architecture

The Cutting Room Floor

Posted on November 19, 2009November 26, 2024 by Michigan in Pictures

God and Automobiles, photo by g. s. george.

Yesterday on Absolute Michigan we featured Generation Y Michigan, a project of Michigan Radio that is probing why young adults leave Michigan (or buck the trend and choose to stay). While poking around, I found an engaging feature by Colleen Hill of Pixelgawker that features the photography of Geoff George (a regular on Michigan in Pictures). It’s titled Editors and Image Makers: On Photographing Detroit, Part 1 and begins:

One of the most important jobs in the media, that of the editor, often goes unseen. A well-edited film is seamless in its delivery. There are no awkward cuts or pauses, and the plot transcends time and distance effortlessly. Recently Detroit has been a prime topic of interest both in the national media and in film. With the copious number of photographs and footage of the city circulating the Internet and television, I can’t help but wonder, what is the edited version of Detroit that resides in the minds of the most of Americans? What are the parts left behind on the cutting room floor?

Read on for a lot more! About the photo above, Geoff writes:

This is the memorable and ironic view that greets every motorist traveling south on I-75 towards downtown. Thousands of these motorists are surely suburban GM workers on their way to work every day, and the irony of this chance alignment is hopefully not lost on them. In the background, the Renaissance Center, Detroit’s tallest building and GM World Headquarters. In the foreground, St. Josaphat, a 105-year old still-functioning relic from Detroit’s heyday. Detroit is the Motor City, but the sins committed here cannot be forgotten or forgiven–from the hundreds of murders every year to the construction of a freeway system that divided and destroyed vibrant and working neighborhoods. Hopefully this image will one day have different associations.

For me, it is a powerful view that is quintessentially Detroit. I’m sure it’s been photographed hundreds of times, but the balance and contrast between Detroit’s largest and most infamous glass skyscraper, a struggling community church, and the freeway that cut a swath across the city and acted as a runway for white flighters provides me with endless fascination. I hope you will find it equally stimulating.

You can see a whole lot more in Geoff’s the city on the strait: detroit set (slideshow).

The Pontiac Silverdome

Posted on November 17, 2009November 17, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

Abandoned Pontiac Silverdome – Pontiac Mi, photo by Derek Farr ( DetroitDerek ).

Crain’s Detroit reported yesterday afternoon that an as yet unnamed Canadian company has purchased the Pontiac Silverdome for $583,000.

Ballparks.com’s page on the Pontiac Silverdome notes that at 80,368, the massive Silverdome long had the largest seating capacity in the NFL. The air-supported and cable-restrained facility was the largest of its kind in the world and is the first successful example of a fiberglass fabric roof system. From Wikipedia’s entry on the Pontiac Silverdome, I found this site dedicated to Silverdome architect C. Don Davidson. The site explains:

After working in the south as a prominent architect for several government and city projects, Davidson returned home in 1965 to a city that was slowly dying and stated in his own words, *”It looked as if someone had dropped a bomb on the city”. In 1966 he was hired at the University of Detroit to teach architecture and urban planning.

It was then when Davidson and his U.of D. class embarked upon an urban renewal project for Pontiac under the direction of Bruno Leon, Dean of Architecture.

You’ll definitely want to click through for drawings, press clippings and more about the Pontiac Silverdome.

Curiously enough, Derek’s photo appears on that site! See it bigger in his Detroit Ruins (and other cities) slideshow.

If you’d like a video look, you can check out the auction preview video (go to about 1:20 to get past the auction promo). If you’d rather just see what it looks like with laser lights and a rave going on, how about this video of Project Hardcore @ Silverdome in 2009?

Dark Mood: Basilica of St. Adalbert

Posted on November 3, 2009November 3, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

Dark Mood, photo by Rudy Malmquist.

The web site for Basilica of St. Adalbert (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids) tells a little of the history of this ornate church that has always fascinated me as I’ve driven past it on the freeway going west out of Grand Rapids.

The Saint Adalbert Aid Society was formed in 1872. At that time the purpose of the fraternal aid societies that sprang up in the primarily ethnic areas of the city, was to assist new immigrants in settling in the area, finding housing, and employment. With the help of the Saint Adalbert Aid Society, and on the initiative of the many Polish people of this area, two lots were purchased in 1880 at the corner of Fourth Street and Davis Avenue, NW, and in June of 1881 construction of a small wooden church was begun. Thus, St. Adalbert Parish was soon established. In 1891 the original church was enlarged to accommodate the every growing Polish population.

In early July of 1907, work began on the present church building. The cornerstone was laid on August 18, 1907, and the building was completed in late spring of 1913 for a total cost of about $150,000, including all of its furnishings.

