Detroit - Downtown - General Views and Modern Buildings

[Docta_Love]

Originally Posted by F1 Tommy

Detroit has some great areas. You would not know that if you listened to the national media. The old sections remind me a lot of Chicago, but without the newer tall buildings.

Detroit does have the most Art Deco high-rises after N.Y. & Chicago while there are obviously a number of modern buildings and the name of this thread implies but the skyline is certainly dominated by deco high-rises.




Great shot of the Griswald st. streetwall i like how it even catches a bit of the concave detail on side of the Guardian Building.

[F1 Tommy]

Originally Posted by Docta_Love

Sensational stories that create controversy tend to be the bread and butter of this click bait era, traditional news outlets are also are dealing with a decline in readership so there is added pressure to create "buzz".

Detroit does have the most Art Deco high-rises after N.Y. & Chicago while there are obviously a number of modern buildings and the name of this thread implies but the skyline is certainly dominated by deco high-rises.


Great shot of the Griswald st. streetwall i like how it even catches a bit of the concave detail on side of the Guardian Building.

They can always put the taller buildings up now, and I see a few good projects in the pipeline. The old style is expensive to build so none of the southern cities will ever see much of them. I am rooting for Detroit the city to be stronger than ever.

[Docta_Love]

The Guardian, Fisher or Penobscot Buildings they do stand up well against the Gems of NY & Chitown. But oh man I would really have loved if either the Book Tower or Fisher Building had started construction a few years earlier (only 1/3 built cuz of depression same with book). But check this google earth rendering I came across it on Reddit of what a fully completed Fisher Building would look like (minus the gold plate roof which was removed in WW2 so as not to direct potential German Bombers).


https://www.reddit.com/r/Detroit/com...g_is_finished/


Despite all the regional issues that linger and hold back an even bigger recovery i'm optimistic Detroit had the bones of a world class city the region still has economic power it's GDP still on par with Singapore, Hong Kong or Rome. The pieces are here some point out the weather as a negative but the state has good geography on it's side ie more coast than any other state in the lower 48. Great Lakes beaches are also finally getting recognition as being top notch (whether that is ultimately a good thing or bad is yet to be seen) ... Sleeping Bear Dunes has been named the best beach in America and one of the best in the world in the past few years. Detroit's got a chance to truly get things right this time that's the real opportunity here we can still be the Motor City and a have a proper world class urban environment at the same time so to speak.

[subterranean]

Whoa! Sweet find, Docta!

[Orlando]

Great thread! I think we are starting to see the start of a revival of Detroit.

[TwasBrillig]

Detroit has some great old masonry!

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by JMKeynes

"You gotta lose your mind in Detroit, Rock City!"

The only Kiss song I ever liked.

The 1999 movie was decent, and even back then I remember thinking after seeing the opening credits, "Not bad . . . but there was no Ren Center in Detroit in 1978." And then I found out later - on Nalyd's Sky Scraper Page no less - that the Ren Center was actually finished in 1977.

Nice pics, geomorph - out of all the newer buildings, I like the EY one the most. That's some sharp-colored glass.

[geomorph]

Originally Posted by Docta_Love

The Guardian, Fisher or Penobscot Buildings they do stand up well against the Gems of NY & Chitown. But oh man I would really have loved if either the Book Tower or Fisher Building had started construction a few years earlier (only 1/3 built cuz of depression same with book). But check this google earth rendering I came across it on Reddit of what a fully completed Fisher Building would look like (minus the gold plate roof which was removed in WW2 so as not to direct potential German Bombers).


https://www.reddit.com/r/Detroit/com...g_is_finished/

I had no idea this was a planned mega-complex!

[Docta_Love]

^ U know i'd seen sketches of the original rendering but It's hard to grasp the scale until you've seen what it would look like if it were built. The Fisher wasn't the only mega complex being built in Detroit at that time the Book Tower was representing downtown in an New Center (uptown) vs downtown skyscraper contest. Just like the Fisher building a third phase would be built connected to the current Book Tower it was planned to be 81 floors. The current (phase 2 Book Tower) is 38 floors and 475 ft if we extrapolate about what the height of an 81 story Building would have been it's looking to be over 1,000 ft.

The central tower in the Fisher complex was planned to be 60 floors as opposed to the current 30 story 444 ft tower a 60 floor Fisher could have been pushing 1,000 feet as well. While the Empire State would still take the crown as tallest both the Book & Fisher would have been able to give it and the Chrysler a run for their money.

