Michigan Central Station

Michigan Central Station was built in 1913 for the Michigan Central Railroad, and was Detroit, Michigan's passenger rail depot from its opening in 1913 until the last train pulled away in 1988.
The station is located in the Corktown area, not an insignificant distance from Downtown Detroit. The reason for the placement this far from downtown was a hope that the station would be an anchor for prosperity to follow. Initially, things were looking up as Henry Ford began to buy land near the station in the 1920s and plans were made, but the Great Depression and other circumstances squelched this and many other development efforts. Further compounding MCS's future problems was the fact that no large parking facility was included in the original design of the facility. So when the interurban service was discontinued less than two decades after MCS opened and streetcar service stopped in 1938, MCS was effectively isolated from a large majority of the population.
Despite this isolation, traffic to the station remained brisk.
During World War II, the station saw heavy military use, but once the war ended, passenger volume began to decline. Service was cut back and passenger traffic became so low that the owners of the station attempted to sell the facility in 1956 for US$5 million, one-third of its original building cost in 1913. Another attempt to sell the building occurred in 1963, but again there were no buyers. In 1967, maintenance costs were seen as too high relative to the decreasing passenger volume. The restaurant, arcade shops, and main entrance were closed, along with much of the main waiting room
Things began to look better for the building when Amtrak took over the nation's passenger rail service in 1971. The main waiting room and entrance were reopened in 1975 and a $1.25 million renovation project was begun in 1978. But only 6 years later, the building was sold for a transportation center project that never materialized. Then, on January 6, 1988, the last Amtrak train pulled away from the station after it was decided to close the facility

In the interim it has served as a filming location for several motion pictures, but otherwise stands empty. It stands isolated. It's a focal point for those for historians, and those with a soft spot for nostalgia. It's A focal point for scrappers, thieves, vandals, and is considered the mecca for Urban explorers. In Detroit urban exploration, you haven't been anywhere if you haven't been inside the station.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Restoration projects and plans have gone as far as the negotiation process, but none has come to fruition. The Detroit City Council Voted to Demolish this beautiful structure in 2009, but a private citizen quickly filed a lawsuit to block the demolition citing the Historic Register Law. And so it stands .....in limbo .






For years I have driven by wondering about this magnificent building.
Getting inside became a curiosity and then slowly an obsession. I drove by many times. Photographed the exterior Planned and plotted. Tried to determine the point of entry.

Getting in has been done by a small band of explores. But I soon found that the entry points are a bit of a secret. It took a while, exploring other buildings. Meeting and befriending the local urbex crowd, but I was finally invited to go on a trip to the station.

Quite by Chance.
God Bless the Rain.

I was heading out on a shoot with a few of Detroit's most prolific urbex veterans. Destination : outdoor shooting near the Highland park area, where some of the buildings have recently sold for incredible sums of money. The assumption being, a new arena for the Detroit Red Wings will go up here and these buildings will soon be coming down
Then the rain spoiled their plans to shoot outdoors and suddenly the plan was to visit the station and join with a group that was already there. It was hard to handle my excitement. Without time to think about it, I was going.

Fast forward.

Darkness.


I mean Real Darkness. As black as night. Walking with a tripod in one hand, and a flashlight in the other , eyes straining with maximum intensity at the irregular floor of someplace time forgot. Some place that seemed deeper than Hell ( and colder and darker ). I see water reflections. I hear dripping water in the distance. Mostly though I head the echos far off in the distance of the crunching of earth under my boots. I see Holes in the floor. Placed at random. Some have a visible bottom, some don't I am glad I have a flashlight! Turning the light in every direction, it fails to find the limits of this vast underground space. It's more than a bit frightening down there. What is there in the dark? Who is there?? I see a rat at one point running by in the edge of my lights beam. It was one big rat!

