Over the years I have wondered what it is that attracts me so much to the decay and the thrill of exploring. I could sit here and say it was one thing or another that does it for me, but it’s really the entire experience of Detroit and how it all fits together: the music, the art, the people, the stories, the history, and even the despair. Exploring exposes you to some shocking things, but it will also open your eyes to a world that very few ever get to see firsthand. Hidden in plain sight, behind brick walls, boards, and broken windows lies the real story of this city. It wasn’t until around 2002 when people really starting taking note of this phenomenon now referred to as “Urban Exploring.”

 
 
An article in the Detroit Free Press pointed out the various verities of trees growing un-aided by people on abandoned rooftops across Detroit. I had been exploring these buildings and had seen the trees myself. It is quite a sight to behold. I often contemplated that some of these trees were growing here, in place, untouched since before I was even conceived. Only a couple years later the Free Press printed another article drawing even more attention to the subject. The article, published in 2004, was nothing less than a virtual “hit list” of Detroit’s most derelict downtown buildings. I tore the page from the newspaper and studied it, memorized it, and become obsessed with seeing all of “Detroit’s Big Twelve: Towers of Neglect.”
   

The article was a checklist of “Modern Urban Ruins.” The list, in order of offending structures, reads like a wanted poster from the 1830s Wild West, listing critical information like the date the buildings were constructed, architectural styles and the year in which they closed. The number of rooms and floors along with the name of the company currently holding ownership of the property were also listed, as well as a helpful mug shot, complete with cross roads. This article became the checklist, inspiring me and other explorers I have met over the years. Even though three of the buildings, The Madison Lenox, the Lafayette and Statler Hotel were knocked down recently and two other renovated, the “Big Twelve” remain. The list now includes other downtown giants like The Harvard Square Building, The Eddystone Hotel, Cass Tech High, The Book Tower Buildings and The Harbor Light Center. Even with their additions, it really doesn’t matter. Whatever number you put on it, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of buildings and industrial complexes to explore in the vast wide open city.

 

 

In the past one hundred years the skyline here has seen buildings come and go. Dozens of older skyscrapers have already met their fates, and dozens more await theirs. Currently two more of the Big Twelve have had their destinies altered, spared a painful death by wrecking ball. The Book Cadillac and the Fort Shelby Hotel have undergone multi-million dollar renovations. The Fort Shelby is the newest with over a hundred loft units for sale. The Book Cadillac is the more stately and formal of the two giants. Today they stand gleaming and proud, restored to their former glory.

The renovations are quite impressive, especially in the Fort Shelby. As recently as the summer of 2007, rivers of mud and sand rushed down its mangled staircases, making exploring difficult and very dangerous. Large holes in the building’s interior walls allowed scrappers get to the copper piping and electrical infrastructure. Graffiti art and wild trees covered the building's five separate roofs. For years, the basement of the Hotel had been submerged under 20 feet of water and sewage. In 2005, a drought made it possible to enter the basement through a giant hole in the parking lot facing the Detroit News and Free Press offices. I can't even count the number of times I had thrown myself down this hole and back out – daylight, dark or dead of winter – it didn't matter. The Fort Shelby was my building and I miss it tremendously.
   

The efforts and successes in renovating such “far-gone” and deteriorated structures as the Fort Shelby and Book Cadillac Hotels gives me hope the Michigan Central Station will also get a second chance. Plans to convert the old Gothic relic to the new police headquarters have proved too costly. Ideas that the lobby and 17-floor tower would become Detroit’s new mass transit and international trade hub have become nothing more than aspirations and dreams, virtually abandoned like the building herself. Though badly weathered and tarnished from the years left without protection, the station as a whole is structurally sound and in very good condition. Recent Hollywood attention has landed this Detroit gem front and center in two feature films as well as scores of independent documentaries and art films.

 
 

Since closing, the depot had also been used by artists for art installations and even hosted a short, but legendary rave back in 1994. Simply called “The Station”, the illegal event only lasted only 3 hours but still invokes nostalgic memories from anyone fortunate to have been witness to the epic spectacle. Aside from its art-noir following the station represents the pinnacle of Detroit architectural design, and a Masonic indulgence seen in many of the pre-depression era buildings around town. To let this piece of history become the vandalized shell it is now is shameful, even for Detroit. Any other city would have seized possession of this building long ago and converted it to a modernized version of its former glorious self. A grandness that can only be illustrated now by photographs such as these taken by photographer Keith Jolly in 1973. Click Here.
   

Unlike its neighbors, The Lafayette Building has not been so lovingly preserved. The city and the Detroit Economic Growth Commission recently paved the way to level the C. Howard Crane masterpiece office building in hopes of generating a more valuable piece of real estate. Unfortunately this short sightedness in city planning has robbed Detroiters of their precious heritage. It is in fact these rare, pre-depression era buildings that will be Detroit's saving grace. In another 100 years the value these buildings will far exceed the cost of stabilization. When people say they don't build them like this anymore they are absolutely right. Structures of this masonry caliber are no longer being built, and have not been for some time. Inherently it is this uniqueness and history that future generations will desire.

Cities like Philadelphia and Chicago have proven that the combination of modern and historic can co-exist in both form and function. When this is finally realized here it will be too late. In the last 30 years the city has demolished some of its most premier sites for future renovation. Only later will we realize the gold mine we are literally sitting on.

 

The ruins of Detroit call out to me like a gypsy’s song. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else other than here, nor would I want to. From skyscrapers to factories, I have documented thousands of explorations with photographs, videos and original stories. Our unmatched accomplishments, and determination to explore where others will not go has put us on the forefront of the exploring movement. Like so many things Detroit, we are on the leading edge of this worldwide phenomenon. Tragically raw and beautiful, filled with mystery, and shrouded in darkness, these buildings stand a testament to the remarkable industry town Detroit was… and how far we have gone. Keep checking in for more entrees and further in-depth accounts of exploring “ Detroit’s Towers of Neglect.”