God and Automobiles

Heaven this way...

...Toldeo over here.

Outstanding

awesome :)

Mack Ave: The 'Hood!

I agree! ^^

geometric fusion *-*

This is the memorable and ironic view that greets every motorist traveling south on I-75 towards downtown. Thousands of these motorists are surely suburban GM workers on their way to work every day, and the irony of this chance alignment is hopefully not lost on them. In the background, the Renaissance Center, Detroit's tallest building and GM World Headquarters. In the foreground, St. Josaphat, a 105-year old still-functioning relic from Detroit's heyday. Detroit is the Motor City, but the sins committed here cannot be forgotten or forgiven--from the hundreds of murders every year to the construction of a freeway system that divided and destroyed vibrant and working neighborhoods. Hopefully this image will one day have different associations.

For me, it is a powerful view that is quintessentially Detroit. I'm sure it's been photographed hundreds of times, but the balance and contrast between Detroit's largest and most infamous glass skyscraper, a struggling community church, and the freeway that cut a swath across the city and acted as a runway for white flighters provides me with endless fascination. I hope you will find it equally stimulating.

#7 in explore with 13,300+ views. Thanks everyone!

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Comments

< Prev 1 2 Next >

(123 comments)

suesue2 says:

Lined up perfectly ... great job !
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

John Levanen says:

Just perfect... excellent !
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

Mario.Q says:

What a great shot! Your narrative makes it even better. Nice work!
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

SNWEB.ORG Photography, LLC. says:

Nice job, nice colors

--
Seen on your photo stream. (?)
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

Church of One says:

Love this capture! I've wanted to take this shot for years... how did you do it?? Were you standing on the Warren overpass?
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

John Clement Howe says:

Excellent composition! I like to think of the beautifully lit sky as symbolizing "the golden glimmer of hope" for this once-great city. Congratulations for a superb photo and commentary.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

Church of One says:

I had to come back and fave this as I've always found this juxtaposition to be very ironic.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

More Altitude says:

This is a superb capture- a fantastic piece of social documentary caught with a keen eye for irony and commentary. Thanks for the history to the shot, and really well framed with beautiful light too. You've told your story well here. Excellent work.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

kawkawpa says:

A modern Oz...
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

HoolyPics says:

Wonderful and thanks for the edifying description.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

Kathleen_A says:

fantastic story telling too....just wonderful...the whole thing.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

The Two Dimension Collection says:

i like the light in the pic! really cool shot!
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

s o u t h e n says:

Great shot. This picture has been taken many times before but not with this amount of quality. I also like the social commentary on Detroit. Most people dont take the time to understand the problems that face Detroit.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

StrudelMonkey says:

Fantastic shot and commentary ... I have wanted to take this same photo for years but just never got around to it ... thanks for sharing ... cheers
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

tEdGuY49® says:

well done!
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

dianabog  says:

beautiful shot, wonderful colors and detail.....

God forgives.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

nevertorun says:

Interesting shot and interesting comment. Thank you.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

spantil says:

Great job geoff! I also really like your commentary, and its good for people who still think of detroit as a prospering city to realize its true nature. very nice!
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

timwmartin says:

I hope you pop over to Windsor one day and take some awesome photos of my hometown!
"Detroit City is the place to be
Let the Mad Dog City set you free."-Ted Nugent
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

g. s. george says:

georgeivetic: I'll hop on the bridge one sunny day to take some pics. I've been to windsor a few times but mainly to take the train to Toronto or Montreal. I'll be sure to check out the downtown extensively.

Thanks all for your comments!
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

Church of One says:

Back again to this great shot. I've always detested the architecture of the RenCen; it's like a giant phallic symbol. Adding the GM logo just heightened the irony.
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

i_scream says:

I've imagined this picture thousand times, but none like this. This is absolutely great. Alignment is perfect, the lighting, the symbolism, everything.
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

Wystan says:

Geoffrey, Your photo is worthy of National Geographic, or the superb pictorial essays that used to run in LIFE. I found a less-successful version on Flickr, from 2005 -- this one severely cropped, and with punning alliteration in the caption:

www.flickr.com/photos/urbantiki/5024415/
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

g. s. george says:

thanks Wystan!! I am humbled by your suggestion that this could be in LIFE or NG. Maybe one day.... best,
- Geoff
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

1ManWithACamera says:

Perfect position and lighting on this. Congratulations on this great shot.
Posted 32 months ago. ( permalink )

noyesa says:

These two things not only contrast each other, but complement each other. Detroit has many, many beautiful churches, but is also the once dauntless champion of industry, paralelled by few other cities in its heyday. I once heard that Detroit's industrial output was more than that of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Buffalo combined. The city of Industry, but also the city of churches. These two things are staples of Detroit.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

Victor - Caracas says:

Great shot indeed!
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

aebusch says:

This is the sight I'm treated to as I take the off-ramp to my school not far off the exit just before Mack. Thanks for capturing the view so beautifully.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

luna.nik says:

