When your city is in the midst of a slow-motion extinction, what’s the best course of action? According to Detroit’s city council, due prudence requires immediately leveling the most magnificent structure in town.
Michigan Central Station, the century-old Beaux Arts train depot that was the encore act of the architects who designed New York’s Grand Central Station, is one of Detroit’s landmark buildings. While it has not been in use for two decades–and like pretty much everything else in the city has been much abused by vandals and scavengers–various plans have been circulating to renovate it and turn it into something useful like a police station. Or mildly useful like a convention center. Or useless but potentially profitable like a casino.
But last week the council voted for a resolution calling for an “emergency demolition.”
“I want it down,” said one councilwoman.
According to our trusty friends over at Wikipedia, here are some very impressive design details of Michigan Central:
The main waiting room on the main floor was modeled after an ancient Roman bathhouse with walls of marble. The building also housed a large hall adorned with Doric columns and contained the ticket office and arcade shops. Beyond the arcade was the concourse, which had brick walls and a large copper skylight. From here, passengers would walk down a ramp to the departing train platforms, 11 tracks in all. Below the tracks and building is a large area for baggage, mail, and other office building functions.
Predictably, some citizens are questioning the wisdom of tearing down the structure, including the author of this letter to the editor that ran in the Detroit Free Press:
As someone who lives just around the block from Michigan Central Depot, I oppose tearing it down. I’m skeptical that it is depressing my property value. Are there really people who would gladly buy an old home in a historic neighborhood known for its architecture if only it weren’t for an old, historic building known for its architecture? Is Corktown really losing potential home buyers to Detroit neighborhoods that don’t have train stations? If anything, the train station attracts the people Corktown needs: those who find beauty in the city and are willing to work hard to preserve it. The neighborhood wouldn’t be the same without it.
-Paul Sewick, Detroit
While it’s still unclear whether the forces of good will ultimately be able to prevail over the forces of stupidity, one hopeful note is that the owner the building, billionaire Manuel Moroun, isn’t eager to see it knocked down. “It’s easy to destroy things and hard to save them,” says the president of Moroun’s management company..
Check out a stunning video sequence of the station (from Godfrey Reggio’s film Naqoyqatsi) after the jump. The Michigan Central footage begins at about 1:10 in the clip. The soundtrack is composed by Philip Glass, played by Yo-Yo Ma.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:52 am
[...] Not surprising, really, but have a look at this. [...]
April 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am
[...] Detroit Pols Want to Tear Down Historic Michigan Central Station (Infrastructurist) [...]
April 18th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I’m assuming the Detroit City Council was at lunch when President Obama announced his plan for a new high-speed rail system in America. Imagine coming TO Detroit and getting off that high-speed train and entering the grand Michigan Central Station as renovated! THAT’S the kind of first impression they need to give visitors coming to a city otherwise so grim!
While Detroit is one thing, my hometown of Minneapolis is another. Besides Detroit, I don’t think any other city in America has suffered so greatly from the shortsightedness in tearing down old buildings. I love my city, but I’m utterly ashamed when I see all the grand places in Minneapolis that disappeared in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
It’s 2009 - learn from the past! Please don’t make the same mistake!
PLEASE SAVE THIS BUILDING!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:03 pm
[...] I was shouting because I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY ARE GOING TO USE STIMULUS MONEY TO TEAR DOWN THE DETROIT TRAIN STATIONONE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS SAID, “I WANT IT [...]
April 24th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Ok.. so casinos didn’t fix detroit. they made it worse.
Ok.. Tearing down a lot of detroit’s architectual history to build a bunch of new (awful) stadiums didn’t help detroit. god are those things ugly.
Ok.. wait, you want to build a highspeed rail to lansing.. what the fuck. i get that it’s the capital and all… but really? you been there? it doesn’t need a train… maybe a seperate bus lane or an hov lane.. chicago anyone? fuck.. new york?
what the hell man. BUILD STUFF IN THE HUNDREDS OF EMPTY LOTS ALL OVER DETROIT…
please you idiots, stop tearing structurally sound stuff down… it’s not that people want to live places other than detroit because there are abandoned buildings, they don’t want to live there because it’s crime riddled, it’s streets suck, there are no jobs, the taxes are astronomical, the city govt is corrupt, the cops don’t give a shit, the schools suck and on and on and on… try making a fucking plan and fixing the problem long term for once instead of trying to make a bunch of idiots happy and stuff the wallet of your buddy who owns a demolition company.
it’s like they hand out crack when you become a city offical.
