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Darkstar's Detroit (Part III)

JasonParis

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Continued from Part II...

Greektown is pretty much the only sliver of downtown where you feel a sense of big city vitality on the sidewalk. However, on closer inspection, it sadly becomes obvious that this isn't a real neighbourhood by any stretch of the definition. Nobody lives here or does their shopping here. It is mostly a created tourist district of over-priced Greek restaurants with a hotel/casino complex adjacent to it.
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Still, the one thing that Greektown should be admired for seems mostly lost on the punters who want their casinos to "dazzle" them a little more. However, the Greektown Casino actually does an admirable job of finding new uses for a historic old warehouse in a somewhat tasteful way.
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As we walked back to our hotel, we stumbled across this attractive, but abandoned theatre which still sits as proudly as it probably ever did.
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The Penobscot Building was the tallest building in Michigan from its completion in 1928 until the construction of the Renaissance Center in 1977. The building's architect, Wirt C. Rowland, also designed the Guardian Building . It is said that the building provided inspiration for NYC's Empire State Building. Today, the building is mostly un-leased, but does house the Mexican Consulate and serves as a wireless fibre optic internet hub for the city's downtown.
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I wasn't sure about the name (or state) of this building, but can assume it's probably not occupied and has some of the most random window placement I've ever seen. Many abandoned Detroit skyscrapers have sadly become little more than glorified billboard holders.
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On the north-west corner of Detroit's downtown sits the new MGM Grand Casino. The greater downtown area now offers three major casinos and is the source of great debate as to whether it has helped or hurt Detroit's fortunes.
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This is a view from our hotel looking north-east towards Ford Field (home of the Detroit Lions).
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The lobby of the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.
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The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit features a variety of restaurants, bars and lounges and is truly something to behold. As Michigan's economy continues to falter, it strikes me as one of those projects that just would not have happened if the economy started turning even six months prior. Here's hoping the Book Cadillac does not find itself back in a state of abandonment in a few years.
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The "Italian Garden Room" has been completely renovated to somewhat capture its past grandeur.
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Comerica Park from Woodward Avenue. A tasteful stadium, but too far removed from Woodward if you ask me. Why does it need a front lawn?
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Further up Woodward, just north of I-75, and just outside downtown, is a part of the city where it seems efforts have been made to bring people back to the greater downtown, but via new buildings that actually address the street. There wasn't many of these projects, but the fact that there were a few gave me a glimmer of hope for this town.
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Colourful smokestacks a bit further up Woodward.
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Smokestacks on Woodward (cont.)
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For the second day in a row we found ourselves in the Arts Center neighbourhood, but this time paid a trip to the Detroit Historical Museum.
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The Detroit Historical Museum (cont.)
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The flag of the City of Detroit in the Detroit Historical Museum.
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A replica of an old train station that once stood on Woodward (in the Detroit Historical Museum).
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A replica auto assembly line (in the Detroit Historical Museum).
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Detroit Historical Museum (cont.)
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Detroit Historical Museum (cont.)
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As you are probably gathering, much of the Detroit Historical Museum's collection is a tribute/celebration to Detroit's place in the history and psyche of American "car culture." Some of the displays even said things like "cars build communities."
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This almost seemed like a sad joke, but the display was truly broke and only heightened the main shortcoming of the Detroit Historical Museum for me. The museum's collection ends around the 1960s and only hints at white flight, depopulation and the current state of the city. There's a giant sense of denial that hangs over all the museum's displays and truly made me lose a lot of respect for the place. We all know Detroit's made its mistakes, but its also why Detroit is such a fascinating place and why I'd wager many would seek out an afternoon here. Sadly, Wikipedia would inform one much more about the true state of modern Detroit than this museum ever would.
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Detroit Historical Museum (cont.)
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A replica of what the streets of Detroit were like in the late 1800s (in the Detroit Historical Museum).
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A Wayne State University building, just south of the Detroit Historical Society, on Woodward Avenue, in the Arts Center neighbourhood.
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Also south of the Detroit Historical Museum and across the street from the Detroit Institute of Arts is the main branch of the Detroit Public Library system. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Detroit Public Library (cont.)...
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A Detroit Edison Company maintenance hole cover in the Arts Center neighourhood.
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Continued in Detroit IV.
 
Last edited:
More good Detroit pics in Part 3...

DK416: More good pics of Detroit-especially those in the DHS explaining Detroit's history-it surprises me that the decline of the late 60s on are not mentioned-are they possibly in denial? LI MIKE
 

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