Wednesday, January 5, 2011

After the Fall

Detroit, we hardly knew ye. 


The ruined Spanish-Gothic interior of the United Artists Theater in Detroit.
The cinema was built in 1928 by C Howard Crane, and finally closed in 1974


Detroit in Ruins is a photo series of once-important buildings in a once-important city.  Click the link for more.  Philadelphia, Atlanta, Newark, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh...  (And London, Paris,...)  They aren't like this.  Not yet. 

More than any other city, Detroit has imploded and collapsed.  It was once the heart of urban, blue-collar America, back when "urban" and "urbane" were cognate.  Rome must have looked like this, after the Vandals came through. 

Perhaps the saddest picture of all is the East Side Library. 

1 comment:

  1. Strikingly reminiscent of 12 Monkeys. And Dick's kibble. Lots and lots of kibble. Dick and Gilliam truly were prophets in their own way.

    ReplyDelete

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