All the senses are heightened in darkness like this. The musty smell was absolutely overwhelming. I can't remember how far in I was when I was overcome with the belief that the air I was breathing was filled with nastiness, like opening a tomb, but all at once I was hit with the musty smell. My mind poured over the textbook of my college microbiology class wondering what the Hell was living down there. None of it was probably my friend.
But I had to concentrate. That floor was treacherous. The pace of the guys I was following was blistering and there was no way I was going to become separated. I needed to concentrate on the floor!





Light ahead!

After what seemed to me several minutes, and what was probably less than 2 minutes, I saw some light ahead. Then some more light. Then we hit some giant locked door that reminded me of the doors in a ship which close when the boat is flooding which had about 12 inches to spare. Off came the backpack. I sucked in and was grateful I skipped breakfast, and squeezed through the iron barred door. The light got stronger and stronger and then I was in.

The building I was in looked like an enormous shed, with lots of holes in the ceiling. A few more minutes through this shed area and in I was. Inside one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.
I've been to Rome. I've been to London. I've seen the great Cathedrals of the world, and this place is in that league. My traveling companion, sensing how I felt took the words from my mouth. " Incredible, isn't it? If this place was in any other world city, it would be protected, and filled with tourists and architectural students" I agreed.
As it happens, fate placed it here in Detroit and it's rotting....all alone ( except for those who can't be denied the view ) I'm happy to share the views I had this great day

I shoot almost exclusively with a Canon EF f/2.8 15 mm Fisheye lens. Yes, I am very unconventional in doing so, as my photog buddies frequently remind me. Yes it causes some distortion sometimes. But the fact remains that I LOVE the effects of this lens. It gives me a "through the looking glass" feeling. And lately I have been in a heavy processing mood on my photos. It's a phase. All Editing done in adobe lightroom

CLICK ON EACH PHOTO AND THEN ENLARGE IT. THERE ARE INCREDIBLE DETAILS HERE WHICH CANNOT BE SEEN ON THE SMALLER IMAGES!





Enjoy



A huge space. HUGE. Such incredible detail in the work. Such incredible silence. Every pebble crunched under foot, echos off the distant walls. I have a short time to get some shots because we are meeting the other people on the roof and they have a head start.


The Ceiling reminded me of Some of the ancient Egyptian temple at Karnak.


Gravity alert!


Suddenly I found myself lead into a doorway which was obviously a staircase.
"watch out, walk near the edge. the stairs are unstable" that was my only warning.
Stepping on the 3rd or 4th step, I was concentrating more on my camera display reviewing photos, and I heard a crunch, like stepping on plywood. I did not make that mistake again! Safety was the number one priority, and if you aren't careful in a building like this, you can get hurt or killed. .
The air was really dusty here. The floor was really rotten wood. So many boards. All of them disrupted, warped and rotted I stuck my head inside my inner shirt layer as I ascended the a few flights of stairs. This staircase is totally dark. There are no lights, and you see a layer of dust and particles in your light path. We exited at one floor and headed through the doorway into the light and then I realized I was on the top of the lobby, and the view was incredible.
"Watch out. Don't step there" Part of the floor appears to be cardboard box stretched out. We don't know if it's just covering some defect or not. Best to not take a chance. Just another reminder here that no matter how incredible the scenery, the only scenery that matters is that which is directly below your feet!!

But then there is this: Description unnecessary. Pure beauty


Back into the staircase. There were a few detours in which we exited to look at the floors ( not few enough to rest! ) Breathing through the shirt, up and up and up. The stuff I was carrying seemed suddenly heavy. At last we exited the stairs and had a look out. I was hoping we were at the top or at least near the top.


Wrong

Back into the staircase, I saw a warning which we ignored



Along the way we made a few more stops. Checked out a few more hallways, corridors. There was one constant, the staircase got shittier the higher up we got.

My memory is pretty vague regarding the ascent. I was winded.
Shots were taken of various corridors on the few stops we made.



