BuildingsOfDetroit.com

**WaCoTS** · March-31-13, 08:18 PM

i think the evidence that this is a slam piece specifically written to damage the reputation of a specific individual is the fact that one of the tags Neavling used to tag his story is the name of the person, "SEAN DOERR" [[see bottom of the story for list of his tags.) did he also tag the names of the other people mentioned in the story, such as Melanie A. Markowicz, George Willie Hurley, or Dan Austin? Nope.

one could assume that this was done so that anyone googling the name of sean doerr at some point in the future would then come across this negative story. real classy.
sure hope i dont run afoul of this Muckraker guy at some point. pfft.

**subsidized** · March-31-13, 08:32 PM

Sean Doerr is scrapper?

**mauser** · April-01-13, 05:48 AM

I salvaged a cornerstone from a demolition site before - and hell no I aint giving it to Preservation Wayne or anybody else.

Everybody I know on this board has things from buildings in their collections [[aside from Lowell - he may, but none that I know of) from Kathleen to Dan Austin to various explorer groups. Detroitblog John went into the Motown building and came out with Marvin Gayes insurance paperwork, and he published that on his website. He did not donate the paperwork to a library or try to get it back to its owner. And you all loved when he did that, and nobody said "boo" about scrapping and stealing and all this other shit Im reading on here. How come ? Personalities - thats why, because we all love Detroitblog.

People take and keep these things because they care about history and these places. People get to keep such things because they fall under legal abandonment in common law. When you abandon and demolish things and treat them like garbage, you can not turn around and cry that somebody has stolen some precious treasure because a person has walked off with a brick. This is not conjecture, as I have been down this road legally and had to go to the absolute top State levels to resolve my situation.

All these objects are better off in private collections than they are in the landfills where they would have ended up if not for the people who have managed to save them. There is nothing wrong with any of the people I listed having artifacts from abandoned and demolished properties. I dont personally know or associate with anybody who actually scraps or steals from buildings for personal gain.

I say THANK YOU to all these people for caring to sort and identify and protect these various objects which represent our history - and now when the next generation is told the story of Detroit, they will have the full benefit of all this original source information. It is a crowdsourcing effort, because museums and organizations cant collect and hold everything.

i run www.detroitfunk.com

**marshamusic** · April-01-13, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by mauser

i run www.detroitfunk.com

What a nice looking site. I'll take time to read it later, but glanced at your piece on the Packard/Nazi sign and I thank you for it.

**subsidized** · April-01-13, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by mauser

i run www.detroitfunk.com

Peddle your ruin smut somewhere else. Detroit has a reputation around the world as being a dump and blogs like yours do nothing but support that view and do nothing to change peoples negative opinions. Detroit is a wonderful city full of amazing architecture and great people, other blogs showcase these things while you post pictures of coney islands and brick piles.

**bailey** · April-01-13, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by subsidized

Peddle your ruin smut somewhere else. Detroit has a reputation around the world as being a dump and blogs like yours do nothing but support that view and do nothing to change peoples negative opinions. Detroit is a wonderful city full of amazing architecture and great people, other blogs showcase these things while you post pictures of coney islands and brick piles.

Detroit's reputation is what it is because people have eyes...not because someone has a blog about it.

**WaCoTS** · April-01-13, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by subsidized

Peddle your ruin smut somewhere else. Detroit has a reputation around the world as being a dump and blogs like yours do nothing but support that view and do nothing to change peoples negative opinions.

uhhh, how is this different from the very site you're posting on: DetroitYes?

**TexasT** · April-01-13, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

Detroit's reputation is what it is because people have eyes...not because someone has a blog about it.

Not really. When you are outside of Michigan, all you see is negative news. Yes, there's a lot of negatives about the city of course but the negative coverage is to the extent that most believe there's little to nothing redeeming about the city. My first trip to Detroit was out of morbid curiosity and I expected all of Detroit to look like the ruin porn pics; I was quite surprised by a historic downtown with a great collection of art deco skyscrapers, beautiful neighborhoods like Indian Village, Palmer Woods, and Grandmont Rosedale, fell in love with Eastern Market, etc. This guy from Cali summed it up well:

"Not at all what I expected," said Lee Winslett, head of the new market tax credit group for Wells Fargo visiting the city for the first time. "I'm from San Diego. What you read about Detroit is negative. I just didn't know all this stuff that's going on."

