Throughout its active period, the tower and surrounding community of historic office buildings were an accurate barometer of the city's health and well-being. Inside the Broderick Tower was a fantastic mix of shopping and services. Dentist offices, record shops, dance studios, and even X-ray labs filled the many floors and rooms of the tower; long ago, radio stations broadcast from the building. Today, the abandoned tower sits as testament to the ignorance of casting aside historic buildings like this, which are simply forgotten. Beaten and weathered, the building still remains in sturdy shape. Despite the loss of its glorious crown, the character of the tower becomes more and more noble as decades pass. In the 1990’s local eco-artist Wyland was commissioned to paint his now-signature piece of urban art. On the building's east side is a mural of three swimming whales breaching the ocean water. Regrettably, for the past two years tacky advertising has covered the beautiful 15-story mural. The owners insist that the revenue is eventually going to pay for the restoration of the building but no signs of construction are evident.

On the northeast corner of the building overlooking Comerica Park was a room that once belonged to a dentist. It had recently been used to cook and cut methamphetamine. A Bunsen burner, various tubes and containers were lying around. They had recently been used and looked as if they came from a dentist's office. Pseudoephedrine or Sudafed packaging lay in a pile on the floor. Thinking of all the times I had been to games in Comerica Park I still can’t believe this was here, so close.

In other rooms we found the leftover paint from the “Whaling Wall” mural. Vandals who came across this stockade of paint could not resist the temptation to get rowdy and mess things up, so they did. Colorful green and blue paint streaked and splattered across the entirety of floor -- Jack Johnson would be proud.

The Sky Club penthouse is laid out over two floors. It was, and still is the most favorite thing I have ever stumbled upon in any abandoned building so far. The bar area was wallpapered in prints of the 1930s Detroit skyline. The scene is very Parisian. The wallpaper depicted views looking up at the tower from Grand Circus Park – and were far removed from the reality of this area today. It was like looking at an entirely new city. Though tattered, pealing and marred by pointless tagging, the image of the tower is front and center in the prints. Lights on every floor shimmer and shine bright, as well as those of the other buildings in the now defunct Grand Circus Park.

The area adjacent to the bar was a sitting room with a fireplace made of marble, accented by more marble and a large mirror. An indescribable view of the downtown area and the river can be seen out the windows from here. Once lavish and loved, it was now home to vagrants who had left heroin needles and trash lying about; a spectacular view bestowed on the least deserving. We moved on. The bathroom was stark in contrast to the sitting room. The entire room was covered in onyx black tile from floor to ceiling; the shower, the sink, and even the toilet – all black. I made my way to a bigger room facing north; it had a huge ceiling and was, as you would expect, opulent. I suppose that this would have been the spot that Mr. Broderick did much of his entertaining in. It had higher ceilings and a larger overall area. Since it was directly next to the kitchen I assumed this was the dinning room.

The windows in the top tier of the tower are decorated with thick Gothic arches, giving the tower its noble look along the skyline. On the second level there is a small bedroom above the sitting room facing south. Another bedroom allowed for a view of the Ambassador Bridge and the city’s west side. By now I had realized it was close to sunrise, and time to go. We hastily made our way down the musty stairs and back to the window through which we had entered. We backtracked and traversed our way across the narrow iron beams and down the stairs to the alley in back of the tower. The night I spent in the David Broderick was one of the defining moments in my exploring career. With that under my belt I decided to go full speed ahead and see every building I could get into. Over the next two years I covered the vast expanses of Detroit in search of buildings historic and forgotten. The Broderick tower is both, and until it is revived from the depths of its despair, it will sit dark and lonely, calling to tell stories to all who will listen.