May 4th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
This past weekend was my first time to actually stand in front of the Old MCS. What a beautiful building with wonderful history! You don’t find inspiring buildings like that everyday. It actually has a power that draws people to it. The architecture is incredible and so amazingly beautiful. The building itself tells us a story of long ago and even not so long ago. It would be a crying shame to see this building demolished. Let’s restore Detroit to be the beautiful city it once was and let’s all work together to accomplish this goal. NO MORE EXCUSES CITY COUNCIL… DO YOUR JOB AND HELP US RESTORE OUR GREAT CITY!
May 17th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
All politicians are knuckle heads.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Maybe they should think about the jobs that could be given by restoring it…. ::sigh:: I wish that they would realize the potential instead of trying to destroy the beauty that once was. Restoring this to its original beauty could be the turnaround the people of Detroit need. Maybe it could bring a little hope to the city.
June 15th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I am so glad they are tearing this building down. This structure Is filthy, nasty, abandoned and down right atrocius! Move On Detroit! PERIOD! In case you all have’nt noticed It Is 2009!
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:21 am
[...] other stations on this list, Michigan Central is still standing. But if the Detroit city council gets its way the station, which was the 1912 encore act by the same team of architects that designed NYC’s [...]
July 11th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Is Trey opinion representative? Is this how americans look at life? Instead of caring, abandone it and then, instead of cleaning and restore, put it down? Childish… Is this the reason why they need to go to Europe to see the roots of culture, or go to Las Vegas or Disney to see faked buildings? Because they turn down everything that is older than some decades? Is that the way they decide how to manage urban spaces? By saying “I”? “I want it down” “I don’t like it so put it down”… There must certainly be a reason, an economic one, somebody in Detroit is trying to take advantage… Otherwise I can’t understand how destroying can be better than restoring.
October 11th, 2009 at 2:27 am
This building is a part of this city’s history & Identity it would be a shame if they destroyed some thing that is so beautiful. To be honest its tragic & appalling
BW
November 18th, 2009 at 3:27 am
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, and LA, all have historic train stations , that are also some of the bissiest in the country, its crazy to tare down a building just beccuse its “2009″ when it can be restored to a station/office building, that will bring money in to your city. To bad you could not save Tigers Stadium.
December 10th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
politicians and there selfish minds..so lets start tearing down historical buildings..is the white house next, or how about the lincoln monument..i thought politicians work hard for their city.. i guess not since lets jus take the lazy and easy route o lets tear it down so we dont have to bother with it any more instead of putting hard work in and making something remarkable and could be a new chapter in history..basicly their saying fuk detroit and its people..well u know wat im one of those people
March 7th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Tear the station down. Sure it was once grand but now it advertises Detroit’s advanced decline.
The problem is location. Its isolated location (away from downtown) limits the ability to attract office tenants. The owners of this building when it was still in use - had problems with profitably operating this building.
A massive subsidy to bring this building back is unlikely as local, state and federal governments are strapped. Detroit’s immediate needs are more important like improving schools and basic services.
Tear this one down.
March 8th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Nah, Brian there is no need to tear it down- if Detroit’s immediate needs are improving schools and basic services, they sure as hell don’t need to spend money leveling something because of image. Amazingly enough, the hulking thing is not structurally deficient. Detroit is already talking about downsizing anyways, and now they have an opportunity to reshape the city. Corktown isn’t completely deserted– take that three mile streetcar they want to build on the giant, now almost deserted main drag. Yes, I know, it’s ironic that it the proposed line is the same length as that silly downtown circulator, but what isn’t silly is that Portland, OR was able to completely revitalize a once (dead) industrial neighborhood by simply building. a. streetcar. It takes a good bit of imagination, and perhaps naivety to see the possibility, but that station doesn’t HAVE to be isolated from downtown in the future- downtown could come to it. If Detroit actually spends money tearing the giant thing down because it is scared of image, not only is the money wasted at a crucial moment on vanity, but there will be sincere regret in the future if it goes the way of Penn Station. We can’t build stuff like this anymore, and I’d say our culture in the long run is more important than the so called ‘practicality’ of the moment.