That's exactly how I felt after my first visit.

DYes has its naysayers but there are a lot of positives things noted about Detroit on this chatboard.

**southen** · April-01-13, 09:38 AM

in the grand scheme of things him taking the cornerstone is nothing. I think it's stupid to outright ignore the requests of preservation groups though when you claim to be about preserving history.

the thing I love most about this is the hypocrisy on Sean's part. he has always been one of the most judgemental / holier than thou photographers and explorers I've ever come across. he used to constantly lay into people for taking artifacts or posting photos of certain places because they were sacred. I'm not sure how much of a story this is but I do find it humorous that this is blowing up in his face.

**EastsideAl** · April-01-13, 10:50 AM

I love this city as much as anybody. DetroitFunk's photo blog is one of my favorites, because he clearly loves this place too, but does not engage in Pollyanna-ish shying away from the truth. Also, he has a really nice eye for the good shot which often reveals the beauty, even in the prosaic or conventionally ugly, that is always there underneath.

**Honky Tonk** · April-01-13, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

I love this city as much as anybody. DetroitFunk's photo blog is one of my favorites, because he clearly loves this place too, but does not engage in Pollyanna-ish shying away from the truth. Also, he has a really nice eye for the good shot which often reveals the beauty, even in the prosaic or conventionally ugly, that is always there underneath.

Yes, I see the "beauty" in the spray painted, defaced building facades he promotes on his website. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell anybody's going to buy one of those now, or venture into the neighboorhood.

**TexasT** · April-01-13, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

I love this city as much as anybody. DetroitFunk's photo blog is one of my favorites, because he clearly loves this place too, but does not engage in Pollyanna-ish shying away from the truth. Also, he has a really nice eye for the good shot which often reveals the beauty, even in the prosaic or conventionally ugly, that is always there underneath.

I don't follow his blog, so this isn't personally towards him, but if you make your way around Detroit and fail to photograph any of the many beautiful areas, carefully pointing your camera away to snap only the dismal, the burned, and the abandoned, that's shying away from the truth as well.

It doesn't exactly bother me - photographers are free to take pictures of what they want. Some focus on animals, some on sports, some on nature, some on ruin porn. It is what it is. Every city has blight but Detroit has a lot more of it, so it makes sense that photographers are attracted to it when they are in the city. But I wouldn't call it more honest just because it focuses on the negative.

**EastsideAl** · April-01-13, 12:12 PM

But that is what it looks like. Unless you're accusing him of putting the graffiti there himself, it's hard to see what the problem is.

**TexasT** · April-01-13, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

But that is what it looks like. Unless you're accusing him of putting the graffiti there himself, it's hard to see what the problem is.

I didn't say there was a problem [["It doesn't bother me") although yes, people get tired of ruin porn. I just would not describe "ruin porn" as any more honest [[or less "shying away from the truth") than photographs that strictly focus on the nice parts of Detroit. Each style shows one particular side of Detroit.

It does appear, from looking at his site, that he includes some pictures of the prettier side so I really don't take issue. This is gorgeous, btw:

http://detroitfunk.com/?p=4993

**WaCoTS** · April-01-13, 01:24 PM

as far as i know Detroitfunk is a street photographer. He takes pics of street scenes and city life. when your city is at 65% [[or whatever the number is now) vacancy, youre going to see pictures of abandoned things. but to say he is a ruin pornographer is ludicrous, and only people who havent really paid attention to his blog would say that.

or maybe the people who are looking have selective eyesight....

to say his blog promotes vandalism is equally ludicrous, especially in a time when people are trying to increase graffiti on legal walls, as an added tourism draw.

