The Modern Ruins Of Detroit

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tybrad

tybrad

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It's a sad thing about Detroit- the deterioration, crime, and now bankruptcy. Bet it was one of THE places to be in the 30's though. Also is sad to see the abandonment and decay of some very fine things in Detroit. Why haven't salvage companies come in to grab some of what is shown? An interesting photodocumentary.

Modern Ruins- Detroit
 
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Yeah, 'ruin porn' is very popular with some photographers in this area. There's a lot of it; it's an easy subject. Personally, I avoid it; I see it every day and it's too depressing.

As a photographer, I try to focus on happier subjects.
 
I find this stuff too interesting to pass up- I like mystery and thinking about eras gone bye and being immersed in it all. The stories that those walls could tell...
 
tybrad said:
I find this stuff too interesting to pass up- I like mystery and thinking about eras gone bye and being immersed in it all. The stories that those walls could tell...
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Believe it or not, there is an active 'ruin porn' tourism industry of amateur photographers and artists of various sorts. For locals, it's depressing that this is what we attract; people fascinated with horror.

For what it's worth, many of the photos taken are taken by people who are trespassers on private property. There is an active and emotional discussion that's been going on here for years between the '1st Amendment Trumps Everything' folks and the 'Private property owners have rights too' crowd. It's political, I won't go there, just mentioning that *I* do not choose to break the law to take photographs, and I don't support those who do.

I realize you find such photos interesting. Many people do. I find them only depressing and sad. Imagine people coming to your town to ooh and ahh over how horrible your world has become.
 
I lived in lower Manhattan when NYC was teetering on the financial brink back in the 70's. Lots of urban decay and true lawlessness at night outside the well heeled parts of town was the order of the day, along with severely limited civil services. It was kind of hairy, but, I was young and it was fascinating to be there when it was like a ghost town, particularly at night. Detroit is taking the initial steps in the journey back to prosperity, just like New York had to do, and within ten years the place was a boomtown. It surely looks grim now, but we've seen these situations turn around in dramatic fashion. Detroit is on the ropes, but not knocked out.
 
deroit salvage

The tale of Detriot is certainly sad but not hopeless.
There are more than a few cities that have been reborn. It takes time and a willingness of the local business and political groups to make it happen. The local & state political wackos see nothing but a disaster and are unwilling to budge until the car companies start putting pressure on the unions to cave.
Funny, GM, Ford, and Chrysler built the place and are more or less giving in to politicos.

Paul
 
There are lots of sites like this. It's nothing new. I'm not going to post a link to them.

It's going to be very popular to kick Detroit while it's down. It certainly doesn't help the people who are stuck living there. As painful as it is to see what's happened, I can't imagine the despair of the people who are still there living amongst all that.
 
My intent here was not to 'kick em when they're down'. I found this interesting from a personal and historical standpoint and wanted to show others. But I did not realize that there is an entire industry around this- wow. I know that it'll be back as NYC did when they almost declared BR.
 
Wigwam Jones said:
I realize you find such photos interesting. Many people do. I find them only depressing and sad. Imagine people coming to your town to ooh and ahh over how horrible your world has become.
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I like those photos too. My view is different (naturally it should be, since I don't live there) and when I look at these photos I see what potential Detroit still has.
 
With all due respect, I don't think all of you are grasping the true depth of the situation in Detroit. This is not going to be turned into Camelot in ten years. :no:
 
tybrad said:
It's a sad thing about Detroit- the deterioration, crime, and now bankruptcy. Bet it was one of THE places to be in the 30's though. Also is sad to see the abandonment and decay of some very fine things in Detroit. Why haven't salvage companies come in to grab some of what is shown? An interesting photodocumentary.

Modern Ruins- Detroit
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Thanks for sharin....! :thmbsp:
 
Wigwam Jones said:
Believe it or not, there is an active 'ruin porn' tourism industry of amateur photographers and artists of various sorts. For locals, it's depressing that this is what we attract; people fascinated with horror.
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Well said. One thing too is that the outsiders treat it like its some sort of amusement park with top level security. Police dont even go in those spots, much less respond to a call. If they do go on a call, they arent showing up until 5 hours later anyway. Most locals dont even venture outside of downtown Detroit, that should be a sign to tourists trying to find that perfect piece of ruin porn. To top it all off, those buildings arent safe to go into. 99% of them have been gutted of their valuable materials. Everything from steel supports to copper pipes and galvanized pipes...you have a very high chance of getting hurt exploring those places.
 
jimbofish said:
With all due respect, I don't think all of you are grasping the true depth of the situation in Detroit. This is not going to be turned into Camelot in ten years. :no:
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That's for sure.
I lived and visited there for quite a few years and it was always steadily declining.

It had become a vast wasteland by the time I left.


Steve
 
Believe it or not, we have a "Ruined" site down here-Pressmen's Home. It was the headquarters of the International Printing Pressmen's & Assistant's Union from 1907-1969. It was sort of a "Shangri-La" place, it was a self-contained little community nestled in a valley near here. Anyhow, the union decided in '69 to move to Washington, & the place started to go downhill. In '91, I decided to explore the Trade School building, which was built in '48 at the reputed cost of a million bux. I was FASCINATED-The Lobby of the place was pink variegated native marble, there were 2 man elevators & a freight elevator. I went up to the top-5th- story, & was just blown away by how much stuff was still left there, & hadn't been wrecked by vandals over the years. Yet the WHOLE time I was in there, I couldn't help but feel that I was being "Watched" ....
 
tybrad said:
It's a sad thing about Detroit- the deterioration, crime, and now bankruptcy. Bet it was one of THE places to be in the 30's though. Also is sad to see the abandonment and decay of some very fine things in Detroit. Why haven't salvage companies come in to grab some of what is shown? An interesting photodocumentary.

