Hammond and Nowak abandonments

[DetroitZack]

I was hoping to hear some history or personal experiences from these 2 buildings.

[Gsgeorge]

whoa. I feel bad for the guy whose front door is just STARING into this thing. Would be interesting to know the history and ownership.

[MikeM]

Looks like the area has been cleaned up since the big fire in 2005:

http://detroitfirefighters.net/Benson.htm

Look at the bird's eye view in Bing and you'll see what I mean. Originally it was the Detroit Insulated Wire Company. I think they went out of business during the depression. A company called Metal Mouldings moved in; they made automobile trim. I don't know how long they lasted before the complex was abandoned.

[Gsgeorge]

Such a stunning juxtaposition of industrial and residential, especially considering its deteriorated state. I recommend browsing the Google Street View of this area. There is some superbly surreal imagery. The Google Car caught this neighborhood on a really beautiful day, nice morning light, greenery everywhere.

This one I can say definitely, absolutely, ONLY in Detroit.

http://tinyurl.com/y9wcvp4

[Goose]

what is the story with the white girl walking down the street, if you advance the street view she stops at the end of the metal fence and appears to be looking around it, crack whore? lost in the D? just kinda looks odd... any guesses?

[milt721]

Did anyone else notice the girl walking on the sidewalk in gsgeorge's link? If you move north on wesson and watch her, she stops at the end of the fence and motions to the building across the field. What's going on there?

[Goose]

milt, i looked at it more and on the other side of the street there is another lady kinda looking in the direction of the walking lady, maybe she is looking for a dog that got loose??

[Gsgeorge]

I said surreal, didn't I?

[Bearinabox]

what is the story with the white girl walking down the street, if you advance the street view she stops at the end of the metal fence and appears to be looking around it, crack whore? lost in the D? just kinda looks odd... any guesses?

Quite a few white folks still live in Southwest, even in the rougher neighborhoods. Sometimes they go for walks, either for fun, exercise, or just to get to the grocery store. Sometimes when people go on walks, they stop to look at things along the way. That's my best guess.

[Pam]

what is the story with the white girl walking down the street, if you advance the street view she stops at the end of the metal fence and appears to be looking around it, crack whore? lost in the D? just kinda looks odd... any guesses?

Another ruins photographer with a blog/website?

[EastsideAl]

milt, i looked at it more and on the other side of the street there is another lady kinda looking in the direction of the walking lady, maybe she is looking for a dog that got loose??

That's what it looks like to me. A kid looking for her dog. The house the lady is standing in front of has a beware of dog sign. And a big open field like that is certainly a place that a dog would run away to.

"Crack whore," really? Are we white Detroiters so rare in the city now that our very presence immediately brings suspicion of illicit activity in some people's minds? Talk about some reverse racism... [[of a particularly perverse sort).

What's really strange though is there is one shot coming up the street in which both women disappear. Do they make a couple of passes to take these pictures?

[EastsideAl]

I've always thought that St. Francis of Assisi [[at the corner of Wesson and Buchanan, visible to the south of this in the Google street view link above) was one very massive and impressive church. Looks even more huge now that the surrounding neighborhood is emptying out.

[Lowell]

A painting of mine with the first building in the background [pre fire]. POV is from the St. Francis Assisi playground [Wesson Street side].

[ggores]

Are we white Detroiters so rare in the city now that our very presence immediately brings suspicion of illicit activity in some people's minds?

undoubtedly so

[Lowell]

This picture from March 2007 shows activity and that it was largely cleaned up. The inside contents burned fiercely but the building was unmoved other that the windows disappearing.

[Lowell]

Oops, just found an earlier more immediate post fire pic. This shows it in relation to St. Francis Assisi. You can also see the backs of the houses in the painting.

[Retroit]

I had more fun stalking that girl than looking at the buildings. Maybe I'm on the wrong forum. Is there StalkersYES!?

[RickBeall]

Hi Lowell, your paintings look like images of a simplier time, a naive time before there were zoning laws and people worked and kept up their property. And of course the warm yellow glow from the house windows implying love, family, stability. Quite a contrast to the burnt out shells, fields and homes turning into shacks.