Uploads from DetroitDerek Photography ( ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ), tagged graffiti, with geodata

Park

An urban type of "park" anyway...

The Strange Museum

Come on in, admission's free
I won't refuse those who wanna see
I said it's strange

Bring your loved ones, those you hold dear
Bring them all, there's no restrictions here
Said it's strange

Don't look for blame as an easy escape
There's nothing on show that isn't your shame
Lord, your shame

So come on in, it's a small price to pay
I won't refuse those who've lost their way

Come on in

Lyrics by Paul Weller.

I often think of abandoned buildings as museums, pieces of past glories stuck in the now, where they are ignored or neglected. Sometimes they are almost treated like an attraction, much like a museum. I ALWAYS contemplate the history the building has gone through, what it has seen in it's life and wonder how they got where they currently are: evidence of a much different time where the purpose they served was much different than today.

Canvas

I often wonder when i see a building such as this with graffiti covering so much of it... what was wrong with the sections that DON'T have graffiti on them? Why didn't someone paint their tag there? I have too much free time at times to think about such things....

Late In The Evening

Going back through my archives and finding a few I'd forgotten about...

Life In The Big City Part 1

Ok, I haven't actually ever lived IN the big city, always right next to it. Which is weird, as I love cities so much.

I don't usually like posting "selfies" anymore, but liked enough about this one to post it here. While this is "Part 1" , there may not actually be a Part 2. We'll see.

An Amassment of Colors

A collection of different colors in the heart of Downtown Detroit.

You Can't Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve.... When You've Lost Your Shirt

So many things wrong yet so much I like so I decided to post it here. Plus I love the title that I stole from the Spin Doctors.

All I Need Is A Place To Lay My Head

One from the archives that I was saving for the book that someday I'll get off my butt and work much harder on.

Scenes like this are always heartbreaking, and I find it tough at times to stay behind the lens, as I always want to help.

The Farwell

The Farwell Building was completed in 1915 in Downtown Detroit, was designated a National Historic Building in 1974, and was abandoned in 1984. Here's a view from the outside for a change.

Walk Long And Cast A Tall Shadow

Or something like that.

The Best Seat In The House

If that house is the abandoned Packard Automotive Plant of course. Ever-changing and always fascinating ( almost sounds like a slogan to attract tourists doesn't it? )

Desolation Row

( EXPLORED!!! ) Another shot that I take every year to compare the condition of this building from the previous year.

Hard to believe that 100 years ago 12,000+ people worked RIGHT HERE every day. I present to you, before scrappers get to the rest of it, the former Packard Automotive Plant in Detroit.

It's All In The Details

Part of the roof has been falling onto the building next door and the sidewalk. So what do they do? Take away the protective metal barrior. We'll see how that move works out...

Examining the beauty of yet another abandoned building in Downtown Detroit.

This is the Wurlitzer Building. Originally built in 1926 in a Renaissance Revival style, it closed in 1982. Part of the reason it has remained closed all these years? The far fetched asking price of slightly more than $2 million.

Casst Away

Cass Tech in Detroit, sadly, much like many other historic structures that came before it in this fair city, disappeared into dust recently to become a "much needed" empty field without a historic marker.

Go Towards The Light...

very crispy, but it was so dang bright in there...I never get tired of this place.

We're Urban Exploras

( EXPLORED!!! ) A good time can always be had by all at the abandoned Packard Plant in Detroit

Fate

I've been meaning to touch this one up and was motivated by 2 of my friends this weekend ( Thien and Michael ) so I went back through the archives from " the good old days" and reprocessed this one. Detroit is a city of ebbs and flows, we deal really well with expansion, but not so well with contraction. The Packard Plant, and the company in general, are a good example of this. Built in 1907, this building at one point held over 12,000 workers each day. There was a department store, grocery store, etc built into the complex. The complex covered more than 3.5 million square feet and was designed by the "Architect of Detroit", Albert Kahn. Packard's attempt to diversify it's product line outside of it's target market, along with it's inability to keep up with it's competitors in it's target market, resulted in the plant closing in 1957 and the company folding in 1958. Our city is facing similiar challenges today, attempting to diversify the types of companies/jobs we have here, delve into market types we have not gone into before, etc. We have learned a lot from the lessons of the past, let's see how well we use that knowledge moving forward as a city.

Made In Detroit

Originally from Lincoln Park, a suburb of Detroit, the MC5 came to represent DETROIT in the late 60's through their hard work/constant gigging, rough edge, and take no crap attitude. To this day they still represent what it truly means to be a Detroiter.

Fields Of Gold

Very cool and ornate concrete gate for the entrance? Check. Lots of space to the left and right, now taken over by these annoying and picky gold/brown weeds? Check. Door on the 2nd floor leading in? Check. Wait a minute.... door on the SECOND floor..... where's the REST of this building....

I'll have to do some research on this one. An old school? It's in a residential neighborhood so the odds of it being a factory are slim. part of an old church? I'll let you know.

We Built This City ( Version 2 ) - Tribute To Tony Lafferty

This place is a lot darker than this shot makes it appear. I tried to style the end version as a tribute ( it's similiar to his style of processing as well ) to one of my good friends and a heckeva photographer Tony Lafferty ( www.flickr.com/photos/tonylafferty/ ) - a long overdue tribute.