This is a great shot! Love your description as well!
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

brettcomartin says:

I drive by this everyday and have always wanted to take this exact image. Love the story.
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

emerton says:

Beautifully conceived and executed, but I think it's dangerous to take photos from the roof of a moving car.
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

Wystan says:

No, no -- it was perfectly safe. It's obvious from the angle here, and the exposure, that he was riding inside -- driving a Jeep Cherokee with the top down, speed steady at about 55, steering with his knees . . . .
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

psweeneym says:

It is a great picture. The only comment I have is that the church is far from struggling. It has an excellent membership base and is a bright spot in an otherwise dismal area.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

AdamDenison says:

Wow! Breathtaking.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

Troy McClure SF says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Just Freeways, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.

--
Found in a search. (?)
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

Matty Lang says:

Nice shot. You have Henry Ford to thank for all of that irony as I'm sure you are well aware. Many of us folks working to ween this country from its auto-dependence feel for Detroit which was where the dominance of the auto began and where the resulting pain is first being felt the hardest.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

zorro says:

emotive. i suggest - www.carfree.com

you might also try -

www.energie-cites.eu/-Projects-

or even a Texas strategy -

www.infinitepower.org/
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

jhoweaa says:

I'm rarely on that section of road so I wasn't aware of the interesting juxtaposition of the church and the Renaissance Center. Nicely captured!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Paula Wirth says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called One of these things is not like the other..., and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

ozgurmulazimoglu says:

good job...
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

Rodrigo_Soldon says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Wonderful photos for the world - Please comment on Three (3), and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

Sergei Rogozhnikov says:

Great capture!
I like so much that difference between cold tones at the road in foreground, and warm tones at buildings and sky in background...
Lovely!

Viewed in Wonderful photos for the world

You are my winner!
Please add this photo to
www.flickr.com/groups/mywinners/
invited with SICI
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

l.traube says:

Ciao, sono amministratore di un gruppo chiamato Write me!. Ci farebbe piacere aggiungere le tuo foto al gruppo.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

Khun Shaun (ชอร์น) says:

You are invited to add this great photo to the group Travel on 5 Photos a Day.
Please tag photos with "5PhotosaDay".
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

sansa793 says:

nice
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Hannah.K says:

Beautiful.

Please visit www.lost.eu/753c4
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Enchanter of Camelot says:

Please add your photo to our group, Impressions & Expressions and feel free to join us unless you’ve already done so.

Remember to tag your photos Impressions & Expressions and please indicate if the photo has a story when posting.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

edwardjohnphotography says:

I've wanted to take this shot for years. You see this composition as you travel down I75 but just for a brief second. Nice job.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

iEunhye Foto says:

really great shot :D
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

oarflickr says:

nice one
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Brian j Craig says:

i drive that route many days, it never looks this nice though, where are the burnt out houses =) Great image though, very nice
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Daveness_98 says:

Very nice. Bet you could get a nice shot from that bridge too of the high-rises and the church... unless the church blocks them too much from there
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

The Last Cookie says:

Great shot! I remember seeing this every day when I drove to work ... until I started taking the bus instead. Very lovely lighting, too. How did you get the sun to do that? Is that the weak winter afternoon sun, circa January?
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

swampzoid says:

totally liking it.
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

juanmiguel [deleted] says:

Hola, soy el administrador de un grupo llamado OSTRELLINA (Sólo fotos invitadas) y nos encantaría agregar esto al grupo.

Excellent.
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

Soyunangel says:

So, there is a road from money to heaven... and hopefully sufficient time in between to ask for forgiveness.
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

on the other side of the camera says:

What an inspiration. Thank you for sharing this.
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

stratoz says:

great shot

I have seen it on All From A To Z .
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

mSkeet says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called God above, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

f o r g i v e n says:

This is such a great shot! I think the history part you added really adds to it. :)
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

asheblogs says:

I commute I-75, and was thinking of someday taking this shot... however, you've done it better than I ever could.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

jlmcdonald21 says:

It's almost like a symbol, with the steeple being taller than the skyscraper from this angle. Like "God will always posses supreme power."

Very Cool.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Non-Linear Time says:

Just sitting here in Iraq and keyed in "Detroit" for images of home. This is the first image that appeared. How appropriate. I used to work at 8 Mile and Groesbeck back in the '80s, and would see this very image every afternoon/evening on the commute home. Wow, this brings back memories. I also love the alignment of three on three. I, too, like many others who have commented here, wanted to get this shot but never got around to it. A little trivia...It was almost at this very spot where one day (around 1986 or 1987) on the commute home I looked over in the next lane to see actor Leslie Nielsen driving right next to me in a beautiful, white, convertible Rolls Royce. Thanks for sharing this great photo.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

darkson33 says:

