Hassrat Gill

November 7, 2016
Essay #2: Where are we going?
Michigan Central Station
Michigan Central Station is a train station that was built in 1913, and purpose was
to accommodate the need for transportation in the city1. As the city boomed, the station
also boomed and was used a great deal. During the World Wars, the station was used for
the transportation of troops and other materials. The station was most populated and
functional, when Detroit was also going through its population and economic boom.
Interesting is that the station had many houses removed to make room for its building2.
Given the fact, that in later decades the government would replace houses with
infrastructure.
The architecture of the station is made up with Greek columns and the building
was a sight to see during its prime. Michigan Central Station is the perfect example of
what Detroit was during this time. It was functional in Detroit when Detroit was booming
and was a beacon to people in search of a new life. Not only this, but the city was also
booming artistically. Many beautiful buildings and parks where built during this time.
Essentially, it was running when Detroit was a City Profitable and a City Beautiful.
After WWII, it slowly started to become more and more inactive because owning
automobiles became more common, so train transportation was needed less and less for
long distance travel3. This was furthered by the government expansion of highways. It
sadly closed in 1988, after many attempts of selling the property. Like much of Detroit,
the station had its downfall after highways were placed in the city, which also led to
many people moving to the suburbs.
1 Austin, Dan. "Michigan Central Station." Historic Detroit. Historic Detroit.org, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
2 "BEGINS WORK ON ITS NEW STATION." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922): 6. May 16 1910. ProQuest. Web. 11 Nov. 2016 .
3 Austin, Dan. "Michigan Central Station." Historic Detroit. Historic Detroit.org, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

As said before, automobiles led to the downfall of the station, because now
driving long distances via highway was more convenient than taking a train. If it was too
far to drive, airplanes were another alternative that the government was pushing. Thus, as
new and more efficient ways of transportation were being used, trains were being
replaced, leading to the creative destruction of these such things. Very like how many
Americans felt that cities were too much like the past, and they decided to relocate to the
suburbs. Detroit became old and inefficient in giving the city what it wanted to use it for,
the suburbs was the more modern way. Detroit was now becoming a City Apocalyptic.
The station itself is located in Corktown, with Roosevelt Park at the entrance. The
Park was supposed to create a welcome environment to the park4, but now seems like a
separate place from the station itself. The area around the station is a strange area, with
some abandoned buildings surrounding it, but also theres a pizza place and a church. The
park itself has a soccer field, and seems to be well maintained. It seems like the area is
starting to slowly become busy again, but most of the people I did see were taking
pictures of the building.
The station itself looks daunting and abandoned. It looks like another building
that once was beautiful and powerful, but now just looks tragic and haunting. Many
people come to take pictures outside the building, and the station is named one of most
attractive tourist attractions in the city because it is what journalists call ruin porn.5
They seem to be intrigued by the tragic look of the buildings.

4 Austin, Dan. "Michigan Central Station." Historic Detroit. Historic Detroit.org, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
5 Leary, John Patrick. "Detroitism." Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics. Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics, 08 Sept.
2012. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

Several movies were filmed here, including Batman V. Superman: Dawn of

Justice6. Where it was used to be an abandoned building in the city of Gotham, which is
notorious for being ridden by crime, and is known as the darkest of American cities in
the comic books. Many other scenes were filmed in Detroit for this movie, and interesting
choice of a building for this film to choose. In the movie, the scene portrays the building
as dangerous and creepy, like the city of Gotham itself. Many people seem to have the
same feeling about Detroit, and the many abandoned buildings in the city itself.
While the building does look this way, it has undergone many renovations7 in the
last few years, and gives hope to the citizens living in the area that it is coming back,
slowly but surely8. Many people are trying to find a new purpose to the station itself9, to
make it useful once more. There is also many community projects set to clean up the
area, for example during my visit to the location, there were people doing community
service and picking up trash in the area.
Many people see Michigan Central Station as just another tragic building in
Detroit, they see an abandoned creepy building that was amazing in the peak of Detroits
but has fallen apart like the rest of the city. They see it as most people see Gotham for
example. In my opinion, I see it as the rebuilding of Detroit, it is slowly getting rebuilt
step by step, but it is getting there. I see it as someone finally doing something about it,
and while it is a slow process something is happening. I see it as being repaired slowly,
but surely.
6 Hinds, Julie. "'Batman v Superman': 10 Key Metro Detroit Filming Locations." Detroit Free Press. Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar.
2016. Web. 11 Nov. 2016

7 Gallagher, John. "Windows Coming Back, but What to Do with Train Station?" Detroit Free Press. Detroit Free Press, 15 Aug.
2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

8 Thibodeau, Ian |. "Windows at Michigan Central Station Completed on Time and Budget." MLive.com. M Live, 04 Feb. 2016. Web.
11 Nov. 2016.

9 Blake, Paul. "Michigan Central Station: The Story of Its Rise, Fall And..." BBC News. BBC, 25 Feb. 2016. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

So to answer the question, where are we going, I am going to take the optimistic
point of view. I believe Detroit is building itself up. The thing is, many people seem to
think that if its going to be rebuilt, its going to happen all at once. But Rome was not
built in a day. There will is many obstacles that do not have clear-cut solutions, so there
are many things that have to be fixed. There is no right way to restore the city; there are
many things we have to try to see if they will work. It will not happen very fast either,
because honestly it was never perfect in the first place. We have to stop focusing on the
past and move on. Yet, we still need to be aware of all the mistakes that were made in the
past. I believe, like the station itself, the city needs to find a new purpose for itself. It will
take time, but I believe it will happen.
Pictures

(Picture of me at Michigan Central Station)

Michigan Central Station about 1920

(Michigan Central Station about 1920. 1920. Detroit Free Press Archives, Detroit.
Historic Detroit. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.)

The Faade

of the
Michigan Central Station
(Trevino, Jessica. The Facade of the Michigan Central Station. 2015. Detroit Free Press,
Detroit. Detroit Free Press. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.)