Brick trouble at Wurlitzer

**buildingsofdetroit** · August-14-10, 07:48 PM

The bricks at the top are pulling away from the rest of the building along the alley the Wurlitzer shares with the Metropolitan Building. You might want to watch your head if you're walking back there. A brick from that height is guaranteed to kill ya.

Photo:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7670408_n.jpg

**Whitehouse** · August-14-10, 07:50 PM

Fire, fire, bricks.... Detroit is falling apart much faster...

**buildingsofdetroit** · August-14-10, 08:03 PM

DetroitUrbex just linked me to this HORRIFYING photo from the Metropolitan. Look at that buckle! The whole damn top of the building is going to go!
http://detroiturbex.com/dycontent/_MG_0626.jpg

**Whitehouse** · August-14-10, 08:14 PM

In itelf a nice picture, weren't it for the grave situation at hand.... Did anyone alert city officials? There should be barriers on the sidewalk and some emergency construction to hold it all in place or salvage the stonework before it falls to pieces on the pavement. If this falls, the debris won't be limited to the sidewalk.

If there was ever an opportunity to prevent lawsuits....
Who owns the building?

**R8RBOB** · August-14-10, 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by buildingsofdetroit

DetroitUrbex just linked me to this HORRIFYING photo from the Metropolitan. Look at that buckle! The whole damn top of the building is going to go!
http://4000loavesanhour.com/leninstomb/_MG_0626.jpg

Years of neglect will do that to any building. Let's face it. Detroit have buildings that are standing on its last legs. Not every building can be the Book Cadillac or the Fort Shelby. Some buildings like the Wurlitzer need to come down and sadly nature will bring the building down before the city will.

**buildingsofdetroit** · August-14-10, 08:23 PM

Classic textbook example of demolition by neglect.

**detroiturbex** · August-14-10, 08:25 PM

This picture is from September, 2009: http://detroiturbex.com/dycontent/IMG_9545.jpg

**Patrick** · August-14-10, 08:31 PM

Just how much longer can a vacant building last with Michigan's changing seasons?

**R8RBOB** · August-14-10, 08:34 PM

This reminds me of the show Life After People when they show the decay of buildings and monuments after man has been wiped out. Here you have a building that has been closed since 1982. That's 28 years of no maintenance. No attempts to stop the elements from wrecking havoc on the building. Richard Pryor once make a joke about trying to hold water back. You will not hold water back which is why those bricks are ready to burst.

**Whitehouse** · August-14-10, 08:41 PM

Maybe I should write to the Freep or Dnews to bring this to their attention. Who knows, a letter from a foreigner could get some attention.

Rather unbelievable that a building with such a vista is not on the market. I mean, what baseball fan would not want to live with THAT view of Comerica park.

**wolverine** · August-14-10, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by Whitehouse

In itelf a nice picture, weren't it for the grave situation at hand.... Did anyone alert city officials? There should be barriers on the sidewalk and some emergency construction to hold it all in place or salvage the stonework before it falls to pieces on the pavement. If this falls, the debris won't be limited to the sidewalk.

If there was ever an opportunity to prevent lawsuits....
Who owns the building?

Yeah, but when has that ever happened in Detroit? I mean do they even inspect buildings like they are supposed to? I've noticed for sometime both buildings have shown this type of problem. It was bad then, but now it has definitely gotten far worse.

**papillonaquatique** · August-14-10, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by Whitehouse

Rather unbelievable that a building with such a vista is not on the market. I mean, what baseball fan would not want to live with THAT view of Comerica park.

Amen! Now that is a view worth paying for! Is that building condemned currently or is there some chance that it might be saved still? That view is worth saving that is for damn sure!

**BrushStart** · August-15-10, 12:13 AM

The Wurlitzer is in such a prime location. I can't believe that nobody is interested in stabilizing that building in hope of future development. Whoever owns it must be a complete moron. It would cost hundreds of millions more to reconstruct a building of that size in that location than it would to renovate the Wurlitzer no matter its physical condition. How could anyone let such a massive investment fall apart due to pure neglect?

**kahnman** · August-15-10, 01:09 AM

In the one photo, on the left side of the building, the top cornice section is separating and getting ready to spill a couple of hundred pounds of prime terracotta on someone or something!

Stay well away from this building if you value your life or property. Someone locally should contact a responsible city official [[oxymoron?) and get this property taped off, pronto.

