Begining of the end for Metropolitan?

Today workers are tearing huge chunks of the failing facade brick off the Metropolitan building. We found this out by hearing and feeling the crashes as five-foot chunks of loose brick and mortar were being scrapped off the eastern side of the Met.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/IMG_1325.jpg
Scraping away

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/IMG_1326.jpg
Big chunk falls

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/IMG_1335.jpg
Smaller chunk falls

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/IMG_1337.jpg
Where the stuff is hitting in the alley

Sorry for the quality, but the windows are filthy and the angle is poor. I work in the Hartz building [[Detroit Beer Co on first floor) and I have a sad, front-row seat on this action.

The guy in the bucket removed all the stuff that had fallen and been caught by the debris screens up there, so this looks planned.

This is either the beginning of the end or stabilization for the start of the renewal of the building, but from what I've heard, the Met isn't in good enough shape to warrant a serious look in preservation/re-use.

That building will never be replaced.

The damage is cosmetic, but you know it is.... People see some falling bricks and call in the demo crew. That Common would be stripped and replaced anyway in a renovation. I'm surprised Detroit doesn't have codes to prevent something like this from happening

One of the best looking buildings in Detroit. I remember a couple years back, when I was at Good Girls, we could hear a bunch of punks inside trashing the place. Flagged a cop down, probably nothing done though. How sad.

Stromberg2

Am I the only one who thinks the fact that it is workers and not gravity taking the bricks off is a good thing? If it was to be torn down why would they spend the money?

Was not there a thread that was showing sections that were separating from the building?

If they were getting ready to demo it based on your pictures it looks as if they are just removing potentially loose sections why would they skip spots? You could always yell out of the window and ask the guy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gumby

Am I the only one who thinks the fact that it is workers and not gravity taking the bricks off is a good thing? If it was to be torn down why would they spend the money?

---

No I second that, if they were going to tear it down we would see them really getting at it.

It looks like they are taking off brink in squares in a vertical line. This is of course just what I can see from your picture. Could be the start of an elevator shaft or a addition to handle running things vertically between floors. If it were just demo it would be much more complete and not as specific.

A reliable source very close to the Broderick Tower renovation told me that serious plans to renovate the Metropolitan are under way. The brick removal is a direct response to the recent avalanche of bricks that came tumbling down off the building. If it had happened earlier in the day, workers and/or equipment involved with the Broderick Tower project would have been injured/damaged.

I don't see any reason to panic just yet. This is an early example of steel-framed construction with brick masonry veneer. That mortar is a good 85 years old, so it's expected that it's going to have lost some integrity--especially since it's safe to assume that no repointing of the mortar joints has taken place during the period of vacancy.

It looks like the veneer has been removed at selective locations, perhaps to conduct investigative probes. Let's not get too worked up until we start seeing wrecking balls or grand pronouncements from the Demolish Everything Good Corporation.

The construction of the Metropolitan is definitely interesting!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richard

Was not there a thread that was showing sections that were separating from the building?

If they were getting ready to demo it based on your pictures it looks as if they are just removing potentially loose sections why would they skip spots? You could always yell out of the window and ask the guy.

---

I believe that was a discussion on the Wurlitzer.
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...ight=wurlitzer

The bricks being removed were identified as potential fall hazards in an extensive investigation of the building facade. They are in specific area's where the brick had pulled away from the wall. The worst area is on the north end of the building where the brick and parapets at the top had been missing for a number of years, and water had gotten in behind the bricks.

The building is a great building for redevelopment..