Eventually, the light in the stairs got better. A lot better. as did the air quality. We were so high. The top two floors. They were never finished. In any other city these incredible floor spaces would fetch top dollar. can you imagine this space in New York City? One loft space would go for millions.
We roamed around and I got many shots of these incredible floors








IMPEACH OBAMA......I loved that somebody wrote this on the floor.



Looking at this shot,
I am reminded again of the danger. This open elevator shaft leads some 220 feet straight down. Certain death to anybody foolish enough to think this was a doorway. also a reminder, not to stick around after dark and to always carry flashlights and look at the floor in any darkened area before going forward






then the final staircase and I'm on top!!




I'm the king of the world!

The rooftop was a destination I had dreamed of for a long time. I never thought I would make it up here. It was such a great feeling to be standing in a place I had no business standing. Every time I drove by I looked at the roof, hoping to see somebody up there. I've never seen anybody. Today I was there. It was great.

The views are absolutely incredible. The visibility was pretty good despite the clouds. I could see for miles. The Ambassador bridge was spectacular.





The Downtown Detroit Skyline off in the distance

Very cool skylight, with a view 220 feet down to the pavement in the front of the building

The giant smokestack, covered in graffiti with the ambassador bridge in the distance and Canada to our South across the Detroit River.

Shot with my 200 mm zoom lens, you would think the Ambassador Bridge came right up to the base of the building. On the other side, there is Canada. To our South ( Detroit is North of Canada....fun trivia factoid)

I wandered into this large room, which I believe must have had something to do with the elevators or generators.

There was a pool of standing water. I always avoid pools of standing water in buildings because if this is where the water collects, then this is also probably where the floor is rotting.
But I do love a good reflection, and I loved the graffiti reflecting on the pool of water

I'm always amazed at the quality of art left behind with a spray can. Sure it's graffiti. Sure it's vandalism, but there is something raw and real about this noncommissioned art work that somebody who climed 18 flights of stairs carryig paint cans can leave behind. I found this room and the artwork within it to be some of my all time favorites. It doesn't hurt that so few people will ever get to see it. So I've captured it so others may enjoy it without the climb. I also thought there was a really cool contrast with all the circuits and machine stuff up here. A clash of right and left brain 220 feet above the ground!

Too quickly the time came to head down.

We used the staircase on the other side of the building. Unlike the first windowless staircase, this one had windows all the way down.

At first glance, looking at these weather beaten very flimsy stairs with open windows looking straight down , I longed for the dark staircase!

Watch your step!
I've never had an overt fear of heights, but I did find these views to be very scary. Still, I couldn't help looking all the day down


Some scrapper left part of his loot. I wondered how long it had been sitting on these stairs.

You can really see here how flimsy these stairs are. It was like a staircase made of potato chips. My first lesson was to walk single file where the steps meet the wall and not to step in the center of any step. A couple of times I missed or forgot and it really made a creaking cracking sound. Not a good sound!

Eventually it was out to the level overlooking the lobby. This time from a different angle. Still as beautiful as I remembered it, and from this side the light was much better



The final view before we disappear deep underground. The part I was least looking forward to!


Under and over, and through some pretty cramped areas. Then into the black. We're leaving through a different way than I came the first time. It's a longer stretch underground, but at least this time the blackness seems to be over sooner. Way off in the distance I can see light, and the whole space is at least barely illuminated. I can see glimpses of how huge this underground area is.
Then the hole in the earth. I'd seen this hole many times, always suspecting this might be a portal of entry. It looked black and intimidating from the outside world. Now that I was inside, this hole looked pretty welcome. Light, and freedom!


We were out. The fresh air was very much missed.
I heard a roar, and looked up to see fighter planes.

They were practicing for their flyover for the Detroit Tigers Home opener. I can safely say, that this is probably the only photo of F15's and Michigan Central Station in existence.


Finally, let's drink a toast to this grand old building.


Life goes on. As I am fond of showcasing, trees frequently grow from abandoned buildings. This is certainly no exception. The structures we build may survive us, but all of them will eventually be overtaken by mother nature.