Abandoned: Mark Twain Branch Detroit Public Library

[Aristaeus]

The sorry state of Detroit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpdphotography/sets/72157626713779604/

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

It blows my mind that they're so broke that they couldn't even afford a U-Haul to cart away the books. :eeek:

 

[Sharpsburg]

I'm rather amazed Detroit even has a single library at all, in light of their dismal economic condition.

On another note, I heard something about a town wanting to change the name of their Ernie Pyle High School as nobody remembers who Ernie Pyle was !

 

[mojoboots]

I am from Detroit originally...it will rise from its current state believe me - you want a "golden age " revival? theres plenty of history in Detroit; history that cannot be denied - Detroit retooled for ww2 to save the world; Detroit can retool to save itself!

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Most of us here in Michigan just really wonder what is the problem with getting some new business in the Detroit area and see it grow back to how it once was!

The entire Detroit City is a ghost town. At one time, you could drive down Woodward and find about any one type of store or service you could think of. Specialty shops for boots or shoes or leather goods, Jewelry, Hats, and the Men's as well as Women's shops were all the very best. It was such a time, and now, you see nothing left. No more Robert Hall, no Spegiels, no Fields. Hudsons a faint memory.

 

[fashion frank]

I am from Detroit originally...it will rise from its current state believe me - you want a "golden age " revival? theres plenty of history in Detroit; history that cannot be denied - Detroit retooled for ww2 to save the world; Detroit can retool to save itself!

Yea , good luck with that thought , it looks like Detroit is done as in stick a fork in it.
I, just for the heck of it googled Detroit and did the birds eye view and "cruised" some streets and could not get over how you could see Jersey barriers blocking what used to be streets because you could see the fire plugs but it was barren not even a house foundation for blocks after blocks it looked like an huge open feild that went on forever.
if it's coming back it woun't be any time soon.

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Yea , good luck with that thought , it looks like Detroit is done as in stick a fork in it.
I, just for the heck of it googled Detroit and did the birds eye view and "cruised" some streets and could not get over how you could see Jersey barriers blocking what used to be streets because you could see the fire plugs but it was barren not even a house foundation for blocks after blocks it looked like an huge open feild that went on forever.
if it's coming back it woun't be any time soon.

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

Yes, it is in sad shape. Some people want to say it is not all that bad, but, one look at it and you know different. Would be a great place to film some sci fi movie about "after they dropped the bomb".....
To see any city die off is just so hard to imagine what in the world really happened? Detroit is not alone, but as to how it was at one time, it is a shame.

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

I watched a documentary about the decline of Detroit called "Detropia" Very sad indeed. Vast areas that were once residential are reverting back to prairie land. There was talk of consolidating the scattered population inward toward the city's center, and farming the land. Whole city blocks in which hundreds of people resided, now have only a handful of inhabited homes. City services like the fire department, water service, etc. take forever to respond to any problems in these scattered and now isolated areas.
I recently did see a small bright spot in the dismal disarray though. A company called "Shinola", is now manufacturing watches, bicycles, and leather goods there in partnership with other companies in the US. http://www.shinola.com/#shinola=rE1yJQw5-qh
Possibly with plans to make other goods as well in the future. I hope they succeed.

 

[rjb1]

I spent my early years (about Ralphie's age in "A Christmas Story") in Detroit and it was a wonderful place to live. It was a lot like the movie with a portion of "Leave it to Beaver" thrown in...
It makes me sad and frustrated to see what it has become. I hope it can recover to some extent but I am pessimistic about that.
I recently talked to someone who left Detroit in the past few years and she said that she once left her workplace near my old neighborhood and found bullet holes in her car. (in the daytime)

 

[sheeplady]

It blows my mind that they're so broke that they couldn't even afford a U-Haul to cart away the books. :eeek:

I imagine they picked through the books and left the rest they didn't want.

They say that 30% of U.S. households with children do not have any reading material. Not a single book, newspaper, etc. Look at all those books and think of that. What a waste.