PHOTOS OF DETROIT: DOWN HOME IN MOTOR CITY Feel the money and power that was Detroit in these photos. Desolate landscapes. Poignant, beautiful and sad at the same time. Photos by two French guys; Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre. A several year project down home in the motor city. Published as The Ruins of Detroit Although they can't do justice to the whole collection, here are but three of them I picked at random. PACKARD MOTORS PLANT FISHER BODY21 PLANT CLOCK: CASS TECHNICAL HIGHSCHOOL And the authors have written: Ruins are the visible symbols and landmarks of our societies and their changes, small pieces of history in suspension. The state of ruin is essentially a temporary situation that happens at some point, the volatile result of change of era and the fall of empires. This fragility, the time elapsed but even so running fast, lead us to watch them one very last time : being dismayed, or admire, making us wondering about the permanence of things. Photography appeared to us as a modest way to keep a little bit of this ephemeral state. Check out all the pics at www.marchandmeffre.com
I have the book. Very moving photos. I'm not from there, but did a lot of business there in the early 80's. I still visit friend in the area. It's sad to see the city in ruins.
The car guys of the 40's & 50's that are often emulated here on the HAMB had no freakin' idea that this would happen to their country.............the one they had recently fought for and was a now producer for the world. They were lucky indeed! .
I really dig pictures like that! They really are "small pieces of history in suspension", that perfectly describes why I like them. Man if those walls could talk. Kinda makes my mind wander...
i was born in detroit. a good friend of mine who still lives up there says; "detroit is a shit-hole."
I rode through there during the riots in the 60's, I can't even imagine what it looks like now. I think I'd be carrying some heat if I was to go back now.
It gets worse and worse.I do some scouting for film crews,and thats what they all want to shoot.There are some amazing historical buildings going to waste..Berky,P.M me if you want the tour when you're in town... Dave
Have a friend living in Grosse Point (just outside Detroit). He took me for a quick tour of the bowels of Detroit ... WOW. They have a McDonalds restaurant equipped with bullet proof glass at the counter (you pay through a slot, then get your food through the same slot) ... no "playland" for the kids in that Mickey D's. Go to GoogleEarth, you can "stroll" through the streets (with no fear of getting shot or mugged) and see all the abandoned/burned out homes, businesses etc ... very sad.
the old places are cool as far as the history goes. its not quite as romantic when you have to drive through it.
Everytime I see pics from there all I can think is its like some Twilight Zone episode where all the people just up and vanish. Just leaving everything behind.
A special documentary on HD recently reported on the corruption and sad state of the Detroit school system. It is actually worse than a third world country with the violence and unemployment that is so prevalent there. It is just plain scary that America is showing the signs of societal decline in so many metropolitan areas and getting worse by the day. It's hard to believe so many hot rods started their life in Detroit and the prosperity that was prevalent in those days..
The following is an article from Today's Machining Magazine from May 19th. Talk about make you sick. The La Brea Tar Pits of Machines By Lloyd Graff on <ABBR class=published title="Thursday, May 19th, 2011, 8:48 pm">May 19, 2011</ABBR> Lloyd Graff with Auctioneer Robert Levy at GM's Willow Run Plant I havent gone to an old fashioned open outcry auction at an automotive factory in quite awhile. For sheer drama and boredom the Hilco Industrial four day 7000 lot sale this week was a throwback to the days when men were men and spark plugs were made on screw machines. The sale was at GMs old Willow Run transmission plant6 million square feet under one roofthat used to be a farm owned by Henry Ford in Ypsilanti, Michigan, near Ann Arbor. Today the biggest non-Government, non-University employer in the area is Dominos Pizza, which is currently spending millions to advertise its fried chicken. During World War II, Willow Run turned out a B-24 bomber every 45 minutes. GM used to employ six guys full-time to fix the roof, the electric bill was $500,000 a month, and the parking lot could fit a dozen U of M Big Houses. This joint was BIG. It took 10 minutes to travel end to end by electric golf cart. By the end of September when the last Knaack toolbox is gone, this mammoth structure will no longer bleed Lava Soap. For me it was a kick to hear Robert Levy, the Alex Trebek of the auction stand, warble his do I hear doo-wap, selling everything from surface plates to Vidmar cabinets. Robert is 53 now with almost 30 years away from his jewelry making days in London when he indulged in his artistic side more than his deal making acumen. Robert is a virtuoso on the stand, which became apparent when the pretenders stumbled trying to sell grinders with a privilege. The privilege is a clever ploy to extract more money from the bidders by offering to sell the option to buy multiples of similar items to the high biddercapitalizing on the fear that the successful bidder might take every piece. I love the animal instinct that bubbles up in an open outcry sale. The silence of the Web gives way to the belligerence of testosterone bulging egotists who like to posture at sales. The auctioneer plays on the competitive juices, weighing the facial tells of each bidder, with the added excitement of Internet bidders who are waiting anxiously online. An auction event like Willow Run has been a year in the making. It was actually the last of three sales to finally quiet the machines that once turned out the components of those Chevy Impala transmissions that used to fall apart after 40,000 miles. That was when cars were cars and Chevrolet was apple pie. My brother Jim and I schlepped to Ypsilanti because it was sort of the La Brea Tar Pits of screw machines. GM had amassed almost 200 multi-spindle automatics, mostly Acmes, from 9/16″ capacity to 6 RB6 and everything in the middle. Oh, the heavy metal music they must have made. The floor must have rocked when those spindles were turning. On the two days Jim and I attended, there were more bidders online (about 300) than there were in the audience, though most of the items were bought by attendees. There were many attendees from what we used to call Third World Countries, who now have more money to spend than Americans. A large gaggle of Indians were present, but they seemed to be mostly chatting and playing cards amongst themselves. India is developing a serious automotive business these days with Tata Motors buying Jaguar for some unfathomable reason, self-flagellation I suppose. Auctions like this bring out odd valuations, like a Ridged pipe threader selling for more than a 11/4 RA6 Acme screw machine, or an EA Cincinnati Centerless fetching $10,000 while the perennial stalwart 220-8 going for $6,000. A 1000 ton press didnt get a bid because the rigging costs surpassed the value of the machine. Ultimately, the real vulture capitalists, the scrappies, will hack away at it and tote it in pieces to the furnaces. I found the whole thing a scene. It was Schumpeters creative destruction in action. Old Detroit is dismantled. New Detroit rises in Saltillo and San Antonio. Detroitits the home of Little Caesars and Dominos. Add a little extra sauce. Question: Does this make you sad?
the problem is the animals have ruined the city and now with nowhere else to go they are coming out to the subburbs bringing their problems with them it really is a shame when people want to try to make it better and people like quame kilpatrick come along its like 2 steps forward them 4 steps back
This might not be Detriot but bodys built here were shipped to Detriot and all over the nation. this is the New orleans ford distribution plant where my Model A truck was built.
the ruin of Detroit is the result of Union and Government policy. -------------------------------------------------------------- Creating new jobs in America is a simple matter of relaxing our excessive rules, regulations and restrictions.
Flint was THE hub of GM.....as little as 5 yrs ago. I'm proud to say I'm part of GM's history. I live in THE GM town. I work at a GM dealer....Flint is still here.
There is much more to the city that what you hear or read about. Im not implying that its a good city to move to and find work, but it has its moments.
The Jalopy Journal
