that the building would be allowed to deteriorate beyond repair and that the school and its curriculum would be eliminated. Modernization of the school began in 1981 and was completed in 1985. The addition was designed by Albert Kahn Associates. The new wing included a gymnasium, various music rooms, a recital hall, and a practice room. The new wing provided an enclosed lunchroom on the second floor that held approximately 700 students. Classes in the business wing were also renovated.

On Monday July 30, 2007 the old school building was set on fire. The police arrested two of the three men in connection to the fire. At least six homeless men were believed to have been living in the vacant building. The fire is said to have started in the first floor classroom and risen up to the third floor before firefighters were able to put it out. In addition to two police officers, two firefighters were also injured while fighting the three-alarm fire.

The New Cass Technical High School

Cass Tech from Cass Park.During the 2005-2006 school year, Cass Tech faculty, students and staff were moved to the new building, which was constructed on and around the school's old football field. The move into the new building sparked controversy because of uncertainty about the future of the old building, which is considered to be a historic landmark.

The new Cass Technical High School building was designed by TMP Associates Inc. The new building is physically partitioned to emphasize its varied activities. Academic, public, athletic and performance spaces are all distinct pieces of the building. The building required organization vertically on six levels in order to accommodate its small urban site. The new school includes a 2,000-seat theater with audio and video projection, a 3,000-seat gymnasium/arena, dance and music rehearsal spaces.

One design challenge was to accommodate the unique lab environment, catering to career pathways and retaining flexibility for future curriculum requirements. The solution was a collection of "collaboration centers," situated strategically, to promote interaction between the pathways and to encourage team teaching.

In the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, Cass Tech opened a credit union in the north lobby of the new building. Students, parents, and staff are all eligible to use it.

The construction of a football field behind the building was a substantial portion of the new development, however, until the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, it could not be used because of construction errors.

The building won the top design award given out by Learning by Design, which honors and showcases school design and construction projects. It also received the American Institute of Architects - Michigan Chapter Honor Award in 2007.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Technical_High_School







Part of Downtown























Cass Park and the Masonic theater.













The building on the far right is the American Hotel.













Cass Avenue looking towards the New Center.

















































Temple and Clifford Street



Walking back down Cass to the car.

[Chadoh25]

Random Woodward Avenue stuff.



St. Matthew's & St. Joseph's Episcopal Church. 8850 Woodward Avenue.



Northern High School.



The Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. 9844 Woodward Avenue.

Next stop, Highland Park and the Model T Factory.