Glory Days - A Train Station Tale Of Transition And Neglect

            ( EXPLORED!!! )   Originally opening in 1913 ( and subsequently abandoned in 1988 ) , this train station is THE ICON of the Detroit Ruins. Located in Detroit's oldest district, Corktown, this The Michigan Central Train Station in 2 very different views during it's lifetime. The 2 upper levels were never actually finished. 

When this station was originally built, they used 7,000 tons of steel and 7 million bricks and was designed by the same firm that designed New York's Grand Central Station. The building is 345 feet wide and 230 feet high. Built in a Beaux-Arts Architectural style, this building was used until January of 1988 when Amtrak abandoned it. It was named a National Historic Building in 1975.

Meant to be a part of a new city center in Detroit, The Train Station and Roosevelt Park never quite reached it's potential. The development of the park was very slow - the train station had already been open for nearly 10 years when the park in front of it was completed.  Construction on the station began in earnest in 1912 and it was actually rushed into use before the top 2 floors were completed in 1913. The park, if you can picture it, began as a dirt trail in front of the train station, with hedges and bushes randomly planted in the dirt. Negotiations began to acquire all of the land in front of the station required to complete the park ( this meant displacing even more people - as some had already been displaced in order to build the station ). Delays caused by lawsuits in involving these property owners would not be resolved until 1918. The park was then completed in 1922, at a cost of $700,000. There used to be trees lining both sides of all the roads around the station ( as pictured in the postcard on the top from 1926 ) , along with huge walkways for pedestrians, the pattern of which appeared more like random ant paths than any particular geometric shape. With Detroit ceasing the running of streetcars ( which supplied an inexpensive way from the station to anywhere in the city ) in 1957 the story was pretty much already written. During the last decades the great waiting room was closed up and used for storage, the restaurants closed and vendors left, leaving a shell of a station in the 80's. The last Amtrak train pulled out in 1988  and the station closed. Sadly today there are rarely picnics held in the park with the exception of the homeless who reside here during the spring, summer, and falls months, even ocassionally pitching multiple tents to form a small tent city. The annual St Patrick's Day Parade in Corktown ends here in the park.

Taken in: United States / Michigan / Detroit / Briggs (show map)

Taken on: December 29, 2009

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Sets appears in: • My Faves • Explored! more » • Abandoned Michigan Central Train Station • Now And Then - A Postcard Tale Of Detroit « less

Groups appears in: • Absolute Michigan • Abandoned But Not Forgotten more » • EXPOSURE.Detroit • Michigan - The Great Lakes State • Abandoned Train Stations « less

Camera: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, 21mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS
Lens:	EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.013 sec (1/80)
Focal Length:	21mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows
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