Beautiful Sorrow
EXPLORED! This building makes me sad everytime I see it.
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 building is right around the corner from another icon, the abandoned ( and soon to be demolished ) Tiger Stadium. The 2 upper levels were meant to be office buildings and 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.
Comments and faves
thriftster99, ( Jennifer ), cedarkayak, dr0zda, and 86 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Labernalesa (57 months ago | reply)
Interesante arquitectura !
thriftster99 (57 months ago | reply)
Wow.
Taylor Bamrick [deleted] (57 months ago | reply)
nice, was just down there today!
Detroit Liger (57 months ago | reply)
Nice shot Derek. I like that angle.
MotorCityJim (57 months ago | reply)
I like that composition, Derek...with the setting sun giving it a sweet glow. At first glance it appears to still be in service, then the reality hits, with all the broken glass...abandonment.
Yes, it makes me sad, too. I once walked the halls of that building, when it still had life in it; a friend from way back used to have office space there (an EAP for the Det. Fire Dept.).
Going further back, as a child (born in Delray, a couple miles down the road, off Vernor), I rode by that station with my parents, heading downtown to 'see the sites'.
Sad, now, indeed...only vague memories remain...
Jim K.
luna.nik (57 months ago | reply)
Awesome shot.
Kirsten Alana (57 months ago | reply)
What a beautiful picture of this building! I've loved it ever since I was a little girl and I miss living in MI partly because i used to dream of the day this building might be used again, for something, somehow!
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rockchick417 (57 months ago | reply)
great shot - love the angle and the sky
cedarkayak (57 months ago | reply)
This has always been my favorite building in the D
Ray-48 (57 months ago | reply)
What a beautiful shot...unfortunately it is not what it could be
Cherie S. (57 months ago | reply)
Very lovely. You manged to get it all in there?
DetroitDerek Photography ( ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ) (57 months ago | reply)
Thanks everyone! I wanted to capture the entire building and have been trying to figure out a way to do it. The clouds that night were very strange, almost haunting. Thanks again for everyones views/comments/faves!
dr0zda (57 months ago | reply)
I've never seen this building in person. You did a fantastic job capturing its grandeur. I can certainly understand why it makes you sad every time you see it. It is sad, not only the deterioration of the building but the passing of an era.
Princess_Sparkles (57 months ago | reply)
It makes me sad too. But this shot does an awesome job of capturing what once was, and the beauty that remains in the decay. Great work!!
live electrode (57 months ago | reply)
Visual poetry...
NoneOther... {Captured In Lights}... (57 months ago | reply)
Lovely composition!
_Zinni_ (57 months ago | reply)
A great shot from a interesting building!
LindaB. (57 months ago | reply)
Nicely done Derek. Love the sun on the side of the building.
katthor (57 months ago | reply)
very nice, what are they going to do with the building?
goatmanbaldy - Proud Extremist Right Wing Wacko (57 months ago | reply)
Beautiful shot...can't help but wonder why they needed such a tall building for trains though.
pam southworth (57 months ago | reply)
Great light. You've really captured the majesty of the past with this.
eDOT - VisArG (57 months ago | reply)
Great angle to catch the entire bldg. + the light and colors from the sun setting captures the true beauty of the architecture.
ON THE MOON STUDIO (57 months ago | reply)
This building should be saved.
cedarkayak (57 months ago | reply)
Hey Derek, I saw this photo in Explore today!!
DetroitDerek Photography ( ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ) (57 months ago | reply)
Thanks for the heads up Cedar- I was not aware of it. Thanks again to everyone for their views/comments and faves. I stood next to a recently abandoned church to get this shot and could hear bats above my head and behind me as my wife decided to stay in the car. The clouds a few minutes later turned a bright pink and looked almost like a weird chemical fire in the sky. I was already driving by that point unfortunately. I wish you all the best and thanks again for everything.
buckshot.jones (57 months ago | reply)
Funny thing is your shot makes the building look functioning. It gives a stromg sense of what has been lost.
railguydst (57 months ago | reply)
Great shot. it would be very interesting to roam the halls of this great old building.
michael prince (57 months ago | reply)
Absolutely mind blowing. Can you get inside to take photographs?
