Detroit: August 27, 2004 (Part 2 of 2)

[Allan]

Contined from Part 1....

Cadillac Place is so large that I couldn't fit it all in the viewfinder! It was the world's largest office building when it was built.

The Fisher Building from the entrance to Cadillac Place

This is one of my favorite pics of the set, although I'm not sure exactly why!

The Milwaukee Avenue side of Cadillac Place

The Albert Kahn Building

The Argonaut Building

Next, I drove down Woodward, and through downtown on my way to Belle Isle, Detroit's island park. On Belle Isle, we get a view like this:

The bridge to the island (Douglas Macarthur Bridge)

Since the sun was setting, I decided I'd go shoot some photos of downtown for a half hour or so. I parked in front of the Compuware building, and as I was taking this pic, some people from school saw me and invited me to an overpriced dinner at HRC.

After dinner, the Penobscot Building was all lit up. This didn't turn out too well, so I guess I will try to take another pic some other time.

I hope you enjoyed!

Part 1

[wolverine]

Very nice Allan! I really need to walk around New Center some more. I'm glad that when the state moved in, they didn't remove the General Motors engraving over the Milwaukee side. I like it when history is left. It kind of stunk that the lit sign on top of the roof was removed though. General Motors kept it lit even though they had already moved, and the state hadn't moved in yet. If the state outgrows the building, I hope they don't do some freakish addition to it. But the building is so huge, I'm sure there is still room to grow.

The Argonaut building is also one of my favorites, my father works for GM and he took me into that building as a kid. I always loved the masonry around the top of the building. I'm actually kind of glad GM left these buildings. First of all, this allowed other companies or the government to fill them with jobs that would have gone elsewhere. Second, GM moved to the Renaissance Center and revived that sad place, and is making it a more important part of the downtown. Third, they are also making their other older buildings available into residential units. This will bring more poeple downtown. So now, you have two massive historical structures that are thriving, and a Renaissance Center in Renaissance that will hopefully help the downtown.

[Allan]

At least I know I'm not the only one who misses the old sign on top of Cadillac Place! Some people thought it looked tacky, but I kind of liked it the way it was.

I just can't see the state adding on the the building. If they needed more space I'm sure they's build a new building somewhere nearby. One thing I noticed was the lack of ground floor retail in the building. It would look so much better if they uncovered the windows and put in some shops!

I also like the General Motors inscription on the Milwaukee side. I had never noticed it until the day I went to take those pics.

I noticed that there is a hearing scheduled to discuss concerns regarding the redevelopment of the Argonaut building. So it looks like the redevelopment is moving forward. That will add a lot to the neighborhood. I can't remember exactly off the top of my head, but I believe there will be 250 units in the building. Maybe I will have to move in there...that building is awesome!