PHOTOS: What 5 Years can do to a building [Cass Tech]

[313WX]

We drove by in a Honda and didn't understand what's happened to Detroit.

[eastland]

an out-of-date textbook is better than no textbook at all.

[Jimaz]

Traxus, is the final "of our rust laden machine" photo of the print shop? I recognize a printer's block in the foreground and what might be a letterpress in the background.

[Michigan]

The old school warehouse has dozens - maybe hundreds - of boxes of language textbooks sealed in plastic.

And frozen bodies too!

[English]

My DPS teaching career ended with the closing of this place. Looking at these pictures, I wonder what my old classrooms look like right now.

[EastsideAl]

As part of the Denby swim team, I swam in that pool in 1973 or 1974. That is the only way I recognized these pictures. Truly a shame, but what can be done?

My mother and my sister both won city championships swimming out of that pool. My father competed on that funky hanging track as a member of the Denby track team. I'm not really an emotional guy, but this whole scene makes me so sad that I really can't bear to look at the pictures, or really look at the place itself when I pass by.

[Goose]

looks like there is enough stuff in there to set up a pretty sweet meth lab......

[showstoppa]

I don't want to turn this into a blame game, but why has this city been allowed to deteriorate so much ? it's past the point of being depressing !!

[Lowell]

Such a waste. At the very, very least DPS could have sold a salvage contract and recovered some money.

[dawn26]

why eactly is everyone against urban exploring? detroit has so many beautiful [[if neglected) buildings that the average person will never see the inside of. i've been driving up to detroit since the early 1990's to see buildi ngs and houses. and no, i've never taken "souvenirs", trashed anything, or started any fires. i just take pictures, and wonder why the hell anyone would let such beautiful places slowly rot

[jiminnm]

This is all very sad, as I had Chem classes in that lab, swam in that pool and ran more than few laps aound that track.

[East Detroit]

I don't want to turn this into a blame game, but why has this city been allowed to deteriorate so much ? it's past the point of being depressing !!

We all have equity in the state of affairs, regardless of what people who live on 32 Mile and drive Hondas would lead you to believe.

[neighbor]

We all have equity in the state of affairs, regardless of what people who live on 32 Mile and drive Hondas would lead you to believe.

Pfffft, please. It is only a matter of time before anything here degenerates in to " This is the suburbs fault because....."

Sorry, but the closing and condition of this building is all on the DPS. They should have had a plan for it when they closed or started tearing it down the day school started next door.

[East Detroit]

Pfffft, please. It is only a matter of time before anything here degenerates in to " This is the suburbs fault because....."

Sorry, but the closing and condition of this building is all on the DPS. They should have had a plan for it when they closed or started tearing it down the day school started next door.

He asked why the city has deteriorated so much, not just that building.

And I did not blame the suburbs.

[Detroitnerd]

How the hell does "We all have equity in the state of affairs" become suburb-bashing?

[Detroitnerd]

How is someone living in Romeo as responsible for things in Detroit as someone living in Detroit is for things happening in Romeo?

Like it or not, we are all part of a region. As long as we all behave as though we live in our little fiefdom and have no responsibilities outside that, the region will continue to fail. The mind-set of somebody who has no interest in a region produces a region that fails. The mind-set of somebody who believes we all have a strong regional interest in solving our problems can help move the region forward.

In other words, whining about how things "aren't your fault" mean that you're part of the problem.

[ct_alum]

Class of '71. Heavy sigh.......................

[Khartoum]

Why did they bother to put the window guards on Finney? I can see an entry point from Cadieux every time I drive by.

Close it. Empty it. Tear it down.

Simple as that.

You don't see the point in paying for security screens so it can sit for 2 years before you tear it down? Really?

[Det_ard]

Like it or not, we are all part of a region. As long as we all behave as though we live in our little fiefdom and have no responsibilities outside that, the region will continue to fail. The mind-set of somebody who has no interest in a region produces a region that fails. The mind-set of somebody who believes we all have a strong regional interest in solving our problems can help move the region forward.

In other words, whining about how things "aren't your fault" mean that you're part of the problem.

In that case I hold you, Detroitnerd, responsible for the embarrassment that was the Warren city council, the debacle of an auction of the Silverdome by the City of Pontiac, and for the failure in both planning and economic terms of Fountainwalk in Novi.

You know, the problem with the attitude that "we're all responsible" is that it shifts blame from those who are actually responsible. There are people who are responsible for the physical condition of the school buildings in Detroit, just like in any other school district. There are managers and executives that direct the actions of those employees. The DPS board, the administrators employed by DPS, even the citizens who elected that fine DPS board are in the direct chain of accountability. Those with the authority to make decisions are those who are responsibile.

What do you think would be the reaction if some of the outlanders of our region tried to assert their responsibility for what's happening to the closed DPS schools? Do you think they'd be allowed to have the authority that accompanies responsibility? No. Acting like some outsiders have responsibility for the DPS debacle while denying them the authority to control it is, as Danny would say, non sequitor. The DPS is the DPS, for better or for worse.

[Detroitnerd]

In that case I hold you, Detroitnerd, responsible for the embarrassment that was the Warren city council, the debacle of an auction of the Silverdome by the City of Pontiac, and for the failure in both planning and economic terms of Fountainwalk in Novi.

Haha. Well, you got me there. In my defense, I have always tried to point out that it's totally dysfunctional to have scores of individual governments running the region, or that silver-bullet real-estate deals often backfire, or become vacant white elephants. These are important regional policies I do wish we'd come together to address as a region. But there's only so much I can do as an individual. But I fess up: I am trying, in my small way, to address the region's problems. And I think I'm still learning. I'm not nearly as invested in the city-suburb divide as I once was.