**TexasT** · April-01-13, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by WaCoTS

as far as i know Detroitfunk is a street photographer. He takes pics of street scenes and city life. when your city is at 65% [[or whatever the number is now) vacancy, youre going to see pictures of abandoned things. but to say he is a ruin pornographer is ludicrous, and only people who havent really paid attention to his blog would say that.

or maybe the people who are looking have selective eyesight....

If you're addressing me, I pointed out at the beginning that "I don't follow his blog, so this isn't personally towards him."

Residential vacancy is at 27.8%, FYI.

**Honky Tonk** · April-01-13, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by WaCoTS

to say his blog promotes vandalism is equally ludicrous, especially in a time when people are trying to increase graffiti on legal walls, as an added tourism draw.

I can hardly drive down Grand River anymore from the traffic jam of the tourists and shoppers going into those painted stores.

**WaCoTS** · April-01-13, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by TexasT

If you're addressing me,

not necessarily.

Originally Posted by TexasT

Residential vacancy is at 27.8%, FYI.

i didnt mean just residential vacancy, i meant all vacancy. over half the city is vacant lots, or blgs or ruins of them.
but whatever.

**WaCoTS** · April-01-13, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

I can hardly drive down Grand River anymore from the traffic jam of the tourists and shoppers going into those painted stores.

oh gimme a break dude
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/...market-detroit

didnt realize i was going to get crucified for making a clarification.
whatever, i have much more productive things to do today than bicker on the internet. have fun taking things pointlessly out of context.

**Honky Tonk** · April-01-13, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by WaCoTS

oh gimme a break dude
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/...market-detroit

didnt realize i was going to get crucified for making a clarification.
whatever, i have much more productive things to do today than bicker on the internet. have fun taking things pointlessly out of context.

And you too! Have a great day posting how graffiti is saving Detroit.

**WaCoTS** · April-01-13, 01:46 PM

There is also something else you'll prolly be hearing about soon called the Mural Arts Detroit Project. if im not mistaken it is under the direction of one Herman Jenkins. it will seek to catalogue and curate existing cultural murals in Dertroit, and promote the creation of new ones. they are also looking to put QR tags on each mural so that tourists can come on virtual tours of the city's wall art. this is something already in place in cities like Philly & NY.

it will be done in conjunction with a committee [[the Detroit River Project.) seeking to designate all of the Detroit River as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which WILL bring increased tourism.

**WaCoTS** · April-01-13, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

And you too! Have a great day posting how graffiti is saving Detroit.

never said that, or implied it. i dont even really give a shit about graffiti that much; it was a point of discussion.

some people might actually want to hear about things like this that are going on in the city. there is a difference between graffiti and vandalism.

**TexasT** · April-01-13, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by WaCoTS

There is also something else you'll prolly be hearing about soon called the Mural Arts Detroit Project. if im not mistaken it is under the direction of one Herman Jenkins. it will seek to catalogue and curate existing cultural murals in Dertroit, and promote the creation of new ones. they are also looking to put QR tags on each mural so that tourists can come on virtual tours of the city's wall art. this is something already in place in cities like Philly & NY.

it will be done in conjunction with a committee [[the Detroit River Project.) seeking to designate all of the Detroit River as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which WILL bring increased tourism.

Sounds cool. I would not mind have our own version of the 5 Pointz.

**Bad Brains** · April-01-13, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Kudos to MCMR for digging out another good story!

Another good story?

All this guy does is re-blog stuff that others have already written about. What stories on his website display any of his talents as a respectable journalist? Everything I read from him has been pretty horrible.

I honestly thought his website was just something a college student was doing for a personal project. I was shocked to discover he was an actual journalist working for an outfit here [[but then got fired).

**Bad Brains** · April-01-13, 09:07 PM

Originally Posted by subsidized

Peddle your ruin smut somewhere else. Detroit has a reputation around the world as being a dump and blogs like yours do nothing but support that view and do nothing to change peoples negative opinions. Detroit is a wonderful city full of amazing architecture and great people, other blogs showcase these things while you post pictures of coney islands and brick piles.

IF you ever took the time to read the Detroit Funk site, it doesn't just show the bad. He has a diverse collection of photo entries. You fail.