Lower Woodward Heavily Vandalized
Shortly before the fireworks, while DetroitYES was down for repairs, I noticed that lower Woodward Avenue has been heavily vandalized. Graffiti, removal of boards on vacant buildings, and broken windows were the main forms of destruction. Oddly, it appears that only vacant storefronts were targeted. The new street scape enhancements and new businesses did not appear to be touched.
The banner advertisement on the Broderick Tower has also torn down, and lays in shreds on top of the Madison/Angelina's Building.
Combined with the horrible state of the Broderick Tower and Como's Pizza Building, Michigan's mainstreet looks worse than it has in years. Thanks a lot vandals! :mad:
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While hard to see in my photos from my low-tech camera phone, all storefronts on the first blocks South of Grand Circus Park have graffiti over their boards or windows, with the exception of Bleu and the new insurance company across the street.
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This set of buildings on the Whitney block of Lower Woodward has graffiti on it's windows...
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While some buildings have their windows entirely broken out. While it is hard to see from the pictures, some of these broken windows have been boarded up, while others have not. Shards of glass lay all over the sidewalk, and are dangerously protruding from some windows, like glass daggers in some horrific movie.
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Meanwhile, the Broderick Tower has had several windows and boards smashed in or removed.
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And the giant whale mural is once again visible as the ad banner lay in shreds on the roof of the adjacent building. You can see part of the banner still hanging on the top left corner of the above picture.
Why This Really Bothers Me
I just spent the past few months watching people hard at work with Downtown beautification projects. Lamp posts and fire hydranst have been repainted, sidewalks are being fixed, and new trees and gardens have been planted. New businesses have opened, and I have been impressed by the owners, who seemed to simply realizing their dreams right here in Detroit. I've seen a substantial rise in foot traffic every year on Lower Woodward, enjoying the nice new street scape, if nothing else.
So, when I see stuff like this, knowing that allowing it leads to the impression of not caring by locals, and then more vandalism, I get upset. While we might not have the resources to fix everything, vandalism is unacceptable on Lower Woodward.
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[[Above) Trees have been arriving at the "Tuffy" Station to be planted on Woodward Avenue in Midtown and Downtown.