Requiem for Motor City | Exploring Detroit

Honestly, I have mixed feelings and memories about this event. It was that I wasn’t in the right mood or the fact that I was getting sick. But looking back at these photos, I can’t help but wonder why I even decided to go to VDPEX. Detroit has always been an interesting spot to explore. It was home to a great deal of abandoned buildings, and while today it has made a comeback with a tonne of restoration work, in 2014, it was just getting started. The whole place left me feeling weirded out. But always one for an adventure, I loaded up my car and drove out early to hit up some War of 1812 sites on the Canadian and American border that I needed to complete the then-ongoing Project. Then I crossed for the one and only time at the tunnel. It was a big mistake, to be honest. I got hit up with some of the weirdest questions ever for a crossing, and that was without heading to a reenactment event. My first stop was Michigan Central Station to get a nice 4×5 shot for my 52-sheet Project.

Downtown Detroit Rooftops
I have never been one for doing rooftop exploration, mainly because it often requires accessing active locations after hours. While I am chill with accessing abandoned locations, active locations, especially in post-9/11 America, as someone who isn’t American, does bring a heightened level of risk. But this was also Detroit, and even though the downtown had seen significant improvement, there were still some abandoned locations that offered up a chance to get a feel for roof topping without the risk of getting caught on an active roof with cameras. I cannot recall which building we checked out first, but it certainly was abandoned, as it was in the middle of downtown. No one batted an eye, and we didn’t see any of the less fortunate. The one thing that the building did offer was sweeping views of downtown, and I got some of my favourite shots from the trip here—especially the one of the Book Tower, dark amongst the light. I then went to another spot with a couple of other people, closer to the river, a semi-active parking garage, which gave some great river-view shots without being too much trouble.

Woodward Presbyterian Church
Best known to the local community as St. Curvey’s, this interesting church on Woodward Avenue was my favourite spot I explored in the city. This was the first spot I explored on the Saturday. The Congregation traces itself to 1907 when the founding members met in the home of Richard Owen. The area did not have a local Presbyterian church, but it had a growing population that was affiliated with that denomination. A survey concluded that some 1,000 members could be served with the founding of a congregation. The plan was presented to the Presbytery and approved, officially forming the Congregation. The first service of worship attracted 150 congregants in the auditorium of a nearby church. One member, Mrs Tracy McGregor, donated a plot of land on Woodward Avenue for the construction of a church. Reverend Sherman L. Divine was affiliated with the new Congregation, which worshipped in various nearby churches, starting in 1908. The Session awarded the firm of Sidney Rose Badgley & William Nickalas to design a permanent home with a budget of $100,000. Construction commenced in 1909, and a cornerstone was laid in 1910. By 1911, the new church welcomed the Congregation; the beautiful building, constructed of Pennsylvania brownstone, was a stunning example of English Gothic design. The square exterior design hid a beautifully curved interior sanctuary rising to a lantern-styled dome. The new church made a splash throughout the city with its design choice. The new church also featured a Sunday School wing and several additional recreational facilities to serve the wider community better. The church population grew to well over 1,000 members within a few years of its opening. It peaked at 2,000 in 1931, but by this point, the exterior was looking shabby, and fundraising efforts were undertaken to conduct the needed repair and restoration work. While these repairs were completed, by the mid-century, the population of the area had changed. By 1958, the number had fallen to 1,100, and despite subsequent changes and outreach efforts, it had dwindled to 404 by 1971. Woodward Presbyterian merged with The Church of the Covenant, another local Presbyterian congregation, in 1981 to preserve both. But it still wasn’t enough as the numbers continued to drop. Reverand Gary Douglas, who had taken over leadership in 1981, left the Presbytery of Detroit in 1993. Rev Douglas arranged to purchase the building and renamed the Congregation to Abyssinia Interdenominational Church. However, the new independent Congregation never attracted the necessary membership to maintain the large property, and in 2005, with the death of Rev. Douglas, the Congregation also died. Since then, the building has been left to the elements. It was home to a movie shoot in 2011, and there had been efforts to clean up and reuse the property starting in 2018, but since 2020, there have been no updates. The building itself was easy to access; the locals didn’t seem to mind a gaggle of camera-equipped people going in. However, it was when a noisy neighbour who knew the owner called it in that we had to beat a hasty retreat before we were sealed in. Apparently, the owner was known to do that, waiting until the folks inside called for help and then being hit with charges. We left quickly, as we wanted to get to Packard next.

Fisher Body No. 21
The initial plan was to go to the famous Packard Plant. For those in the know, Packard was Detroit’s iconic abandonment. However, upon our arrival we were met with a lovely gentleman sitting out in front who kindly offered to watch our cars while we explored. He had business cards and everything. But he wanted our cars parked in a very specific way. Well the business card looked like it had been printed that morning using Microsoft Word complete with word art. The ink was even a little smeared. Well a couple of us were not having the best feeling about this, in fact, the way he wanted the cars parked would have made it super easy to pull up a flatbed tow truck and cart everything away. We left. But the hosts were not about to let us go without visiting some of Detroit’s old auto industry and we settled on Fisher Body No. 21. Founded in 1908, Fisher Body was founded by Frederic and Charles Fisher when they absorbed a smaller, fledgling body company. Within a decade, Fisher Body had become one of the largest manufacturers in the world. Fisher was emblematic of the early era of automotive manufacturing in Detroit; they would build car bodies for any automotive company and had twenty under contract. They initially used natural materials before moving to metal-based bodies. In 1919, General Motors purchased a 60% stake in the firm. Companies whose cars were branded “Body by Fisher” carried a lot of weight through the 20th Century. Fisher would, by 1926, be entirely absorbed by GM. Of course, the 1930s, like other places around the world, ended up being home to a series of violent strikes. Plant 21 specifically focused on the production of buses, ambulances, and limousines until 1982, when GM closed the site and moved the production line to Flint. The former plant then found a second life as an industrial paint facility, but it only lasted for three years (1990-3). The plant reverted to city ownership in 2000 due to back taxes. Sadly, the years of industrial work had left the site in poor condition, and, combined with neglect, necessitated significant cleanup. Thankfully, in 2022, the site was sold to a developer who began work in 2024 to convert it into lofts and apartments.

I never went back to explore in Detroit. I ended up leaving early on the Sunday rather than sticking around. I was worn out and exhausted and had no desire to tempt fate again. While I headed up to cross via the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, the rest of the group attempted at Michigan Central Station. They ended up getting caught by Railway Police and all issued tickets. I dodged a bullet there, primarily because of my Canadian Passport. I didn’t go to many other UE events after this one, other than ones I felt far more comfortable in, such as VCXPEX and MAMU, but I never touched Detroit again. You can see all my photos from the event over on Flickr!