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[EviLore]

Reception desk at General Motors Technical Center, Warren, MI, 1965

"In June 1965, the Supremes, one of America’s biggest and most glamorous groups, performed at a debutante party at the Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe, Mich., the posh all-white enclave just northeast of the city." (c/o NYT)

Woodward Ave, Detroit, 1965. "The giant flag draped over Hudsons, which took over 50 people to hang. The flag was retired in 1976 and donated to the Smithsonian.

Former Michigan Gov. George Romney and former Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh at the front of a 10,000-person march at Fort Street and Woodward Avenue in Detroit, in solidarity with the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. Photo credit: Detroit Historical Society

​

Kinsel's Drug Store - Michigan & Griswold, Detroit, January 1965, photo by Dave Gelinas

"Grand River & W Warren. This telephoto shot was taken from the railroad bridge over Grand River. St Leo's Catholic Church still stands at the left, though most if not all of the businesses in the 2 mile stretch from Warren to downtown no longer exist."

 

[Lunarorbit]

I was so angry when Detroit was bankrupt and started selling it's art work a decade ago.

Never been but it's on the top of my list of places to go in the USA along with Big Bend and the Ewok forest in California

 

[Cyberpunkd]

As a filthy French I am amazed how the history of the US told through its cities and architecture. You guys have a lot to be proud of.
The Ford reception desk just screams “nothing is impossible”.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Reception desk at General Motors Technical Center, Warren, MI, 1965

That looks awesome. Architecture, building designs and whatnot have really gone downhill huh?



Dafuq happened? :\

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Dafuq happened? :\

Apple minimalism and uniformity.

 

[MrCunningham]

This guy looks so unimpressed by the Supremes that appears like he is ready to just book it.

 

[Mistake]

That looks awesome. Architecture, building designs and whatnot have really gone downhill huh?



Dafuq happened? :\

Well damn, I'd say a lot of those designs still work today. It's very posh and not overly 70's. What a shame

 

[EviLore]

This guy looks so unimpressed by the Supremes that appears like he is ready to just book it.

Some archival footage from 1965 to help place you in the moment

 

[EviLore]

Archival feature from 1965, narrated by the mayor of Detroit.



"The Detroit River, the world's busiest waterway..."

"Detroiters enjoy more sparkling, pure water, than any similar area in the world"

"A new renaissance is changing the face of the city"

The Spirit of Detroit statue. Still there today:

 

[Trilobit]

This guy looks so unimpressed by the Supremes that appears like he is ready to just book it.

To me he looks mesmerized. Like he's in a trance and can't break free.

 

[Boralf]

Makes me think of this.

 

[CGNoire]

To me he looks mesmerized. Like he's in a trance and can't break free.

With his arms crossed?

 

[IDKFA]

As a filthy French I am amazed how the history of the US told through its cities and architecture. You guys have a lot to be proud of.
The Ford reception desk just screams “nothing is impossible”.

I thought you were a Brit living in France?

 

[Trilobit]

With his arms crossed?

I'm guessing that's his girlfriend on his left. He's keeping his hands covered so that she doesn't become insecure and pull him away from this wonderful experience.

 

[AJUMP23]

Unfortunately they kept electing more and more corrupt that siphoned off the money and put it in their own pockets. Bankrupting a once great town. The same thing is happening in New Orleans and you can see it walking through the town. I would say the same has happened in San Francisco as well.

I still don't think Flint Mich has Potable water yet.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Man those old photo's always look so surreal

 

[near]

What’s with the Coca Cola branding on the pharmacy? Is/was that normal practice?

 

[AJUMP23]

they did just reopen the historic train station. So maybe there is some hope.

 

[ScHlAuChi]

 

[Deleted member 1159]

I was so angry when Detroit was bankrupt and started selling it's art work a decade ago.

Never been but it's on the top of my list of places to go in the USA along with Big Bend and the Ewok forest in California

I went for work several years ago- we were downtown and it still had some cool local spots. The burbs driving in tho…a bit depressing

 

[DeafTourette]

I went to Detroit once. Just didn't really get to see much of anything... We only went to my aunt's for a family reunion. I don't remember much of that time even though I was a teenager.