I live in Flint and I've been to Detroit I don't know 2,000,000 times,
this shot is one of the best shots on flickr PERIOD.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

bonksie61 says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Almost Anything BRIDGES COMP... Get entering., and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

artland says:

wonderfulllllllll !!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Vale S. says:

Stunning angle, light and a great story!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

mysla318 says:

Nice shot!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

jonhaggen says:

very powerful...sad but true
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

WarderJack says:

It's a shame what freeways did to once great cities.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

librarianne49 says:

The photo is awesome. I hope the city will survive the "downturn."
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

zorro says:

@WarderJack - Yes agree. People need to come around to a realization that cars, for so many reasons; peak oil, climate change, fragmentation of community and so on are a big part of the problem not part of the solution. Its time for a new appraisal of the best means for global society to be upwardly mobile and this means reconsidering efficient and clean collective mass transport systems.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

cltan47 [deleted] says:

great shot
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

norvegia2005sara says:

I'd like to INVITE you to join in
"We travel the world"

Please add this photo to the group
www.flickr.com/groups/pancry;
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

reyfocus says:

A so strange pictures ! Wonderful
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

naarnia70 says:

Ciao, sono amministratore di un gruppo chiamato ***Guardami negli occhi** -Post 1/Comm 3 - LA SFIDA CONTINUA. Ci farebbe piacere aggiungere l’elemento al gruppo.

meravigliosa!!!!!!!!!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

lee_yoshida says:

Lovely alignment. ★★★★★
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Doug'x (busy...) says:

beautiful capture!!!!!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

sedykin14 says:

Kudos for double irony (bet you didn't notice it). But the glorification of both the commercial and religious structures is ironic considering both of those are in decline in America at the moment.
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

artland says:

wonderfullllllllll !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Martia says:

Very neat.
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

peekm says:

Extremely well composed picture with the church dominating the skyline. I also love the warm light.
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Richard Messenger says:

Good job ... good thoughts.
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

EDdetroit says:

Excellent job of such a great city
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Andrea [anisa] says:

this is fantastically beautiful photos!
a greeting from Milan
hello
Andrea
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Pipe  says:

Wonderful...
A greeting from Chile

Pipe
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

cml.faria says:

so nice!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

gary.hill2008 says:

Amazing shot..brings back memories when i visited Detroit in 2001.
From an outsiders view (I'm from England) Detroit seems like the United States' forgotten City..such a shame for a once great City.
All i can say is GO WINGS.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

shashi vemula says:

amazing perspective... love the shot...
D3TroIT rocks!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

zilverbat ( says:

Great shot !!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Howard33 says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Historic Church Buildings, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Christa Zee says:

such a beautiful picture. I love driving to Detroit, the zoo is amazing. :]
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

linnelou says:

fantastic shot...i'm from Windsor and have been this way many times. the sky was perfect...didn't detract from your focal point.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

templatesbylecca says:

Very neat.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

artland says:

wonderfulllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Antonio I. says:

great light and composition!
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Tito Fontanilla says:

So this is what the motor city looks like.
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Tim Tonjes-Photography says:

Beautiful!!!
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

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God and Automobiles

Comments

suesue2 says:

John Levanen says:

Mario.Q says:

SNWEB.ORG Photography, LLC. says:

Church of One says:

John Clement Howe says:

Church of One says:

More Altitude says:

kawkawpa says:

HoolyPics says:

Kathleen_A says:

The Two Dimension Collection says:

s o u t h e n says:

StrudelMonkey says:

tEdGuY49® says:

dianabog  says:

nevertorun says:

spantil says:

timwmartin says:

g. s. george says:

Church of One says:

i_scream says:

Wystan says:

g. s. george says:

1ManWithACamera says:

noyesa says:

Victor - Caracas says:

aebusch says:

luna.nik says:

brettcomartin says:

emerton says:

Wystan says:

psweeneym says:

AdamDenison says:

Troy McClure SF says:

Matty Lang says:

~~ zorro ~~ says:

jhoweaa says:

Paula Wirth says:

ozgurmulazimoglu says:

Rodrigo_Soldon says:

Sergei Rogozhnikov says:

l.traube says:

Khun Shaun (ชอร์น) says:

sansa793 says:

Hannah.K says:

Enchanter of Camelot says:

edwardjohnphotography says:

iEunhye Foto says:

oarflickr says:

Brian j Craig says:

Daveness_98 says:

The Last Cookie says:

swampzoid says:

juanmiguel [deleted] says:

Soyunangel says:

on the other side of the camera says:

stratoz says:

mSkeet says:

f o r g i v e n says:

asheblogs says:

jlmcdonald21 says:

Non-Linear Time says:

darkson33 says:

bonksie61 says:

artland says:

Vale S. says:

mysla318 says:

jonhaggen says:

WarderJack says:

librarianne49 says:

~~ zorro ~~ says:

cltan47 [deleted] says:

norvegia2005sara says:

reyfocus says:

naarnia70 says:

lee_yoshida says:

Doug'x (busy...) says:

zorro says:

zorro says: