The Rust Belt is an area in parts of the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and portions of the eastern Midwest States. It is an area of industrial decline. Detroit, one of the rustiest cities, has many beautiful buildings that have fallen in ruin, abandoned, or in some cases, used for other lowly purposes other than the grandeur for which it was intended. Being from the suburbs of Detroit, attending college and working downtown Detroit, it is sad for me to see such beauty decay without the money it takes to keep such gems alive.
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| How incredible is (was) this?! United Artists Theatre opened in 1928 and was founded by Charlie Chaplin among others. Via the dailytonic.com |
I first came across some of these photos on La Boheme. (A fabulous inspirational design blog, by the way) Photographer Sean Hemmerle has captured many once thriving locations throughout the Rust Belt. Some are hauntingly beautiful. All are sad.
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| The Waiting Hall, Michigan Central Station. Photo by French photographers, Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre. Via The Denver Post. |
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| Lee Plaza Hotel. Photo by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre via The Denver Post. |
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| The William Livingstone House. Via The Denver Post. |
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| The abandoned aquarium on Belle Isle, a small island on the Detroit River. {Via} |
This just looks fabulous to me. So dark, overpowering, foreboding and . . . archaic. A great scene for the movie, "Batman Goes to Hell". Okay, there is no such movie, but if there were . . .
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| The Carrie Furnaces, Rankin, Pennsylvania. Photo by Sean Hemmerle. |
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| Abandoned homes in Detroit. I once heard that Detroit has some of the nicest ghettos because most of the homes were brick and had good bones. They now have brittle bones. Photo by Sean Hemmerle via La Boheme. |
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| An abandoned house in Detroit. {Via} |
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| Lima & Toledo Traction Company Bridge, Waterville, Ohio. Photo by Sean Hemmerle. |
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A melted clock sitting within a wall of peeling paint in the old Cass Tech High School. It was closed six years ago when a new school was built next store. Its' architectural style was Industrial Gothic. One of my very good friends, Barbara Jean, attended the excellent four year college preparatory school. Via The Denver Post.
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Not all is lost. There are still some incredible buildings.
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| The Fisher Building. I remember going to the theatre as a child with my Dad. {Via} |
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| The Guardian Building has long been a jewel of Detroit. {Via} |
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| The banking lobby of the Guardian Building is now a shopping promenade. {Via} |
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| The Fox Theatre has been painstakingly restored to its original glory. {Via} |
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| I spent many, many hours at the Detroit Institute of Art. Photo via dia.org |
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