Comments

ahhhh the composition of this photo is absolutely stunning

Thank you Mr. Motts. This is awesome! Brings back a memory of going here as a child with my Mom. I remember thinking it was a castle! Downtown Detroit was spectacular back in the day. Especially around the Christmas Holidays. It was a big deal to go to Hudson's Downtown to see Santa and all of the decorations. Hopefully some of these old buildings can be restored to their original glory!

Such haunting beauty in these photographs

Was that a sliding gate recessed into the wall? Looks like they could secure the stairs which would explain the robust and decorative metalwork on the side.

Anyupdate on PRW's book? I want an autographed copy.

A little tree growing up on the roof of Wurlitzer Building....
ohhh dear..these pictures.......

It's been closed a long time, and 30-odd years of Michigan weather can do some damage. Still, the floors were pretty solid and it's got plenty of potential for re-use.



There are many, many, many abandoned buildings like this in Detroit, lots of houses. About 3,300 homes were demolished in the past two years (in fact I can hear them tearing one down as I type this), made possible by government funding, and there's plenty more.

Yeah they're really heavy, and scrap cast iron goes for about five cents a pound. Moving a four-hundred pound radiator down 15 flights (or even chucking it out the window) for $20 just isn't worth it.

The square holes in the flywheels are indeed for barring the engine which suggests that it has directly opposed cranks..i e...at 180 degrees apart. This gives smooth strokes when running but if the engine happens to stop on top and bottom centres it cannot re start and has to be manually turned slightly,perhaps no more than 10 or 15 degrees. In the picture marked 'Beast' can be seen the valve gear linkage bearing block close to the right of the flywheel rim. On the inside of this will be a stirrup which provides a leverage fulcrum for the barring levers to rest on. A good engine man could usually bring it to a halt without standing it 'on its ends' as they termed it. This beautiful engine should be preserved in a working museum instead of waiting for the inevitable wreaking crew to turn it into scrap. We've lost too many of them of late.

That would be the Detroit Athletic Club, built in 1915, and still contains the area's oldest indoor swimming pool.

It is a common misconception that large steam engines and the rooms they occupy were unbelievably noisy places where ea plugs were needed. In truth, the big reciprocating engines were/are gentle giants as far as noise is concerned. I live close to the biggest running mill engine in the UK which during summer is run up five days a week for visitors to see. Other than the clack of pawls engaging lubricator ratchet wheels and the wheeze from a slight escape of steam through packing glands it is very quiet. The only indication of its power comes in the form of a slight tremour under your feet. Steam turbines are the noisy ones and you definately need earprotection near them.

Intricate, lovely artwork. So glad some of the original beauty remains. Thanks for this gallery. It was very enjoyable.

All the lamps torn out of the ceiling and holes in the glass window. I'd sa there ain't even slim pickins for scavengers at this point.

Well, I'm sure all the scavengers got any jewelry that might have been hiding in crevices.

This is just a sorry looking site. Those cubicle walls are just about to come tumbling down!