Don't Forget the Motor City

I read last night that the final wrecking balls have started swinging at Tiger Stadium, which by now is such a foregone conclusion that only a handful of Detroiters actually showed up to watch their city's beloved baseball stadium (where I also happened to see my first-ever major league game) literally bite the dust. I suspect that the slow death of Detroit itself is now a similarly foregone conclusion, which is such a massive tragedy on so many levels — economically, historically, culturally, racially, musically, even culinarily if you're a Coney Dog kinda person (I, for the record, am not) — that I can't even begin to wrap my head around it. Doesn't seem like too many other folks can, either.
    I last visted Detroit five years ago on a Revolver assignment; I specifically asked to stay downtown, so that I could wander around and take photos in my free time. As a kid growing up in Ann Arbor in the 1970s, the Motor City seemed to me a scary but still vibrant and glamorous (at least in a seedy way) kinda place; when I explored it in 2004, it was scary and still, which made it seem even more unnerving. I literally walked around downtown for hours one Saturday morning without seeing a single living soul — with the exception of two bums who asked me, "Hey Elvis, you got any change?"
    I took a number of photos that morning with my old Lomo, which I finally got around to scanning and put up as a Flickr set. I regret that I didn't take better notes about what most of these buildings or streets are/were; the silence was so eerie, I felt like I had to keep moving or I'd become a target for whatever zombie armies were lurking in this or that abandoned hotel. But you can still see the beauty and the power of the city in these old buildings, and get a brief whiff of the days when Detroit was still the baddest place to be and be from. I wish I'd taken more photos while I had the chance.

Comments

[Reed]

Excellent photos and comments, Dan. I didn't really know Detroit until I came to Ann Arbor for college in 1993. My initial excursion involved driving all over the city on a frigid January night trying to find St. Andrews for a Quicksand show. We would have loved to ask for directions, but there was nobody aside from a handful of bums huddled around burning trashcans. I expected things to be somewhat similar to Chicago. It was eye-opening.

Every time I came back, no matter the time of day, it was a damn ghost town. More sad than freaky, but freaky, too. Aside from a couple sublime musical moments in Hart Plaza (Stevie Wonder at Detroit's 300th birthday and the first DEMF) it's all just seemed like a slow decline into hopelessness. Like an alcoholic uncle who's drinking himself to death, and you can't do a damn thing about it.

[Reed]

Shit. Forgot to add...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y777Fmw4Fk4

[Tracy]

Wow, this brought a tear to my eye. As someone who was born in Grand Rapids, has grandparents and cousins in Ann Arbor and Detroit, the pics bring nostalgia and sadness. Here's the thing, I have a friend who goes to a techo music fest there every year. He and his wife have decided that it's time to spearhead some sort of renaissance there and get people to pitch in. Is it possible? Maybe Obama could do something? Seriously Detroit is one of America's most important artistic/cultural centers. So much of our collective soul is derived from that place. Maybe it is a lost cause. I would hate to think of Detroit as a place that only exists in a history book.

[freya carter]

I should really think this through before jumping in but that just wouldn't be me would it. There is a sleeping feeling there. The windows are knocked out. You can see into the abandoned buildings and through them to the sky beyond. The pheasants run wild in the open fields that used to be homes. When I was in high school we'd walk down to the river and then back and into Wayne State U. never worrying about getting mugged. The people were so messed up we literally had to walk over them sometimes. Homeless people would wait for us to finish a soda to collect the 10c. Yet, I can't imagine a place more rich in culture, art and music to grow up. Tiger Stadium.. feels like another dream passing but the whole thing is really a nightmare because the cultural richness of the city is at stake. I hope that Detroiters don't give up. Thanks Dan