You know, the problem with the attitude that "we're all responsible" is that it shifts blame from those who are actually responsible. There are people who are responsible for the physical condition of the school buildings in Detroit, just like in any other school district. There are managers and executives that direct the actions of those employees. The DPS board, the administrators employed by DPS, even the citizens who elected that fine DPS board are in the direct chain of accountability. Those with the authority to make decisions are those who are responsibile.

But who is actually responsible? Do you think it matters much to business looking for somewhere to relocate to whose fault it is? Do you think it matters whose fault it is to those in the federal government looking for regions that work together as a region to dole out funds?

We sink or swim as a region. We all have our role that we play. If anybody in this region feels smug or secure knowing that their quarter-acre is OK and that the region is pockmarked with failure, they really need to reassess what a successful region looks like.

What do you think would be the reaction if some of the outlanders of our region tried to assert their responsibility for what's happening to the closed DPS schools? Do you think they'd be allowed to have the authority that accompanies responsibility? No. Acting like some outsiders have responsibility for the DPS debacle while denying them the authority to control it is, as Danny would say, non sequitor. The DPS is the DPS, for better or for worse.

The leadership of Detroit Public Schools is a political prize for the political class here in Detroit. They are not the place to look to for solutions, I think. They operate top-down and actually enjoy their success thanks to the divisions that mar our region. But, you'll note, when people offer their help or their services in the city, they're often accepted graciously. Have you ever offered to volunteer with some of the small groups here? Have you ever volunteered as a tutor to help disadvantaged kids get a leg up? Have you come down to help work at one of the community gardens? Have you considered that the DPS is the DPS and therefore not the place to start changing things for the better?

See, if we could come together [[yes, I'm going to beat my little drum again) as a REGION, politically unite the city, inner-ring burbs and second-ring burbs into one Greater Detroit, then we could all be united politically and reject the losers on the DPS board, reject the truculent characters on Warren City Council, elect more qualified people, consolidate services, save money and never again say it's not our problem, somebody else's fault, or that they won't let us help. My 2 cents.

[bailey]

But, you'll note, when people offer their help or their services in the city, they're often accepted graciously.

Unless you're Bill Thompson and try to give $200,000,000 of your own money to ramp up charter schools. That triggers teacher walkouts and a march on Lansing and half the city counsel decrying the plantation mentality of white folks in these here parts.

[Detroitnerd]

Unless you're Bill Thompson and try to give $200,000,000 of your own money to ramp up charter schools. That triggers teacher walkouts and a march on Lansing and half the city counsel decrying the plantation mentality of white folks in these here parts.

I don't know if that's necessarily a good example. There are plenty of good reasons to oppose charter schools that don't involve race. Heck, I'm some white guy and I'd be opposed to that plan too.

People shouldn't play the race card, yes, but we also shouldn't give in to the temptation to frame things in terms of race when we can do otherwise. Or else we may as well close up shop and let metro Detroit revert to beet fields.

[EastsideAl]

why eactly is everyone against urban exploring? detroit has so many beautiful [[if neglected) buildings that the average person will never see the inside of. i've been driving up to detroit since the early 1990's to see buildi ngs and houses. and no, i've never taken "souvenirs", trashed anything, or started any fires. i just take pictures, and wonder why the hell anyone would let such beautiful places slowly rot

Perhaps because we who actually live in this city [[yes, there are actual people living here) don't appreciate having our history be the subjects of your ruin porn voyeurism, while we're busy struggling with our own very real difficulties of grinding poverty and social, educational, and economic isolation. And we really don't appreciate you "driving up" to our city for the sole purpose of breaking into our buildings and leaving them open for further trespass and destruction. Plus, it's gotten old now, very old. You've become part of the problem...

[bailey]

Perhaps because we who actually live in this city [[yes, there are actual people living here) don't appreciate having our history be the subjects of your ruin porn voyeurism, while we're busy struggling with our own very real difficulties of grinding poverty and social, educational, and economic isolation. And we really don't appreciate you "driving up" to our city for the sole purpose of breaking into our buildings and leaving them open for further trespass and destruction. Plus, it's gotten old now, very old. You've become part of the problem...

Aren't you just blaming the messenger here? If there weren't ruins that were created through neglect, corruption, and out and out incompetence, there would be no ruin porn vignettes of school supplies being left to rot in book depositories and in abandoned schools.

The mere fact that the picture of the ruins such as these has become so cliche should not result in anger at the unoriginal subject matter or the photog... but at those who made the subject material so plentiful in the first damn place.

Stopping people from taking pictures of it doesn't solve the problem.

[EastsideAl]

Aren't you just blaming the messenger here? If there weren't ruins that were created through neglect, corruption, and out and out incompetence, there would be no ruin porn vignettes of school supplies being left to rot in book depositories and in abandoned schools.

The mere fact that the picture of the ruins such as these has become so cliche should not result in anger at the unoriginal subject matter or the photog... but at those who made the subject material so plentiful in the first damn place.

Stopping people from taking pictures of it doesn't solve the problem.

I'm blaming people who illegally trespass in buildings, and often render them more easily open for for further trespass and destruction, merely for the purpose of getting their jollies by "exploring" and taking some cool pictures. Many of them outsiders with no real grasp of what really has gone and is going on here.

And, although Cass Tech indeed is a ruin that should not be - a true victim of incompetence or worse - many if not most Detroit "ruins" are primarily victims of an economy and a system that has disappeared and left us, buildings and people, to rot.