Modern Ruins- Detroit
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Thanks for posting. Put me in the category that finds this type of photography (and urban exploration in general) fascinating.

My hometown (Gary Indiana) is another city that has gone to rot. Yet I'm not gonna' get my panties in a twist about people photographing and publishing photos of the city in it's current condition. It is what it is.... The photos merely document the decline, and in some cases document the architecture before it's bulldozed and gone forever.
 
BadassBob said:
Well said. One thing too is that the outsiders treat it like its some sort of amusement park with top level security. Police dont even go in those spots, much less respond to a call. If they do go on a call, they arent showing up until 5 hours later anyway. Most locals dont even venture outside of downtown Detroit, that should be a sign to tourists trying to find that perfect piece of ruin porn. To top it all off, those buildings arent safe to go into. 99% of them have been gutted of their valuable materials. Everything from steel supports to copper pipes and galvanized pipes...you have a very high chance of getting hurt exploring those places.
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I have tried to explain it to my friends and relatives who are not from here (as I am not from here; I'm a transplant and live safely in the northern burbs). They don't get it.

I point them to this article (warning, graphic photo):

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28916090/...dy-found-detroit-elevator-shaft/#.Uemdc469ur8

I try to explain that in Detroit, life is now so cheap that if you die and fall into a pit and are frozen with your feet sticking out of the ice, the locals will PLAY HOCKEY around your dead body for weeks before someone calls the police, and then when someone finally does call, NO ONE WILL COME to remove your body until the news media calls the mayor's office and shames the city on television.

This is what we're talking about. It's not like NYC. It's not like Philly. It's not on the verge of a come-back. It won't suddenly get better from a little pep talk. All that feel-good speech stuff means precisely squat. I've been in third-world countries that valued life more than some do in the worst parts of Detroit.

Yeah, Detroit can be saved. But all indications are that the people who are left, the ones who remain, are either opportunistic criminals (elected and otherwise) and or the poor people who cannot afford to leave the city for a better life elsewhere. It's not like other places. The devastation is nearly complete, over a huge area. With minor exceptions here and there, Detroit looks like photos of Germany after WWII; bombed into submission.
 
Wigwam Jones said:
But all indications are that the people who are left, the ones who remain, are either opportunistic criminals (elected and otherwise) and or the poor people who cannot afford to leave the city for a better life elsewhere.
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Thats the toughest part about it. Detroit has been run by crooks for the better part of 50 years, those who rally the poor around them while exploiting them at the same time. In a sense, it was good the economy collapsed a few years ago, as it let a fortunate few escape the cesspool for a better life in the bordering suburbs. I interact with the people who escaped it on a daily basis. They all wanted to send their children to nicer schools and give them a quality of life thats impossible to find south of 8 Mile. Everybody has an interesting story to tell, and former Detroiters have the most fascinating, albeit sad stories. I really feel for them, and have come to know many on a personal level. Ive been to barbecues, weddings, retirement parties, and funerals of those that do business at my institution. Great people that are more grounded than many youd find elsewhere.
 
BadassBob said:
Thats the toughest part about it. Detroit has been run by crooks for the better part of 50 years, those who rally the poor around them while exploiting them at the same time. In a sense, it was good the economy collapsed a few years ago, as it let a fortunate few escape the cesspool for a better life in the bordering suburbs. I interact with the people who escaped it on a daily basis. They all wanted to send their children to nicer schools and give them a quality of life thats impossible to find south of 8 Mile. Everybody has an interesting story to tell, and former Detroiters have the most fascinating, albeit sad stories. I really feel for them, and have come to know many on a personal level. Ive been to barbecues, weddings, retirement parties, and funerals of those that do business at my institution. Great people that are more grounded than many youd find elsewhere.
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I've met lots of people who can tell me what street they grew up on in Detroit, but if they were to visit their old home now, they'd be shot and killed in minutes.

I have lived so many places, I don't have a 'hometown' as such. I can't imagine what it's like living on the outskirts of the city you were raised in, and not being able to even visit it again.
 
Wigwam Jones said:
I've met lots of people who can tell me what street they grew up on in Detroit, but if they were to visit their old home now, they'd be shot and killed in minutes.

I have lived so many places, I don't have a 'hometown' as such. I can't imagine what it's like living on the outskirts of the city you were raised in, and not being able to even visit it again.
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My mom grew up at Van Dyke and Outer Dr. and my dad at Lynch and Mt. Elliott. Anytime a friend of theirs wants to visit the old neighborhood, the first words one of my parents will say is "Roll up your windows and duck".
 
Reading the banter between the two of you is just making me really sad. Sure there's strife in Philly however within the same vicinity we've got Trenton and Camden NJ. Two cities that have more in common with Detroit than Philly does, and yet Trenton and Camden don't even have the automotive industry to lean on for some jobs and maybe a little bit of money or a nicer downtown here and there.

I've thought in the past, how cool would it be wander around Detroit and see the utter devestation wrought by laziere faire capitalism and travel the urban prairie. Then I realized I'm too scared to do it in the cities I know. The two that are anywhere between 15 minutes away and 45 minutes away.

If I'm not going to put myself in danger/violate the privacy of the remaining citizens who are stuck in those towns close to home, why would I do that in Detroit?
 
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