I made it back alive. I am still in awe of this. For the pictures I took of the Central Train Depot click
here and
hereThere is much to say about this city and my experience there so I am not sure where to start. So let me just break it down with an overall assessment. The city and the neighborhoods that surround it are in such disarray that at times I thought I was in a third world country. We could drive for miles and see more abandoned buildings than ones that were occupied. And the ones that were occupied were in such poor condition that they should be considered condemned. I am shocked that a city has let its surrounding neighborhoods fall so easily.
When most people travel to Detroit, I am assuming it is to watch their hockey team, the Red Wings, or to visit the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel, or to attend the Detroit International Auto Show. These people may not ever drive by the areas that have been overtaken by gangs and homeless people. However, these were in fact the areas that we were basically seeking out. We didn’t know that at the time though. We knew the buildings we wanted to visit, but not the neighborhoods that had once possibly flourished around them. So on the second day of our trip when we visited 10+ buildings, we were a bit scared that this trip may be our last. Shockingly enough, when driving on these streets, we saw not one police officer patrolling the streets. Not one. It seems as though the city itself has probably thrown its hands in the air and given up on the people in these neighborhoods and have let them fend for themselves. I am still trying to wrap my head around the thought of this trying to fully understand it.
Ok, I have touched on that aspect of Detroit. Lets try another.
The Gay Scene.
I cant say too much about this as we only did go to one gay club called Backstreet. It was actually a really nice club on the inside. The décor was somewhat chic, drinks were moderately cheap, the music was good, and the sound system was above average. So all in all a nice place. But as always, not everything is perfect. First of all, it was in an actual strip mall. On one side of the club was a Sally Beauty Supply. Which is quite fitting I guess for the queens looking for that perfect hair color. On the other, a Men’s Big N Tall clothing store. This could be fitting however the club itself was filled to the rim with twinks and skinny old guys. So certainly the store wasn’t going after its neighboring clientele. I would suggest perhaps and A&F or an all you can eat buffet. These bitches needed to eat something. To touch more briefly on these gays, they cant dress for shit. I saw so many popped collars I lost count. I also noticed that sandals apparently are the footwear of the moment there. Or maybe everyone just got back from the beach. I couldn’t tell. Perhaps on the way in to the bar they made a quick stop at the Sallys next door, because everyone’s hair was either blow dried out and teased or bleached. It was just…weird…and uncalled for. But as I kept saying all weekend, only in Detroit. I don’t want to sound pretentious but it may have been possibly one of the most unattractive crowds I have seen in a while. I saw next to no muscle guys, no cute bearish men, nothing. Twinks and skinny old guys, that’s it. Apparently the other white meat which I prefer must hang out somewhere else.
Moving on, lets talk about the real reason I was in Detroit…to photograph buildings. All in all I accomplished my goal. I actually only went inside one building out the ones we visited, but luckily, the one I went in was the grand daddy of them all, the Central Michigan Depot Train Station. The other buildings were either completely boarded up with no access points, or were in areas where we wouldn’t dare step out of the car because we actually wanted to survive this trip. So I will let some of my pictures below speak for themselves. Here are just a few of the hundreds I took. I still need to load them onto my computer and edit them accordingly. Once that is done I will post the link so you can view the rest.