Here's a couple different renderings for the proposed mega Book Tower and a bit more I came across.


http://www.city-data.com/forum/detro...ook-tower.html


https://www.detroityes.com/mb/showth...uot-Book-Tower

Here's Detroit's unbuilt CBD with the 81 story Book Tower and many more including a expanded people mover haha.


http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messa...tml?1197641829

Another Reddit find not quite as good as the first imo but I like how its got the OG gold plated roof.


https://www.reddit.com/r/Detroit/com...sher_building/

[jens]

How safe is it to walk around? I am hoping to go soon.

[detroit_alive]

Originally Posted by jens

How safe is it to walk around? I am hoping to go soon.

Downtown and surrounds are pretty safe providing you have basic street smarts. I wouldn't recommend going out into the neighborhoods or off the beaten path without a local guide. That said, please come and have a good time!

[jens]

Yeah, I'm thinking of coming soon. I'll have 5 days in New York - first time on the east coast. And I would love to get in Detroit too. Without transport, and arriving at the bus station - alone - downtown is fine in terms of safety? I am looking at staying in some accommodation in Corktown.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by jens

Yeah, I'm thinking of coming soon. I'll have 5 days in New York - first time on the east coast. And I would love to get in Detroit too. Without transport, and arriving at the bus station - alone - downtown is fine in terms of safety? I am looking at staying in some accommodation in Corktown.

You would probably be fine, but, to me, it's crazy to come to Detroit without a car. You will, at least, be using Ubers everywhere.

The attractions in Detroit are VERY spread out, and there are lots of empty spaces in-between. You could, hypothetically, walk everywhere, but they will be long, lonely walks, and there could be potential safety issues, especially with wild dogs (I wouldn't worry so much about people, at least in the core).

I also think it's kinda odd to pick Detroit as a destination if it's your first time in the Eastern U.S., but who knows, we all have different tastes. What would be the specific appeal of walking around Detroit?

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by Crawford

You would probably be fine, but, to me, it's crazy to come to Detroit without a car. You will, at least, be using Ubers everywhere.

The attractions in Detroit are VERY spread out, and there are lots of empty spaces in-between. You could, hypothetically, walk everywhere, but they will be long, lonely walks, and there could be potential safety issues, especially with wild dogs (I wouldn't worry so much about people, at least in the core).

I also think it's kinda odd to pick Detroit as a destination if it's your first time in the Eastern U.S., but who knows, we all have different tastes. What would be the specific appeal of walking around Detroit?

Depends on what attractions he wants to see. The streetcar (and of course Lyft or Uber) can get him from downtown up to the museums (DIA and MOCAD), central library, Midtown. Stadiums are all easily accessible now. Opera is Downtown. Symphony is on the street car line. Lots of theaters along the street car line. Night life is all easily accessible. And, of course, all the beautiful rehabs going on is mostly around downtown. Belle Isle/Aquarium would require a ride, but not a long one. Henry Ford Museum would require a ride. Detroit Zoo would require a ride.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I also think it's kinda odd to pick Detroit as a destination if it's your first time in the Eastern U.S., but who knows, we all have different tastes. What would be the specific appeal of walking around Detroit?

LOL, projecting a bit much huh? hush, nobody asked for your biases. The same appeal applies that comes with walking around any old great city, duh.

You can get around core Detroit without a car just fine, however, you might need to use some ride-sharing services which you'd probably do in any city as a tourist anyway. Wild dogs are a non-issue that's just hyped up media lore, you're not gonna be walking around brightmoor or someplace like that. Also, the city has lots of new bike lanes and bike sharing stations now, you could definitely get around that way.

If you wanna explore the whole region, yeah you're gonna need to rent a car.

[jens]

Detroit has the architecture and the history - it's the one place other than NY that I'd like to see in the north-east.

I'll probably be there on the weekend - is it deserted downtown on Sundays?

Bike-sharing sounds interesting, as does the streetcar. Renting a car is an option too. But, of course, you get to see more life using other means of transport.

From there, I will probably head (drive) to Pittsburgh to see a friend and then back to NYC. If I could add one more city to my list, it would be Philadelphia.

Or should I go to Boston instead!? Serious question.

[lhueaglesphan]

Since when is Detroit in the Northeast?

[LMich]

Edit: Guess I missed it the first time. In either case, why come into a thread just to make a comment like this?

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by LMich

Since when did anyone in this thread say that was?

Literally the comment before his.

[The North One]

It's general northeastern United States, not sure why this is controversial.