 

[Raven117]

I was so angry when Detroit was bankrupt and started selling it's art work a decade ago.

Never been but it's on the top of my list of places to go in the USA along with Big Bend and the Ewok forest in California

Big Bend is very awesome. Doing the south rim hike, sitting on the cliff looking into Mexico is just so cool.

 

[Raven117]

And man, Evilore, this is a great thread. I very much enjoy these when you find the time to do them

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I've only been to downtown Detroit a handful of times to watch sports over the decades.

For those of you who have never been there, the core downtown area by the arenas and car buildings is actually super nice.

BUT, west of there (in between downtown and the Ambassador Bridge) is an area of only a handful of KMs. It's like driving through dead areas in the show COPS.

My buddy is from Windsor, so a bunch of us would go down to see him, stay at his place and catch a game. You can get to Detroit from Windsor either taking an underground tunnel right at downtown, or drive a workaround way using that bridge which can be faster as he said the tunnel can take forever. So he drove us doing the bridge. It was hell. Get off the bridge and drive east towards downtown. Grubby abandoned homes which look like drug squatter homes. First time ever seeing that kind of shit ever live with my own eyes.

 

[Pejo]

This always gives me Bioshock vibes when I see it, or maybe vice versa.

It really is a shame, what happened to that city. I've been there a handful of times, each more depressing than the last. Wish I could have experienced it (and several other US cities) in their heyday before they became run down and filthy.

 

[RagnarokIV]

The place went downhill when Clarence Boddicker and his gang set up in town.

 

[Lunarorbit]

Big Bend is very awesome. Doing the south rim hike, sitting on the cliff looking into Mexico is just so cool.

Went to grad school at same Houston state. My 2nd year the outdoors club had a week long big bend trip with a guide, camping, and kayaking.

Not enough people signed up and it was canceled. Probably my biggest disappointment in a cancelation of my life.

 

[Insane Metal]

We live in the worst time




Well not really, but aesthetically... come on...

 

[Raven117]

Went to grad school at same Houston state. My 2nd year the outdoors club had a week long big bend trip with a guide, camping, and kayaking.

Not enough people signed up and it was canceled. Probably my biggest disappointment in a cancelation of my life.

Oh dude…. That would have been awesome. Kayaking the Santa Elena canyon is also very special.

Hope ya make it back!

 

[Dural]

I've been there a few times for work. As mentioned, the downtown area is really nice, I walked around the Tigers and Lions stadiums and thought it was great. On my way out I went to the original Buddy's and was warned about the neighborhood; it's all abandoned broken down homes, it's surreal like you're in a post-apocalyptic movie.


The GM building to the right and downtown from across the river in Canada.

Lions stadium to the left, Tigers stadium to the right, and the GM building straight ahead.

Something you see a lot of are prototype cars or cars with new body styles with wraps to hide them. Saw the Silverado EV for the first time on my way there in February.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I thought you were a Brit living in France?

Pls no, I find British architecture absolutely disgusting.

 

[Dacvak]

Reception desk at General Motors Technical Center, Warren, MI, 1965

This is such a cool mixture of retro and futuristic. Let’s go back to this aesthetic.

 

[Aesius]

My dad was born in Detroit in 1957, but his dad left his mom when he was an infant. He left my grandmother with no money (and in fact, he cleaned out her mother, my great-grandmother, as well before leaving), and her water and electricity got shut off. And she had 3 kids to support, including my infant father.

One of her neighbors brought her water and ran an extension cord from his house into hers to let her warm up formula and a hot plate to cook food. Someone gave her a car and she drove it, 3 kids in tow, from Michigan to Florida to live with her sister and brother-in-law, despite her barely knowing how to drive. They soon moved to Tennessee together, which is where my dad grew up.

