8mm Forum: Time Magazine: Detroit now a ghost town

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Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on September 06, 2010, 08:48 PM:

I read the above title at Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,1925735,00.html) but didn't realize it until my family and I went there. With my knowledge of Detroit as the city of automotive, also known as Motor City (Motown) it was in my mind that I would be in busy street and skyscrapers with hundred thousands people on the street.

But when I arrived there I was so surprised finding that although the skyscrapers were there but no one on the street. The city was too quiet.

We were looking for a lunch but didn't find any mall. So I drove my car to eastern side and got really horrible pictures that hundreds of houses were left behind with glasses were broken down, doors were locked, houses were emptied, roofs have fallen down, etc, etc.

We passed by a Central Station and most horrible picture were seen there as follow (pictures were taken from the internet, as I was too scared to really stop the car for getting pictures):

It is like a ghost town like what the Time Magazine says.

I was asking to my self what happened to this city. And when getting back to the hotel, I googled about Detroit and found the problem was the slow down of automotive industry that has hit General Motor, Ford and Chrysler, three companies that area based in this city.

For you that cannot imagine how bad is the situation, below is from youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6WKMNmFsxM&feature=related

It is horrible really, and someone gives a comment that the city is good for Hollywood to make a horror movie without need to make a setting.

I didn't have any gut to make a city tour and therefore I just used the google map to see what is in other side of the town. By randomly using the street view, it shows similar situation:

Street View of Detroit (from Google Map)

Wooow, I still remember that GMC, Jeep, Ford were among popular cars in my country and now their city is like a ghost town.

Another good reportage about Detroit is also found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjCObHJlkiU

(ps: please no comment on politic or economic issue)

cheers,

[ September 07, 2010, 09:33 AM: Message edited by: Winbert Hutahaean ]

Posted by John W. Black (Member # 1082) on September 07, 2010, 12:12 AM:

It is so bad there that the Superdome sold for $500,000,less than a McMansion!

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on September 07, 2010, 02:54 AM:

That is an eyeopener - I had no idea the city was in such ruin.
It's a shame.

Posted by Richard C Patchett (Member # 974) on September 07, 2010, 08:59 AM:

Greetings
I live 25 miles north from Detroit I grew up on the west side.
Yes times have changed. And Detroit got a bad rap.
Did you visit or see the Fox Theater and other places of interest in Detroit or are you just a You Tube watcher? You should Get out more often in Detroit So you went to the east side It was bad 20 years ago. Next time look me up Ill show you the good side. So you were looking for a lunch but didn't find any mall. There is a lot of good restaurants in downtown Detroit did you get to Greek Town?
What day did you visit? There are many people on the streets Monday - Friday Daytime At night many are inside the fox and other places that are very entertaining. (not homeless)

Now for your city Toronto, Canada Been there many of times.
You have more gangs and shootings in Toronto then Detroit even the local police don't show up in those places. York ville is one place. Check you tube on your city under gangs.
And what about the ghettos. Poor housing projects you have. I have been in your city My 2 sisters live there.
Don't condemn our city check yours before posting. Even on other forums

Posted by Brian Schultz (Member # 1101) on September 07, 2010, 12:21 PM:

I agree that Detroit is seeing some very rough times and has been hit harder than most cities by the economic downturn, but the picture of the abandoned building you posted is of the old train station which has been abandoned since 1988. Urban Detroit has always been in rough shape (during my lifetime), but as Richard has pointed out, you need to know where to go. I live in Atlanta now, but the last time I visted home, about 3 months ago, I hung out in downtown Royal Oak (A suburb of Detroit and Richards' stomping grounds). The restaurants and bars were still busy at 10:00pm on a Monday night. Not exactly what I would call a ghost town. The reason the SILVERDOME has fallen to disuse, is because it's previous occupants, the Detoit Lions and the Detroit Pistons, both have there own more modern stadiums to play at. With 6 other modern arenas/stadiums in town to book venues at, it is difficult to justify sustaining such a large facility. Detroit and it's suburbs are getting a bad enough rap without misrepresentaions such as these.

Brian.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on September 07, 2010, 12:29 PM:

Greektown has great food and the best pastries! It reminds of the Astoria section of Queens here in NYC. My brother used to live just outside of Detroit and there are many fine places to go. Winbert, I understand how you got that impression, but just check out the web for the good stuff. Detroit also has one of the best symphony orchestras in the US.
Like any city, it's just a matter of where you look.

Doug

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on September 07, 2010, 12:42 PM:

I went out to Detroit to the Ford Electric Vehicle Center about ten years ago to discuss a power converter my company built for them...and they let me drive one too.

It's a fascinating place. Everything is about cars there, and only about the Big Three. I called to talk to a hardware manufacturer in Detroit about a bolt, and the lady on the other end started the conversation with "GM, Ford or Chrysler?". (For cryin' out loud: it's a bolt!) You drive up to a restaurant parking lot and it's like 1964: not a Japanese, Korean or European car anywhere. As you get into Dearborn, GMs and Chryslers become a little scarce as well. After we ate we went back outside and down the street came about 6 identical Ford Tauruses with V8 badges on their fenders. I've never seen another V8 powered Taurus since that day. The roads are filled with trucks with about 5 axles under the trailers to haul rolls of steel to the assembly plants and the pavement is a few feet deeper than standard because of them. My company's sales rep maintains a stable of brand name cars for customer visits. Apparently it's considered rude to pull up at GM in a Dodge (-never mind a…Toyota!).

Detroit will probably stay the headquarters of these companies for as long as they exist, and even that is big business. What is fading is production. That's the problem there because not everybody can be a warehouse manager or a software designer, so the people that may have otherwise made a good living on the assembly lines are in trouble now.

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on September 07, 2010, 01:36 PM:

Glad to hear things are nowhere near as bad as I first believed.

[Smile]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on September 07, 2010, 01:56 PM:

Well,

They aren't good exactly.

What it means is increasingly if you want to make a decent living, you need a college education and the profession that comes along with it.

Detroit was once a major part of the rising standard of living in the US. Somebody a week off the boat from Europe who might not even speak English yet could walk into Ford, pick up a wrench and start putting together Model T's and make enough money that maybe in a year or so he'd have enough stashed away to have a wife, a house and a car of his own. Maybe his kids would go to college and become teachers or doctors or lawyers.

It's kind of a social step ladder that allowed people who were willing to work hard to escape poverty. Something very similar happened with my own family, but the likelihood of it happening today is not as strong.

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on September 15, 2010, 06:58 PM:

Detroit, to some extent, mirrors what has occurred in many large western cities. It is perhaps more obvious and simplified given the trials of the big three in recent decades.

Chrysler like the other two, still produces a lot of cars in Detroit, but the output of their other North American plants like Windsor Ontario, Toluca Mexico, Toledo etc has moved a lot of production away from Detroit.

I have explored many cities and even ones you don't expect to have bad areas (like Denver for example) have a seedy side. I can assure you that they all have many rich and vibrant areas, top attractions and great cultural and food precincts - you just have to explore.

I can tell you from experience that Harlem in NYC and parts of Brooklyn are two of my favourite places in the world, certainly not what you'd expect.

David

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on September 16, 2010, 02:16 AM:

quote:
I can tell you from experience that Harlem in NYC and parts of Brooklyn are two of my favourite places in the world, certainly not what you'd expect

....which is what???

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