The billionaire Ilitch family and their companies have raked in hundreds of millions of tax dollars while demolishing dozens of buildings – some of them historic – in Detroit since the 1980s.
State officials have been slow to correct health violations that include mold, structural issues, fire and electrical hazards and a lack of heat.
The Eastown Theatre was one of Detroit’s most elegant movie palaces and later a premier rock venue during the psychedelic era.
Police say the arrests are part of a new crackdown on graffiti as vandalism gets out of control.
The ornamental, dome ceiling on the long-abandoned Eastown Theatre in Detroit has collapsed as scrappers continue to remove steel beams from the historic movie palace.
The map is so precise and detailed that you can zoom in on each parcel and collect information such as owner, year built, assessment value, tax status and size.
Today, the historic building was evacuated – maybe for the last time – after water spewed from broken pipes for nearly a week, soaking most of the floors, causing ceilings to crash down and shutting down the elevator and toilets.
Over the past two months, we’ve chronicled what’s left of the plant – blocks of crumbling buildings, ravaged by scrappers, fire and extreme weather.
Part 2
Time is running out for a developer to transform Detroit’s symbol of industrial decline into housing, restaurants, retail space, offices and a hotel.