The basilica is one of a few Minor Basilica in the US and the only church of this rank in Michigan. Wikipedia has more about Polish Cathedrals in America and says that these ornate churches were built by Polish Catholics in rememberance of the glory days of the Polish Commonwealth in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Be sure to check Rudy’s shot out background bigalicious and see more pics in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan group on Flickr.

Assignment Detroit

Posted on September 24, 2009September 24, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

The Comic, photo by gatsbyj.

This morning on Absolute Michigan we posted a feature on Assignment Detroit from Time Inc. Check it out or go straight to Assignment Detroit.

Check the photo above out bigger in Christian’s Around Detroit slideshow (or start it from the beginning)

Michigan Downtowns

Posted on September 15, 2009September 15, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

Postcard View, photo by Eridony.

Today I’m at the Michigan Downtown Conference in Lansing. Assuming the wifi at the Lansing Center is up to the task, I’ll be posting over on updates from the conference on Absolute Michigan.

Be sure to check this out bigger and in his massive Downtown Lansing set (slideshow).

Rain is Good … unless you’re a weekend event

Posted on August 29, 2009August 29, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

Rain is Good, photo by photoshoparama.

This morning, for the first time in a long time, I had the chance to sit down for a few hours with coffee and my computer to wander around the Michigan photosphere and think about what to write on Michigan in Pictures today.

One of the first things I read was Sculpture city in ‘misunderestimated’ Michigan that looks at how Michigan is quietly growing as a destination for tourists of all kinds with landmarks like Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids.

Bouncing around in my head was how rainy this summer has been, making things tough for outdoor events like this weekend’s*…

Epicurean Classic in St. Joseph
Chrysler Arts, Beats & Eats in Detroit
Michigan State Fair in Detroit
and (where I’m still going to go later today) the first-ever Traverse City Microbrew & Music Festival in Traverse City
I can’t even imagine what this afternoon’s Cherry Roubaix bike race will be like though!

I’ll keep singing “rain, rain, go away” for all these folks and if it doesn’t I’ll try and take comfort in the fact that it’s boosting lake levels and hope that people will remember that rain is good, hunt down their rain gear and still show up to support folks who are working to build more fun stuff in Michigan!

Check out Dan’s photo bigger in his slideshow and splash around in the Frederik Meijer Gardens slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.

* Note: these events all came from the Absolute Michigan Event Calendar

Asbestos and Mercury

Posted on August 26, 2009August 26, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

Asbestos and Mercury, photo by gatsbyj.

Christian was chasing the light … check this out bigger in his urban decay slideshow.

Theft of the Traverse City State Hospital Gate

Posted on August 22, 2009August 22, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

Light of Day Falls on the Asylum, photo by sunliner500.

We’ve been working all week on the first ever Traverse City Wine & Art Festival which takes place tonight. In a normal world, I’d be posting today only about how excited I am at how amazing this event will be.

The festival takes place at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons and the Minervini Group who owns and manages the of the former Traverse City State Hospital was gracious enough to let us use an office in their main headquarters. Yesterday morning, I was shocked to learn that someone had stolen the iconic gate from the back of Building 50. It’s likely that this metal gate was packed on a truck for Chicago or elsewhere. Check out some of the photos linked below to see the details, and if you ever come across it on a walk, know that there are a lot of people who would appreciate you letting the Minervinis know by email or calling 231.941.1900!

Have a look at Nick’s photo bigger and also check out Traverse City State Hospital set (slideshow). There’s more photos at traverse city state hospital gate on Flickr.

There’s also great information about the Traverse City State Hospital from Kirkbride Buildings and some cool old photos on this Building 50 page that might contain some shots of the gate.

Riverfront Redevelopment: Lansing’s Ottawa Street Power Station

Posted on August 13, 2009August 13, 2009 by Michigan in Pictures

Riverfront Redevelopment, photo by Mario.Q.

Mario has a great Ottawa Street Power Station set (slideshow) in which he’s documenting this redevelopment project.

Wikipedia’s entry for the Ottawa Street Power Station says:

The Ottawa Street station provided electricity and steam to the downtown Lansing area from 1939 through the late 1980’s. By 1971, improvements at the Board of Water and Light’s Eckert Station permitted the Ottawa Street Station to operate as a backup station for electric generation. It continued to provide steam service into the 1980s. In 1984, this Board of Water and Light’s Eckert Station began providing steam service, initially as a backup to the Ottawa Street Station, but eventually as the primary steam service source. As equipment became obsolete, it was removed from the Ottawa Street Station, and ultimately it was decommissioned in 1992 for electric and steam.

…In 2007 it was sold to be redeveloped as corporate headquarters for the Accident Fund Insurance Company of America. Massive renovations to convert the plant to an office building are currently underway by The Christman Company, with completion of the entire 7-acre office campus scheduled for the first quarter of 2011.

Lansing City Pulse article about the Ottawa Power Station redevelopment and this great thread on the project from SkyscraperPage (complete with 3D renderings).