Friday 6 January 2012

DETROIT: Michigan Central Station



Modelled from a Roman Bath this was the central waiting room.
The main concourse featured an image of the Detroit skyline donated by the local newspaper
I'll admit since before I knew officially about moving to Detroit, there was one place I wanted to visit, perhaps its my love of trains and old buildings but the Michigan Central Railway Station is the perfect place for photographs. Formally this train station was the hub for Detroit and south-eastern Michigan's rail network, now unfortunately the building is a shell, it's windows are broken or missing, entrances are boarded.

It was designed after the original station was burnt down in 1913 and completed with 18 floor office space above with a huge luggage basement below all complete with a shopping arcade.  The station itself isn't within walking distance of Downtown so passengers arrived using the street car. However the Depression and the introduction of the car [remember Detroit is Motor City] the street cars vanished and so the station was cut off. While it managed to serve it's use during WWII it somewhat survived the declining use of public transport if only just. Nevertheless in 1988 the station closed.

Standing in the right place you can peek through the boarded entrances, you can only imagine how gorgeous this building once was. While landscaping has occurred and construction vehicles are parked before the main doors whether any work is being undertaken, or being planned remains unknown. In the UK you could imagine such a building having a preservation order and restored into some transportation museum, it's a shame its not happening to this place. It is a magnificent building.

17 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous building - can't believe its being left to just rot! You would think that with a shortage of genuine "old" architecture, this would be treasured. But I suppose its all about money - just like everywhere else.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  2. Wow, this building is absolutely gorgeous, it's a shame it's not seeing much use any more, I hate seeing such lovely architecture going to waste! xx

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  3. I love beautiful buildings like this!

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  4. It is so sad such a beautiful and iconic piece of architecture is being abandoned this way. It's only the fault of the people and the government for neglecting this piece of history.

    xoxo
    Sophie - Diary of a Young Designer
    http://diaryofayoungdesigner.blogspot.com

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  5. Wow. That building is absolutely gorgeous. It really is such a pity it isn't used anymore. I can just imagine the stunningly well dressed men and women shuffling through the station

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  6. Yeah I mean it occasionally appears on anything based in Detroit, I mean you can see it from downtown and on some of the major routes but it's just like a huge landmark. I know if it was in the UK it would have either been knocked down in the 1950s or be used as museum or like top knock apartments.

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  7. wow, that all looks so magical! i've never been to detroit, but i'd definitely want to see that!!
    xo TJ

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  8. What a great building, i've just found this link which you might like
    http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/01/2011/the-ruins-of-detroit

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  9. Yeah i've come across that link before - has some gorgeous images but in a way it's a shame the buildings have been left in that way.

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  10. Aah, your photos are beautiful. I'm really enjoying exploring your blog, so glad I found the link on the cosmo thread!
    x

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  11. Yes, it seems incredible that anyone would leave a Grand Piano in a deserted building. (etc etc)

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  12. So, so grand and beautiful! x

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  13. This place just looks like it has a ton of great history behind it. You can see it from the outside. So beautiful.

    http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
    Twitter: @GlamKitten88

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  14. Yeah it's a lovely building, we drove past it yesterday and it's so grand in the landscape.

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  15. I love all of the pictures, so beautiful.

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