Demolition Spree

[Allan]

I went inside that building once. There is nothing left. It looks like a bomb exploded in there. It is by far the worst building I've ever been in, although at the rate the Fine Arts is deteriorating that building is not far behind.

[Michi]

Awe, that's really sad. Can't wait for the building on Woodward to get up and running.

[WBG4]

At least with this demo there is a plan for the site afterwards. Too many of our demos are done without any future plans for the site.

You mean dirt parking lot isn't a plan?

[RustTown]

Maybe not dirt, but how about one of Illitch's masterplanned, landscapped parking lots with interesting lighting? lol The city sure does seem to think that is a viable development. Madison Lenox, anyone? lol

[Allan]

From what I've heard, the Ilitches are actually considering real non-parking lot proposals for the M-L site. Same goes for some of their buildings.

[WBG4]

so grassy lots?

[Allan]

No, more like actual buildings.

[Allan]

The George Apartments at Cass & Henry bit the dust this week. This was one of my favorite buildings in the area, but I guess I get to find a new favorite buiding now. *sigh*

[detroitfan]

From what I've heard, the Ilitches are actually considering real non-parking lot proposals for the M-L site. Same goes for some of their buildings.

That's a shock. If they do decided to do something with their property I'd take cover because the end of the world can't be far behind.

[Allan]

Two more to add to the list. These two are on E. Palmer at John R., and are being demolished to build some crappy overpiced cookie cutter townhouses (the Art Center townhouses).

The Lancaster

And the Waumbek

[Michi]

^Yah, I saw that the other day. When I lived at the Park Shelton I had great views of those things burning very frequently over the course of last winter. It was so sad.

Too bad Crosswinds couldn't get ahold of them. There seems to be a restoration along the 94 Service Drive up that way though.

[ZachariahDaMan]

Anyone have any info on the Lancaster, like what it was used for and when it closed?

[Allan]

The Waumbek & Lancaster were both apartment buildings that had been vacant for some time. I would venture to guess that they were constructed by the same builder. I remember watching one of them (not sure which one) burn from the roof of the United Artists Building earlier this year.

That's all I really know about them. I will go do research on them once I get my car repaired.

[Allan]

It looks like DBlog did all the research on the Lancaster & Waumbek for me.

http://www.detroitblog.org/?p=322

[MrCoffee]

Lee Plaza is a concrete and steel structure. I have no idea how it could burn with all that watersoaked plaster everywhere. Such a shame my favorite spot to take pictures of the city has the potential to dissapear. It's an architectural beauty as well.

I plan to go through there with a massive group of people to take pics in Lee Plaza. It appears no building owners in this city give a crap if 200 people walk into their buildings as long as they don't break anything. Yeah, I'm talking to you Michigan Central Station! Most of Detroit's abandoned buildings are quickly becoming tourist attractiioins. When was the last time I ever explored an abandoned building without meeting a group of other explorers??

I haven't posted in a while, but what you mentioned gives me an idea. Why not stabilize the ruins, then set them up as tourist attractions? They can be like the Roman Coliseum. Places like Lee Plaza, Michigan Central Station, Continental Aluminum, the Packard Plant, and others would be very intersting places for people to explore. I used to live in New Mexico, and visited a small town South of Roswell on many occasions. That's where they have Carlsbad Caverns, which is a huge cave that goes 750 feet below the Earth's surface. Just that attraction alone puts Carlsbad on the map, and serves as a huge source of revenue for both New Mexico and the town its self. This is just a thought, but the fabulous Ruins can perhaps start a cottage industry. It's too bad they tore down the Uniroyal plant, it would have been a real sight indeed had it been intact and preserved.

MrCoffee

[RustTown]

This is tossed out every decade or so, and needless to say, Detroiter's don't like the idea (actually most) of turning Detroit into some modern day city of ruins.

[Zissou]

I haven't posted in a while, but what you mentioned gives me an idea. Why not stabilize the ruins, then set them up as tourist attractions? They can be like the Roman Coliseum. Places like Lee Plaza, Michigan Central Station, Continental Aluminum, the Packard Plant, and others would be very intersting places for people to explore. I used to live in New Mexico, and visited a small town South of Roswell on many occasions. That's where they have Carlsbad Caverns, which is a huge cave that goes 750 feet below the Earth's surface. Just that attraction alone puts Carlsbad on the map, and serves as a huge source of revenue for both New Mexico and the town its self. This is just a thought, but the fabulous Ruins can perhaps start a cottage industry. It's too bad they tore down the Uniroyal plant, it would have been a real sight indeed had it been intact and preserved.

MrCoffee

Before I comment I'd like to know if this is in fact a serious post?

[Jin Kim]

I haven't posted in a while, but what you mentioned gives me an idea. Why not stabilize the ruins, then set them up as tourist attractions?

This was actually suggested by someone who came to Detroit to attend/give some sort of seminar a few years back. I cannot remember who it was, but I recall that it was dismissed by those who learned of the proposal as being basically idiotic to somehow offensive.

I personally thought it was a great idea. Now, I don't mean to suggest that we preserve all the ruins of Detroit. However, setting aside those large/continuous enough to be a created into a large parks could result in some interesting landscape that'd certainly be unique.

Not only that, it could create some jobs - of course since the city has tough time even paying to maintain Belle Isle, I doubt it'd think to pay for yet another large park - but somehow I think it could be something great.

"Think different" I say.

