Magician Harry Houdini died at Grace Hospital in Detroit on Halloween in 1926 after his appendix ruptured. His body was then taken to the W. R. Hamilton and Company Funeral Home in the Cass Corridor.
The March 12, 1987, warehouse fire was one of the most tragic blazes in the city’s history.
The demolition occurred without asbestos remediation because the house was considered too dangerous.
Used condoms, broken glass and dozens of exposed needles are scattered around the crumbling properties, where a heroin overdose victim was recently found.
Houdini’s body was embalmed and stored at the funeral home in a bronze coffin with a glass lid, which Houdini wanted to use as a prop for his magic shows.
The ornate, 15-story Metropolitan Building was at risk of demolition a few years ago.
The demolition comes after a controversial vote by the city’s Historic District Commission.
The 14-story Wurlitzer Building in downtown Detroit is within days of salvation, if all goes as planned.
A Southfield-based law firm has posted dozens of banners on abandoned buildings in Detroit in search of big payouts.
A vacant building in Midtown is undergoing a radical transformation with vibrant murals and a pub that will serve 130 beers on tap.