The glamour of ghosts

[chthonya]

I'm not entirely sure why the BBC decided to post a magazine article on Detroit today but the mention of grandiose decaying buildings piqued my curiosity. (The article itself was rather more upbeat.)

Peering at the pictures of various (ex-)civic buildings and in particular Michigan Central Station gave me the same feeling of nostalgic fascination

Comments

[droxys_dad]

Having lived very near the City of Detroit ( Grosse Isle ), one is well aware of the reason for the decay and destroyed
neighborhoods, however, in this era of unpolitically correctness one cannot pubically make a statement although the actual reason is well known and evident.

[droxy]

A family leaves Detroit every 50 minutes. Why? Rampant unaddressed crime, mismanagement/rampant corruption over 40years, obscene waste, pandering versus development, lack of leadership, and over taxation compared to other places. I left Detroit as the jobs are not there, and the government does nothing to attract businesses. Those that can leave do so, and quickly. The locals elected a known drug dealer to city council. (look it up on the net it is highly amusing in that "people are stupid" sort of way) Gotta love Detroit. Detroit is so bad that New Jersey jokes are now recycled as Detroit jokes.

The only hope for Detroit is to fail completely and utterly. For property to get so cheap the high taxes are not an impact. But it will be a cheap gentrification as poor creative types move in to make a go of it in cheap living spaces. Those that come in and work hard to rebuild value will vote the idiots out of office.

[delphipsmith]

A rather profound and striking set of observations. I particularly like how you contrast the sort of first-world luxury (if you will) of seeing decay as a tangible symbol of history, with those "for whom the decay is not a spur to a curious imagination but a ruination of cherished memories." Extremely thought-provoking; thank you.

[chthonya]

And thank you :)

I think most of us (once we have a few years behind us) must have experienced both sides of it - I see places full of my childhood memories rotting away, and places where those memories have been obliterated in new developments, as well as places that continue to be cherished. And where I live I'm surrounded by remnants of old industries, some decaying shells with empty, staring windows, and others sensitively transformed into art galleries and flats.

[narcissa_malfoy]

If it makes you feel any better, I am absolutely fascinated by the ruin city of Detroit as well.