DetroitDerek Photography ( ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ) (57 months ago | reply)
A lot of people go in there,but it is quite illegal to do so. The area is patrolled by the Department of Homeland Security. they DO shoot movies here, it'll cost you $20,000 a day to do so. 4 were shot here in 2006, including the movie Transformers.
nolehace (57 months ago | reply)
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yankeepez (57 months ago | reply)
Yep, this a great shot. The colors work very nicely.
1971Rich [deleted] (57 months ago | reply)
I was thinking the same thing buckshot was. Almost looks like usable. Too bad we in this area know how it isn't. Nice photo Derek.
ExcuseMySarcasm (55 months ago | reply)
Wow.
Carhove (55 months ago | reply)
Excelente encuadre!!!!
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DetroitDerek Photography ( ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ) (55 months ago | reply)
This one is currently at #216 in Explore. Thanks again to everyone that views/faves/comments on my wife's and my pictures. :)
DetroitDerek Photography ( ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ) (55 months ago | reply)
It's now at #135. Thanks again everyone!
Sean Posey (52 months ago | reply)
Beautiful light in this hot with great historical information.
KrystleDeVo (51 months ago | reply)
Love this shot mine all make it look like a prison
thomas_-_ (50 months ago | reply)
beautiful ... fabulous structure, inside should be immense
anoldent (48 months ago | reply)
Instead of an icon of Detroit's decay, the city should restore this as a symbol of civic pride and recovery.
coun2rparts (43 months ago | reply)
wow!
she wolf- (42 months ago | reply)
Thanks for your recent visit. nice shot of the train station.
I have a few from this old sleeping beauty, also.
my mom and grandma came from Europe here.
thanks again.
she wolf
borzoibob (42 months ago | reply)
Lovely original angle of capture,Brilliant.
jhoweaa (38 months ago | reply)
Very nicely captured. With the green grass and the low sun, the building doesn't look as decayed as it really is.
ecelestial (37 months ago | reply)
Great shot. This building is so captivating.
Jim Harris: Artist. (33 months ago | reply)
Fantastic.
gwiwer (32 months ago | reply)
a wonderful photo of a wonderful building. it hurts to see it fall apart like this.
Whiteboard Dave (31 months ago | reply)
In the heyday of passenger railroading, there were at least 3 train stations in Detroit: the Fort Street Station (demolished around 1974), the Grand Trunk station near the river, and the Michigan Central Terminal, the grandest of the three.
The small structure at the extreme right of this photo was, in the early 1970s, the cab chute: there was a light above the ramp leading in that we'd turn on as a signal to cabs that there were actually passengers waiting.
I also remember a porte-cochere, a canopy at the main entrance, extending over the grandly named "Depot Esplanade" -- the drop-off road at the main entrance. That seems long gone.
DB-Photography (27 months ago | reply)
Such a pity. This building is way too beautiful to be allowed to fall into this state.
anissen24 (26 months ago | reply)
This is so beautiful that it makes me homesick. I moved to San Francisco a few years back, and this is the first place I visit when I go home. It has always been my favorite building in the city (or anywhere for that matter). Your angle and framing of this amazing building is fantastic. Thank you so much for posting this! I was feeling homesick and this really made me smile!
tameraann (26 months ago | reply)
Perfectly cationed. I am sad every time I travel to the big D and see this building. It represents a time gone by. It reflects how we are a disposable nation. =(
victorian5 (24 months ago | reply)
I don't think any of these old buildings and houses should be destroyed. Our heritage is disappearing and we can't have that.
Victorian
david.bank (www.david-bank.com) (6 months ago | reply)
Really lovely shot of this abandoned grand station full of history. What a pity the verticals are not straight, would have made it so much better.