Finding Life in Detroit

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by Nightsky

Must have felt horrible to get such a bad first day in Detroit but it can be dangerous to enter abandoned places sometimes, and I can imagine in Detroit even more then usual.
The architecture is really great and you captured it really well, too bad so few people are walking on the streets, the streets would have looked amazing with more life (but I know it is like that in many North American cities).
Incredible art deco details!

Well, it was also freezing freaking cold and super windy and rainy when we were there.

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by The North One

One of America's greatest legacy cities, you captured it very well.

Funny you spent some time in Brush park, a transformative project for the neighborhood just started construction and most of the victorian mansions will be renovated and surrounded by new urban development. Maybe you could take some after photos on your next visit!

Cheers

Yes, Brush Park is for sure going under a major revitalization right now and its very good to see the remaining housing stock, which is beautiful being restored. So sad to see that most of the Victorians have been lost but what remains is incredible in and of itself.

[chris08876]

Tale of two cities. The picturesque downtown area, and the barren wastelands of dilapidated homes.

Some of those homes, bar the wooden, sealed windows, are stunning. Beautiful Victorians. Likewise for those pre-war interiors.

Great set photolith!

[STLgasm]

Detroit has so much soul, Ray Charles is jealous!

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by The North One

One of America's greatest legacy cities, you captured it very well.

Funny you spent some time in Brush park, a transformative project for the neighborhood just started construction and most of the victorian mansions will be renovated and surrounded by new urban development. Maybe you could take some after photos on your next visit!

Anyway, as many have noticed Detroit is a city rich with Art Deco and as some have also noticed it is a unique subset of Art Deco known as Mayan Revival. The Fisher, Penobscot, Guardian are all Mayan Revival and embellished with native American symbols and figures. I'm pretty sure Detroit has the world's largest collection of Mayan Art Deco, there is only a few other major examples of it outside of the city (San Francisco has one example and so does Baltimore, and even Pontiac has one).

Cheers

You can find Mayan Revival here and here around the country. There's a theater in Oil City, PA, that is Mayan revival. But I don't know of any city with as much Mayan Revival as Detroit.

[photoLith]

^
Whoa had no idea about that theater in Oil City, I'm actually going there tomorrow, will have to check it out.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by photoLith

^
Whoa had no idea about that theater in Oil City, I'm actually going there tomorrow, will have to check it out.

It's the Latonia Theater, 1 E. 1st Street in the Laytonia neighborhood (south of the river). It was built in 1928. From what I understand, only the cornice is Mayan Revival; the interior was pretty standard back in the day, and has been altered nowadays anyway.






Oil City has quite a few interesting buildings. I'm sure you're aware of that church on the hillside in Polish Hill. The Laytonia neighborhood has some interesting buildings, though. Down the street from the theater are a notable church and library. Then on 2nd Street, a couple blocks away, is an old gas station dating back to 1930. Seneca Street in Downtown also has some historic former oil company buildings.

[dc_denizen]

awesome pics. what a great opportunity Detroiters have right now, to re-imagine a great and historic city...the (nearly complete it seems) renovation of the stunning deco towers is hopefully just the start.

I would definitely like to live there.

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

It's the Latonia Theater, 1 E. 1st Street in the Laytonia neighborhood (south of the river). It was built in 1928. From what I understand, only the cornice is Mayan Revival; the interior was pretty standard back in the day, and has been altered nowadays anyway.






Oil City has quite a few interesting buildings. I'm sure you're aware of that church on the hillside in Polish Hill. The Laytonia neighborhood has some interesting buildings, though. Down the street from the theater are a notable church and library. Then on 2nd Street, a couple blocks away, is an old gas station dating back to 1930. Seneca Street in Downtown also has some historic former oil company buildings.

Yeah I've photographed that church and most of the historic sites in the city as well as an incredible abandoned tunnel that's downtown. Somehow I missed that theater though.

[TonyAnderson]

👏👏👏👏👏

[shappy]

Man Detroit looks awesome here. Those deco scrapers are stunners...

[gatt]

wow!