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As a Michigander who had to leave the state to find a job that would actually pay off college, this kinda breaks my heart.

This makes me so sad, but the pictures are awesome. Detroit is slowly climbing back, but I don't think will ever be the same :(

I've read recently that certain communities in the Midwest are condemning entire neighborhoods, relocating the remaining persons into more viable, centrally located neigborhoods, and bulldozing the abandoned houses - thereby allowing the surrounding land to go back to nature and reducing the costs of maintaining an effective infrastructure.

Lift your weary head proudly, Michigan. The beautiful, resilient state I love will see its day in the sun again.

Ah, the beauty that once was Detroit. The architecture that is deteriorating in that city makes me seriously depressed. To see these unbelievably gorgeous structures rot for decades will make you cry.

I grew up in Flint where we've experienced the same thing, (only on a smaller scale). I just recently moved back to one of the historic neighborhoods downtown, where you see 2 abandoned up homes to every 1. It's a preservationist’s nightmare.

Unfortunately, both Detroit & Flint's administration has done little to do anything about it. And now Flint wants to bulldoze many of these homes to "grow green space" while surrounding suburbs (former farm country) continue to grow and develop. Downtown Flint is starting to show a bit more activity in the past 2 years and I personally believe this is a ploy for someone to gain control of this land and turn around to sell it at a very high profit.

If they just focused more on efficient city planning, diversifying the local economy and bringing local business, and in-turn new residents back to the city and less on lining the pockets of them and their cronies, I think we'd be able to get out of this mess.

Sarrazak, I think you might be correct here: sometimes profit motives seem to override commonsense and the ability for city and town officials to make decisions which are best for the livelihood and viability of their communities; they take the shortcut and follow short-term financial interests. I still remain hopeful, however, that compact cities and towns will return to America. We might not have a choice, actually: Suburban sprawl may no longer be viable.

Yeah, Detroit is probably the saddest city in the country and could very well be the poster boy for the awful effects of sprawl. It was built by the Big Three, and was destroyed by them too. It's going to take a lot more than historic preservation and urban infill to save this city. But it's a start.

The idea of bulldozing these beautiful old buildings really makes me sad. Even if we do assume that revitalization of these neighborhoods (and consequently renovation of these homes) just isn't gonna happen before these buildings crumble, bulldozing is a crappy idea. There is so much old-growth lumber in those homes!

I think it's awesome that this artist will possibly donate proceeds to Habitat...because the Detroit Habitat for Humanity is the one organization that may have a solution to this problem! They run a deconstruction program where homes are dismantled by hand, workers learn construction skills in the process, and the beautiful materials can be made available to the public at their Restore thrift store at very low prices.

Here in the DC area, the nonprofit I work for once ran a job-training program where we deconstructed a bunch of disgusting, falling apart, four-room cottages. They were low-income public housing that had been built in the 50's and destroyed by the crack epidemic of the 80's. These things were really tiny, unlike the Victorian mansions in Detroit...but the money we made from selling the wood flooring and joists paid for the entire program, including salaries for the trainees! There is a huge value in the materials of unwanted buildings - especially older homes and warehouses that are built out of old-growth and extinct lumber (some folks call it "harvesting the urban forest.")

In the deconstruction and reuse industry, some of us dream that the materials will one day follow the population flow - if people leave rust belt towns to move to more prosperous places, well, why not break down the houses they leave behind (creating jobs for the folks still there). The material is valuable enough that people in prosperous areas WILL pay to have it shipped to them.

this is indeed very sad, but isn't as striking to me because this is what we see everyday in nola. it's rare to find a block here (outside of the ritzy garden district, natch) that doesn't have at least one abandoned house. there are a lot of cities in america facing this same disaster.

It is a heartbreaking scenario from coast to coast. I have no idea why people kept wanting new houses built when so many of these older beauties are always available. Sure, they can be expensive to remodel.....but when you are done you have a more than just a house....you have a treasure.

Not an urbanist or social theorist here, but I can say that you take your life in your hands to move into some of these places.

