Forgotten Detroit Website?

[detwaa84]

Does anyone know (when/why) forgotten Detroit (will be/is not) updated?

Thank You!

[lelandpalmer]

Does anyone know (when/why) forgotten Detroit (will be/is not) updated?

Thank You!

[Jasoncw]

I think it had something to do with vandalism. People noticed that after posting building on their sites, that they would start getting trashed afterwards. That's what I heard anyway.

I think it's ok though, those types of websites are too static for something as dynamic as cities and buildings. I think forums are better for it.

[RustTown]

I think the owner is going to grad school in Indiana right now.

I'm not 100% on that, but that's what I seem to remember.

[wolverine]

Jason, I think you are mistaking that for wideopendetroit. Allegedly people were spraypainting their website on a few buildings to get them in trouble, although I find a good chunk of that bull since one of the webmasters publicly said on DetroitYES his group has spraypainted, but in non-descript places. Uhm, whatever.

[Jasoncw]

Jason, I think you are mistaking that for wideopendetroit. Allegedly people were spraypainting their website on a few buildings to get them in trouble, although I find a good chunk of that bull since one of the webmasters publicly said on DetroitYES his group has spraypainted, but in non-descript places. Uhm, whatever.

[Zissou]

Actually ive spoken with DK before, who im pretty sure operates that site, and from those conversations I recall him saying he stopped updating regularly because it did alert people to what was open. I think he adopted the policy of waiting awhile before updating.

[Allan]

Forgotten Detroit is not being updated for two reasons:

1) DK has been very busy finishing up school for the last few years, and there is little time to actually update the site. A totally new Forgotten Detroit website is in the works, but it will be some time before it gets launched. In fact, I don't even want to guess how long it'll be. DK does still explore frequently, although he's not in Detroit nearly as much as he used to be.

2) Posting photos of abandoned buildings on the Internet has caused the downfall of those particular buildings. The thinking among people like DK, myself, and others, used to be that the posting of these photos online would fulfill the curiosity of the people out there who are interested in these places, and the people would not endanger themselves by visiting them. However, it has become very clear that the Internet does quite the opposite. In fact, the downfall of all the Detroit ruins started once the photos were posted on the Internet. Posting photos of amazing, untouched, abandoned spaces seems to attract vandals and taggers to these same spaces. It is sad, really. Anyone who has explored in Detroit knows this. A few of my friends visited the Broderick Tower for the first time 5 years ago. It looked nothing then like it does now. Back then, the building was pristine. Yes, there was decay, but it was decay caused by neglect over time, not decay caused by people smashing things and spray painting all over everything. Today the building is full of broken doors and windows, smashed marble, and more...pretty much everything is destroyed. Due to vandals & other factors, the renovation price tag on the Broderick has risen from about $10 million to over $40 million during the last 5 years.

Needless to say, the new policy at Forgotten Detroit is that a new building will not be posted until it has been either renovated or demolished. It would be nice if people would respect the ruins, but as we've discovered, all it takes are a couple people with the wrong idea and a little too much free time....

[rbdetsport]

I remember about 2 years ago, Allan, you were attacked for posting 4 threads on the Broderick by the DetroitYes! forum. They had a thread about Allan's wrongdoing. I didn't think you posting those pictures was wrong at all, but I do see your point.

[Allan]

By the time I got to the Broderick, it was already completely trashed. I was bashed for trespassing in the building and posting photos of the "perfectly preserved" lobby. At the time of the posting, I had legal access in the building, and the ground floor, including the lobby, was occupied by a bar. Perhaps I should've waited to share my photos of the building. At the same time though, it's not like I did any damage...there were hundreds of photos online elsewhere. Nowadays I wait to post my photos until after a building is sealed up. In some cases, I have never posted photos, nor publicly said anything about going into certain buildings, simply because I don't want any of the wrong people knowing about them, or that there may be a potential access point somewhere. You'd be amazed at what you can get into if you know the right people.

[wolverine]

It's a difficult situation when it comes to posting pictures of these places.

On one hand, there's a huge interest in viewing images of abandoned places. The public has had a recent fascination with our past and seeing what we've left behind. It doesn't matter whether you are into architecture, history, or photography. If you ask anybody if they want to explore Michigan Central Station, they would say they'd love to if safety wasn't an issue, but they will be more than willing to go through photos on the internet. The imagry of our abandoned buildings has become just as powerful as the mysterious places shown in the movies or a television show. There's a reason why MCS is listed in hollywood film site databases.

Public interest in abandoned structures is good, it means they have a likelier chance of action being taken upon them either through preservation of demolition.

The problem is, the world is filled with bad people. And as Allan mentioned, they have a little too much free time, and could care less about the value of anything in these places and care more about destroying what is irreplaceable. Instead of breaking things they own, they surf the net for buildings that are abandoned. Take the word abandoned literally, as in... a forgotten place that no one cares about. So in their state of mind, they can destroy whatever they please because there is no authority to stop them. It's very true, and very sad.

I appreciate Forgotten Detroit's efforts. That means a lot since it will obviously cut down on traffic to that site.

On a good note, the Whitney building has been heavily guarded every time I see it. I know most of you know urban exploration for the sake of photography is a big hobby of mine, but I'm more than willing to sacrifice it for a guard to be at every significant vacant structure in the city.

[Allan]

Yes, one also has to remember that scrappers have the internet too....

I can't tell you how many apartment buildings I've seen that've had plasterwork or exterior architectural ornamentation hammered out of them. Gargoyles seem to be especially popular, and it doesn't seem to matter at what cost they are obtained.

[RustTown]

Just something to think about: There are creeps, criminals, and other assorted mischief-makers trolling the internet for all types of things to satisfy them. I ask, should we shut down myspace because of child kidnappings? Should we shut down Emporis.com, and stop taking pictures of our skyscrapers because terrorist could potentially use the site? I can see both sides, but, sometimes I get an air of arrogance from some urban explorers as if they own the buildings they are exploring, themselves, or as if they are these buildings keepers.

[wolverine]

I'm going to take the discussion away from scrapping since its my personal belief that very few scrappers use the internet to conduct "research" for what they will take for the reason that our photos don't provide information of what is valuable to them. These include pipes, wiring, machinery, etc which are buried within walls, which scrappers know by common sense where to find them. Sure, gargoyles can get stolen, and expensive terracotta by the lowest of scrappers to the highest persons in charge of a condo development in Chicago. But these items are present both on and off the internet.

From an urban exploration standpoint, whether its taking photos or trashing buildings, I think the internet is largely responsible. After all, the internet was what motivated me to go into these places. I saw cool pictures on the internet and wanted to garner a collection of my own. As I mentioned in my earlier post, people see the images of abandoned structures and realize no one cares about them. If these sites were to all disappear. I would bet vandalism would slow down. If myspace were to disappear, I'd bet we might see less child kidnappings. But all would continue to happen just as they did before the internet. But in this case, urban exploration websites are more controllable. There's very few of them, and only they offer the most visual information about these buildings. Without them, you have no info of who lives in them, the extent of the damage from weather and neglect, or if they are monitored by security or not.