PeeCee
Junior Member
Posts: 70 
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Post by PeeCee on May 8, 2017 11:53:38 GMT -8
'sup Rail Nuts: Is anybody interested in this subject? I was recently re-watching some Emery Gulash video that he filmed of the rail action around Detroit, and watching scenes of the old Michigan Central office tower and train station reignited my interest about this architectural marvel (or curiosity, as the case may be). I often pondered, why did the railroad need such a big 18-story office building for all the railroad workers when it was built in 1913? -- and it turns out they didn't! According to the definitive source of information, Wikipedia *LOL* : "The original plan for the tower included a hotel, offices for the rail company, or a combination of both. The tower was used only for office space by the Michigan Central Railroad and subsequent owners of the building. The tower was never completely used; the top floors were never completely furnished, and served no function." Isn't that crazy? And apparently nowadays this building and others in Detroit have been used for filming movies with post-apocalyptic themes! You can easily understand why, check out this YouTube drone video link below, the decay in this massive structure kinda gives you the creeps. It's like visiting Dracula's castle lair. Anyway, I find this subject pretty fascinating. If you have some more interesting info or video to add, I'd like to know about it. |
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Post by Great-Northern-Willmar Div on May 8, 2017 17:31:06 GMT -8
The person or company that owns the cross border Ambassador Bridge in Detroit also owns the MC station.
Recently there has been some effort put forth on saving the building. You see the porta-potties in the video are for the contractors that are cleaning up and securing the structure. Like installing windows in the structure.
If you go on the Google and type in Michigan Central Station Detroit, you'll see hundreds of photos of urban explorers and the damage done to the building. It will take a LOT of money to ever make that structure even have a small resemblance of its former glory. The years of being open with rampant vandalism and the metal thieves has made the structure a mere shell. The fact that the structure has no purpose what so ever and no concrete workable plans to make it a working building someday has led to its white elephant status. So many plans and nothing ever materializes.
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Post by peoriaman on May 8, 2017 18:17:59 GMT -8
Ah, Detroit. I've been there many times and no visit was uneventful. Here's a shot that is a few years old, of the "paparazzi" getting some pics from the roof of their minivan. The van was moving at the time!  Its been awhile since I've been back there but last time I was there there had been a serious effort to get the place boarded up. For a long time you could walk right in through various entrances. This was also the trip where I almost ended up in jail, which is a story (a rant, actually) for another time. I did mention no trip was uneventful. |
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Post by Great-Northern-Willmar Div on May 9, 2017 5:32:17 GMT -8
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PeeCee
Junior Member
Posts: 70
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Post by PeeCee on May 9, 2017 9:23:08 GMT -8
Its been awhile since I've been back there but last time I was there there had been a serious effort to get the place boarded up. For a long time you could walk right in through various entrances. With all the broken windows and barbed wire, your pic looks more like the Reichstag circa 1945!  Were you able to walk up the stairs to get anywhere near the empty and mysterious 18th top floor? In the drone video it looks like there is graffiti even on the rooftop! |
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Post by alcoc430 on May 9, 2017 16:06:15 GMT -8
The building looks good with windows |
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Post by peoriaman on May 9, 2017 17:21:31 GMT -8
And just a few blocks away was Tiger Stadium, which is now just the site of a vacant lot.  |
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Post by valenciajim on May 10, 2017 9:43:05 GMT -8
The pictures of what has happened to Detroit are amazing. I built CMR's model of the Pike building (which still stands today a few blocks from CoAmerica Park) and studied many photos of historical Detroit as part of researching that model build.
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PeeCee
Junior Member
Posts: 70
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Post by PeeCee on Jun 1, 2017 14:51:19 GMT -8
This was also the trip where I almost ended up in jail, which is a story (a rant, actually) for another time. I did mention no trip was uneventful. Is now a good time for your Detroit story / rant, Peoriaman? Since I've been watching some old Emery Gulash videos featuring Motor City rail action and infrastructure, I've been interested in knowing about all things Detroit! please share soon . . . .  |
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Post by peoriaman on Jun 2, 2017 3:58:55 GMT -8
This was also the trip where I almost ended up in jail, which is a story (a rant, actually) for another time. I did mention no trip was uneventful. Is now a good time for your Detroit story / rant, Peoriaman? I was "profiled" for having out-of-state plates and threatened with bodily harm by the police. They lied right to my face and said my plates were expired (they weren't - I had one more month before they expired). They had me exit the vehicle while they searched it with the drug-sniffing dog. They played "good cop, bad cop" - the good cop asked me a hundred different ways what drugs I had in the car, which is a little silly on the surface since I am about the last guy on earth who would have drugs in the car. Since I didn't have any drugs, all my answers were "no, sir". The bad cop took me back behind the second squad car and frisked me and had me lie spread eagle against it. I stole a glance at my car - the cops and the dog were inside it and all my belongings were lying in the street. The cop got angrier and angrier. He kept saying stuff like " if that dog finds one thing - even a seed - that makes you a liar, they'll be picking your broken body up off the road with a shovel" and " I'll give you one more chance to come clean about where the drugs are before I ram my size 13 boot so far up your rectum...". " We'll be hauling you down to Detroit jail which is a lot rougher than pansy a$$ Peoria jail...". At this point, the scary thought I had was since they pulled me over on a false charge anyway (fake expired plates), what if they are using this as an opportunity to plant actual drugs in the car for the dog to "find"? Keep in mind, I was not permitted to watch the search, so I don't know what if anything the dog indicated was in the car. Nor was I asked if I would agree to a search. Aren't they supposed to ask first? Perhaps they don't have to ask first if there is probable cause, but maybe they were considering the expired plates (even though they were not) to be probable cause. This was really getting scary. Eventually after about 45 minutes they gave up, since like I told them first thing, there were no drugs and there never were any. They let me re-pack the car and continue on my merry way. My car was filled with dog hairs and there were scratches on the inside and outside of the doors. The spare tire had been taken out of its place in the bottom of the trunk. All of the carpeting on the sides of the trunk and under the trunk lid had been pulled out and carelessly stuffed back into place. Who knows, maybe there really is a drug problem in that neighborhood but I really have to believe the dog indicated there were no drugs and they just wouldn't take no for an answer. The irony is, one of the common complaints Detroit residents have is that it takes forever for the police to arrive when they call them. Maybe they're too busy harassing out-of-towners for no reason, on made-up charges! |
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PeeCee
Junior Member
Posts: 70
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Post by PeeCee on Jun 5, 2017 10:01:45 GMT -8
Thanks for sharing! Your story seems indicative about some out-of-control cops in general. I experienced a thing or two like this in LA as an innocent citizen, so it's not strictly a Detroit thing.  |
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