We left Detroit after my father's business was robbed. He was tied up with his necktie and held at gunpoint while they raped his secretary in the closet. I remember him coming home, handing me the tie, and telling us the story of how he was held up. (Didn't hear about the rape until I was an adult). No joke.

Wow, I spent last night talking to one of the only friends I still have left living in Detroit about how we can't afford to buy one of these ruined mansions because the taxes would double the cost of the home.

8 bedroom brick manse with walled gardens and detached shop/garage. 70 - thousand.

If you're looking for more research the Indian Woods development will net you fascinating reading.

https://treas-secure.state.mi.us/ptestimator/PTEstimator.asp

A $70,000 home in Detroit yields a county real estate tax of about $4600. I think the area Dahlia Cactus is talking about is Indian Village, which is a unique area of the city. Many of the larger homes in Indian Village were converted to multiple dwelling units and are assessed differently. In addition, there are some environmental issues that have affected the desirability of living in some areas of Detroit (including IV) that have had a follow on effect of benign neglect.

I agree that many of these Detroit homes were once incredible, but they have not been maintained for many years and renovating them to a safe living standard is a mini-EPA superfund project. Like many older homes, these are covered in lead paint and many had asbestos tile and adhesives that used asbestos; these are not DIY projects. In some areas, the industrial pollution that went unchecked during the 1950s, 60s and 70s literally poisoned neighborhoods and that, in conjunction with social issues, led to their decline. In other areas, roads were blocked off and traffic flows altered, which killed business districts. Some of these decisions were made by state officials, and some were made by the corrupt mayoral administrations. There is virtually no reliable public transportation and the city became isolated in its rings of suburbs. Nothing is going to pull Detroit back until there is a reason to go back into the city. Its sad, but true. Small grass roots efforts are like spitting in the wind here, and one off attempts to create jobs (like the casinos) are just making problems worse.

By the way, one of the things that made Indian Village so incredibly popular was that most of the estate homes there used Pewabic Tile - with Mary Chase Stratton original formulas. Very arts and crafts, very Detroit. In many of these homes, in the 1960s and 70s, purchasers would buy the house and then sell the fireplace or entry - in one piece. The proceeds would then fund the house's renovation, but sometimes that would result in diminution in the decor and compromises that later came back to bite people.

This house is so so amazing.

The photos are heartbreaking, but also render a reality slap. Living in NW PA, our little city has its share of buildings and dwellings that have been lost to the unstable economy and skyrocketing maintenance costs.

I have to agree with sarrazak - "If they just focused more on efficient city planning, diversifying the local economy and bringing local business, and in-turn new residents back to the city and less on lining the pockets of them and their cronies, I think we'd be able to get out of this mess." Even in an area much smaller than Detroit and Flint, it seems that the red tape and inefficiency dominate local municipalities. Projects are started and never completed because interest is lost. Committee meetings turn into social events and little or no progress is made. And although I appreciate the planning that goes into festivals and seasonal promotions, these events cannot sustain a community. Furthermore, how can we ask people to travel to our area when we are limited in what we can offer?

As a former Detroit resident yes! I did flee because there are not any jobs. I'm very sad of the decay in Detroit. I lived in a very nice house extremely old with fire places and recently went back for a visit the street looks horrible. Most of the residents moved out and burned out shells of houses remain. They need to have more of a tourist environment, they closed the aquarium use to be the oldest in the united states, way to go. Since the factories are closed they need some kind of way to keep the economy going try tourism and bring people back, make the city safe and fix it up, where are the rich people? they can make a donation,lol.

I grew up in Brisbane Australia where not one single old something hasn't become a new something in the last 20 years (ie powerhouse museum, woolstore appartments). Lived in Northern MI with husbands family for a year and was shocked about how a city as well known by name as Detroit could be left to rot like that. You can tell it's a real 'pretend decaying city over there doesn't exist while I build my super-mall suburb over here' kind of place. Very sad. Such beautiful architecture! Detroit shouldn't let the decay happen.

And I agree with LadyLabRat about Tourism, everyone I talked to when I got back was like "You lived near Detroit?" like it was the coolest thing in the world, people would go there at the very least for the music, cars and sports, if it were safe and accessible.