Photo Gallery: Inside the sprawling ruins of Northville Psychiatric Hospital
Left behind in the more than two dozens buildings are wheelchairs, beds, gowns, books, pool tables, nursing logs, picture frames, stuffed animals.
Thieves ransack recently closed fire station in Detroit; building’s fate unknown
Whether the west-side building will be salvaged is questionable because thieves stole copper plumbing, unleashing a torrent of water that was quickly rising in the basement.
Photo Gallery: Hundreds of art pieces salvaged from Cass Tech before demolition
Tucked inside one of the school’s art rooms were hundreds of pieces of award-winning art dating back to the 1960s. A month before demolition began last summer, I scooped up the art in hopes of showing it once again.
Video: Cass Tech alumni recall better times in Detroit
When the mighty, historic Cass Tech High School came crashing down this time last year, dozens of alumni gathered to catch one last glimpse of the 93-year-old building.
Detroiters refuse to relocate for oil giant
Living in the shadow of the Marathon Oil Refinery in southwest Detroit, Mary McKenzie feels scared and unwanted. She sits on the front porch with her grandson, watching demolition trucks tear down her neighborhood of 43 years. Across the street, three more houses are about to become casualties of a plan by the oil company to […]
Mysterious installation found inside abandoned church in Detroit
The Egyptian pyramids. Stonehenge. Crop circles. Now Detroit has its mysterious feat – a tangled installation of pianos, pews, sofas, chairs and anything else found inside the abandoned Woods Cathedral Church of God in Christ in Detroit. The meticulously assembled piece spills across the sanctuary and crawls about 10 feet up the wall. It’s unclear who […]
Part 2: Packard Plant crumbles without consequences to owner; city too broke to solve problem
To many, the sprawling Packard Plant is nothing more than a dangerous eyesore and an unsettling reminder of Detroit’s tragic decline. To others, it’s an urban playscape. A mammoth canvas. The Great Ruins of Detroit. But to the embattled city, the 40-acre plant is a stark reminder of how broke and powerless the cash-starved government has […]
Part 1: Packard Plant becomes lawless wasteland; police hunt for thugs, thieves
In just one day last weekend, two men were brutally beaten, an explorer was attacked and his car stolen and a photographer was robbed by a gunman. Thieves have smashed so many car windows that the streets and parking lots bordering the 105-year-old plant are covered in blue-green bits of glass.
Virtual Tour: State-controlled Highland Park school coming undone
Detroit’s long-forgotten buildings subject of new book
Dan Austin may seem like an improbable Detroit historian. With shaggy sideburns, a strong affection for vinyl records and just 31 years old, Austin has become the go-to guy on Detroit architecture. In true Detroit fashion, Austin earned that distinction with tireless work, uncovering long-forgotten details of the city’s storied high-rises, theaters and churches. In […]