I've seen some pictures of my grandmother and her sister near their house in Detroit in the 1940s and the area looked awesome. I actually found her childhood address on the 1940 census and looked it up on Google Street View, and it's just a vacant lot now. Surprisingly the surrounding area isn't that bad even in 2024, but you can tell it's not what it used to be.

She told me about her and her older sister going to watch the neighborhood boys play baseball at the local ball field. Her sister ended up marrying one of them, and he was killed on Iwo Jima a couple years later. Her sister is still alive today at 101 years old (my grandmother is as well at age 93). That baseball field still exists and it's just a couple of blocks from the vacant lot where her childhood house stood.

My grandmother has a degree of dementia and forgets things/people easily. But the last time I visited her, I asked her "does this address mean anything to you?" and read off her childhood home address. She immediately perked up and said "that's where I grew up!" Pretty amazing because she has rarely talked about her early life in Detroit.

I don't think she ever returned to Detroit or even the state of Michigan after leaving in 1957. It was always a curiosity to me because my dad could claim he was born there, but he was 100% a Southerner.

 

[IDKFA]

Pls no, I find British architecture absolutely disgusting.

Most modern architecture is pretty gross, especially the mid-late 20th century architecture. Look at what the French did to the Louvre Museum with that tacky pyramid.

However, are you telling me the city of Bath has disgusting architecture? The Bodleian Library? The Royal Albert Hall? The Royal Pavilion? The whole English Baroque movement? All disgusting?!?!

You must be trolling......or you're an uncultured French swine.

 

[MastAndo]

This looks like something out of a Kubrick movie.

 

[RagnarokIV]

I've been there a few times for work. As mentioned, the downtown area is really nice, I walked around the Tigers and Lions stadiums and thought it was great.

The tigers are playing - tonight! I never miss a game.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Most modern architecture is pretty gross, especially the mid-late 20th century architecture. Look at what the French did to the Louvre Museum with that tacky pyramid.

However, are you telling me the city of Bath has disgusting architecture? The Bodleian Library? The Royal Albert Hall? The Royal Pavilion? The whole English Baroque movement? All disgusting?!?!

You must be trolling......or you're an uncultured French swine.

I don’t know the city of Bath, I can perfectly imagine London to be a bastard experiment trying to mold many different styles.

I find the Louvre pyramid incredible - kinda like breaking the conventions or the codes of what it should have been. I feel we French are really good at that .

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Pls no, I find British architecture absolutely disgusting.

If you want to see shit architecture, come to Canada. Aside from some isolated nice looking churches or buildings in old parts of Quebec, most buildings and houses are a combo of mainstream junk, or glass condo towers, or ugly brown business buildings or strip malls.

Everything is functional and works so you wont get ratty bridges collapsing or buildings with no heat and AC, or weird bathrooms like some parts of the world with a hole in the ground, but aesthetically it's as ugly and drab you can get. It's like the builders put 95% of the budget to safety and functionality and 5% to art.

Then I see YT videos of anywhere else in the world and the styles are so much more slick. Classic European stuff looks so good. And those parts of the world with those busy looking shopping areas full of locals and tourists on cobblestone roads where only walkers are allowed you dont really get in Canada. There's so much red tape and safety standards you dont really get a lot of street food here unless it's from a food truck with a city permit.

 

[SlimySnake]

If you want to see shit architecture, come to Canada. Aside from some isolated nice looking churches or buildings in old parts of Quebec, most buildings and houses are a combo of mainstream junk, or glass condo towers, or ugly brown business buildings or strip malls.

Everything is functional and works so you wont get ratty bridges collapsing or buildings with no heat and AC, or weird bathrooms like some parts of the world with a hole in the ground, but aesthetically it's as ugly and drab you can get. It's like the builders put 95% of the budget to safety and functionality and 5% to art.

Then I see YT videos of anywhere else in the world and the styles are so much more slick. Classic European stuff looks so good. And those parts of the world with those busy looking shopping areas full of locals and tourists on cobblestone roads where only walkers are allowed you dont really get in Canada. There's so much red tape and safety standards you dont really get a lot of street food here unless it's from a food truck with a city permit.

