A glimpse inside the neglected, recently purchased Detroit Free Press building

Old Detroit Free Press building at 321 W. Lafayette. All photos by Steve Neavling.

The former Detroit Free Press building, an Art Deco high-rise that housed Michigan’s most storied newspaper for 73 years, has been vacant since 1998.

That could change soon after the building was purchased in September by a company that appears to be connected to Dan Gilbert.

In 2014, I toured the building and discovered it had been badly neglected. Walls were covered in black mold. Pigeon carcasses and droppings were scattered across the floors. Marble walls were tagged with graffiti. And ground floor-level windows were broken.

Below are photos of the interior from 2014.

Check out our friends at HistoricDetroit.org and Detroiturbex.com for more history and photos of the building.

Over the past year, a lot of black mold has collected along the walls. — Mold has collected on the walls.

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Architecture, Dan Gilbert, detroit free press, Downtown, media, Photos, vacant building

A glimpse inside the neglected, recently purchased Detroit Free Press building added by Steve Neavling on November 3, 2016
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Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.