[RustTown]

It's one thing to think outside of the box, and get creative. It's entirely another to suggest that Detroit should encourage abandonment (if even indirectly, and even more than it may be now) by suggesting we turn ruins into some kind of morbid tourist attraction. Seriously, who would come to see less-then-100-year-old ruins of not-so-spectacular ruins? It is offensive.

[Jin Kim]

But that's just it. It's not abandoning of properties or even condoning ruins. In reality it'd be redevelopment of the property into something useful and even beneficial.

It'd not be matter of just cordoning off an area of ruined buildings and a sign that says "Detroit Ruins Park."

It'd be taking an area of abandoned city then selectively/carefully developing it into a park that would be properly maintained.

It'd include:

- demolishing of dangerous structures

- preserving interesting architectural artifacts

- building new structures that complement

- landscaping

- planting

- fixing the roads around and into it

- etc., etc., etc.

It'd be a real effort with a huge budget and ideally involving a master plan from a top architect/urban planner and a whole lot of other architects/urban planners on individual projects - sort like the millenium park in Chicago.

Granted, I doubt the city would ever do this, only if b/c it cannot afford to do so.

I think people have this knee jerk reaction just b/c the proposal includes the word "ruins," but I see it as nothing different from taking an abandoned and half crumbled building and leaving the old walls when redeveloping it intact rather than demolishing the whole thing to build something new on the land. It'd just be much larger scale.

What do these ruins do other than just sit and be ruins anyhow?

Oh, other than people like us spending hours searching out, visting, photographing, write about, discuss about, etc. them!

What if it was called "Detroit Historic Architectural Preserve?"

edits to make my points clearer...

[RustTown]

I'm not getting your idea, at all. It sounds nothing like the what I'm against. You've explained it in detail, and I still don't get what it has to do with ruins besides demolishing them.

[Jin Kim]

It sounds nothing like the what I'm against.

Exactly, I think once people think through what it really would entail, it sounds rather cool.

You've explained it in detail, and I still don't get what it has to do with ruins besides demolishing them.

Well, lets see if I can do it a bit better.

I think most of us on here and elsewhere like this forum are clearly interested in architecture, particularly historic architecture. I think we're also interested in urban planning, etc.

This park, architectural preserve, or whatever it ends up being called would be a large scale museum. Museum of buildings, architectural features, etc. Perhaps even a new or restored building could be dedicated to history of architecture, urban planning, urban living, etc. Maybe even a teaching/research institute dedicated to advancing of those fields.

Think how cool it'd be if real physical architectural features from the Hudsons, Stadler Hotel, old mansions from Brush Park and other historic parts of the city, etc. were available for us to view/study/etc. in a museum. That'd be pretty damn cool! I could spend an entire day in something like that.

But instead of demolishing everything to lay lawn around the museum or the institute, we'd leave as much of the "ruins" in whole or part standing - depending on their architectural significance or how much of them could be safely saved (not restored). Maybe we'd even aquire interesting ruins from other parts of the world that are often basically put into landfields.

So instead of a small pieces of it in white box rooms of a museum, we'd have full sections of these ruins in an outdoor park environment Imagine being able to walk right up to see and touch the entire top section of the Stadler Hotel? Or maybe even few floors of it? That'd be soooooo much more interesting!

Intermingle them with interesting modern structures designed by some of the top architects in the world? Imagine acres of these things. Man, that'd be awsome!

So you see, it's not about demolishing the ruins. It's about preserving them from razing/landfielding that goes on in the name of progress and redevelopment. Because even though they were and still would be ruins, such unique park/preserve would attract a lot attention. Not only from those of us who are keen on architecture and urban planning (I can see architecture/urban planning colleges making field trips to such park), but I think even from regular folks who seem to flock to anything that's out of this world and daring.

It'd be a park dotted with the ruins of Detroit, or even the world, and it'd be oh so awsome!

Detroit is (unfortunately) the unique city where such thing would be even possible.

[RustTown]

Why didn't you guys say "architectural museum" from the get-go? lol

But, that's not what most people have proposed. Many propose leaving these in their current stat to stare and gawk at, only cleaning it up enough not to keep it safe for patrons of this ruin. You're plan would sound good, though I can't think of anyone that would take the risk on such an odd and unproven concept.

[Jin Kim]

Why didn't you guys say "architectural museum" from the get-go? lol

But, that's not what most people have proposed. Many propose leaving these in their current stat to stare and gawk at, only cleaning it up enough not to keep it safe for patrons of this ruin. You're plan would sound good, though I can't think of anyone that would take the risk on such an odd and unproven concept.

Wait 'til I win one of those $200 million+ jackpots!

[Zissou]

I dont mean to offend but this whole thing is just dumb. So you want to take a building like MCS and landscape the property, make the building safe enough for people to enter, and have some of the worlds top architects build modern structures for your museum? First of all you would be building a museum in which knowone would want to attend. People already understand that Detroit has lots of abandoned properties and buildings, why are they gonna pay a fee to get into a museum about it. All they have to do is watch the news around here or attend a Sacramento basketball game. This idea goes against everything people are trying to do downtown by finding new USEFUL uses for old buildings that have been forgotten. Second, the money your willing to spend on all of this could actually be used to fix up the actual building for the community. If you were to do something at MCS and were capable of building a large museum with a big or several big name architects, landscape the large property, and make the building safe enough for people to enter, you could just as easily rehab the building and make it useful. Make the city proud of the fact that one of their large abandoned buildings has been fixed and now being used. If you do win 200 million at some point, which i plan on doing mind you, i hope you decide to invest in the city but only if it is something that is useful.