**mikefmich** · August-15-10, 01:41 AM

Originally Posted by buildingsofdetroit

DetroitUrbex just linked me to this HORRIFYING photo from the Metropolitan. Look at that buckle! The whole damn top of the building is going to go!
http://detroiturbex.com/dycontent/_MG_0626.jpg

Thats a nice touch.....crumbling bldg. perils people below, with a nice view of a $400 million new sports stadium.

I can literally say, what's wrong with this picture?

**claireianthelibrarian** · August-15-10, 01:49 AM

Bowing like that doesn't mean the building has to go, necessarily. The top few feet, if not the entire top floor, would need to be taken down and relaid by a mason and his/her crew. And safety fencing should probably be put up. But it's not necessarily a death knell to the building. This high up, it would be some pretty damn serious and pricey work, but still.

Mortar wasn't always as cementy and gluey as it is now. A lot of the way that older masonry holds together is its weight, from the top down. There is no extra weight of other stories of bricks on those top rows to keep them in place. That's why the tops of these buildings sometimes bow or crumble off, when the rest of the building's outer structure isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I haven't been in here so I'm no expert, but.... My two cents, from what I can tell through those photos.

**detroitbob** · August-15-10, 02:06 AM

It's more like 50 years of neglect...the building has been empty for about 30 years and had little if any significant maintenance for years prior to that...sure, the roof was tight and the mechanicals worked, but lets face it there are lots of other buildings in the same situation. City inspectors, at best have only responded if, and, or when something catastrophic happens.

**Meddle** · August-15-10, 02:44 AM

Originally Posted by buildingsofdetroit

DetroitUrbex just linked me to this HORRIFYING photo from the Metropolitan. Look at that buckle! The whole damn top of the building is going to go!

On the other hand, it's got a nice start on rooftop greenspace

Originally Posted by mikefmich

Thats a nice touch.....crumbling bldg. perils people below, with a nice view of a $400 million new sports stadium.

I can literally say, what's wrong with this picture?

One word; Illitch

**detroitbob** · August-15-10, 04:20 AM

One word; Illitch[/quote]

Pardon me for missing the point, but what are you blaming Illitch for...

**DetroitZack** · August-15-10, 07:36 AM

Oh God, I wish something would be done with these 2 buildings [[Wurlitzer and Metropolitan). I'm glad to say I've explored both

DC48080 · August-15-10, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by Meddle

One word; Illitch

Ilitch does not own this one. The Wurlitzer is owned by Paul Curtis whose wife is Daphne Means Curtis, a judge in the 3'rd Circuit Court civil division.

I doubt there is much likelyhood of any legal action being taken against him by the city.

**Detroit** · August-15-10, 09:53 AM

Some of the comments on this thread remind me of that commercial where everyone just looks at the trash on the ground and talks about it. Then a guy walks by, notices the trash and picks it up. Same thing here... People are saying someone should contact the city... We instead of saying someone should do something, just do it!... I am not trying to be mean or nasty toward anyone because everyone is guilty of it in some way, shape or form. I guess its human nature to do this... I know I have :-)

**BrushStart** · August-15-10, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by Detroit

Some of the comments on this thread remind me of that commercial where everyone just looks at the trash on the ground and talks about it. Then a guy walks by, notices the trash and picks it up. Same thing here... People are saying someone should contact the city... We instead of saying someone should do something, just do it!... I am not trying to be mean or nasty toward anyone because everyone is guilty of it in some way, shape or form. I guess its human nature to do this... I know I have :-)

So call them.

**wolverine** · August-15-10, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by Detroit

Some of the comments on this thread remind me of that commercial where everyone just looks at the trash on the ground and talks about it. Then a guy walks by, notices the trash and picks it up. Same thing here... People are saying someone should contact the city... We instead of saying someone should do something, just do it!... I am not trying to be mean or nasty toward anyone because everyone is guilty of it in some way, shape or form. I guess its human nature to do this... I know I have :-)

Seriously, apples and oranges here. Anyone can pick up a piece of trash because it takes two seconds. Why the heck would I want to spend my time trying to contact the city and explain to them what's going on. If it were brick about to fall on the sidewalk, and I was right there, I'd probably call 911. But from what people post about here or I've heard personally from Detroiters, calling anyone...emergency or non-emergency is a difficult task.

My guess is no one really cares. I first noticed the outer brick veneer's departure from the structure about 6 years ago. The complaining in this thread isn't related to single building, rather the overall lack of responsibility taken by numerous building owners across the city.

**detroiturbex** · August-15-10, 12:07 PM

I've forwarded the pictures to someone in the legal office of the city. They've been working to reduce the amount of money they've been spending on injury-related lawsuits. Who knows if anything will come of it....