Vancouver looks beautiful compared to Toronto which does indeed fit your description. Ive never been less impressed by a modern city lol. Every building in downtown looks the same. Blue windows + residential building + blocky design = boring. Vancouver i have never been but it looks beautiful in pics.

Montreal on the other hand is gorgeous. My goodness what a beautiful city. Straight out of europe. I would love to visit again some day.

 

[BigDeadFreak]

I've only been to downtown Detroit a handful of times to watch sports over the decades.

For those of you who have never been there, the core downtown area by the arenas and car buildings is actually super nice.

BUT, west of there (in between downtown and the Ambassador Bridge) is an area of only a handful of KMs. It's like driving through dead areas in the show COPS.

My buddy is from Windsor, so a bunch of us would go down to see him, stay at his place and catch a game. You can get to Detroit from Windsor either taking an underground tunnel right at downtown, or drive a workaround way using that bridge which can be faster as he said the tunnel can take forever. So he drove us doing the bridge. It was hell. Get off the bridge and drive east towards downtown. Grubby abandoned homes which look like drug squatter homes. First time ever seeing that kind of shit ever live with my own eyes.

I think you're being a bit harsh on Windsor. The buildings might be a bit old but that's part of the appeal.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Vancouver looks beautiful compared to Toronto which does indeed fit your description. Ive never been less impressed by a modern city lol. Every building in downtown looks the same. Blue windows + residential building + blocky design = boring. Vancouver i have never been but it looks beautiful in pics.

Montreal on the other hand is gorgeous. My goodness what a beautiful city. Straight out of europe. I would love to visit again some day.

Vancouver looks nice, but it's still similar to Toronto architecture. It's just much nicer looking as you got better year round weather, mountains in the background and it gets rain so it washes crud and dirt down the sewers. The city definitely puts more effort into greenery, while Toronto is all about development and random parks strewn about as mandatory greenery as per city bylaws. And since it's smaller than Toronto, the look of tons of Vancouver glass condos makes it look more sci fi than Toronto.

Quebec is it's own universe. It can get cruddy as there seems to be less money for renovations and development, but since it's the oldest biggest city and has historic roots to France I guess, they still got great architecture from 100s of years ago. Quebec City even moreso.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I think you're being a bit harsh on Windsor. The buildings might be a bit old but that's part of the appeal.

My post was describing Detroit, not Windsor.

 

[AJUMP23]

This always gives me Bioshock vibes when I see it, or maybe vice versa.

It really is a shame, what happened to that city. I've been there a handful of times, each more depressing than the last. Wish I could have experienced it (and several other US cities) in their heyday before they became run down and filthy.

I really love Art Deco and Bioshock is very Art Deco. I think you can look at Rockefeller center in NY and see BioShock all over the place. I wish the US maintained the art deco look.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Detroit is shaping up, my brother-in-law lives right downtown. It's certainly gone waaay up hill in the recent years. I bring the kids down there quite often as there is plenty to do. Not only this, but new development is happening everywhere.

 

[Wheeljack539]

I hear the Jetson's car sound.

 

[Blade2.0]

This guy looks so unimpressed by the Supremes that appears like he is ready to just book it.

He looks starstruck to me. Like "holy crap I'm actually here right now."

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Lost it at Griswold.

That desk is something else.

 

[Big Baller]

The place went downhill when Clarence Boddicker and his gang set up in town.

The bitches left

 

[Dr.Morris79]

However, are you telling me the city of Bath has disgusting architecture?

I've moved to there!

This is a five minute walk up the hill

And we're ten minutes out from the city centre. Absolutely bonkers place for architecture.

Don't worry, I've been to France a few times, it smells funny and everyone's a moody bastard

 

[YCoCg]

I don’t know the city of Bath, I can perfectly imagine London to be a bastard experiment trying to mold many different styles.

Fucking industrial brutalism in the 1970s destroyed things like this:

And then Apple minimalism brought us this: