Dan Austin

A fascinating, but troubling, book of many buildings, one sculpture and one boat that were prominent and important Detroit landmarks. The informative text gives a great sense of why the landmark was important, how it impacted the city and the people involved, including the owners, architects, citizens who used it and finally the demolition crew. Combined with the black and white pictures we get a real feel for these beautiful structures and their histories.

The landmarks covered are:
Old City Hall 1871-1961 (90 years)
Waterworks Park Tower 1876-1962 (86 years)
Detroit Public library 1877-1931 (54 years)
The Detroit Museum of Art 1888-1960 (72 years)
The Hammond Building 1889-1956 (67 years)
Union Depot 1893-1974 (81 years)
The Majestic Building 1896-1961 (65 years)
The federal Building 1897-1931 (34 years)
The Cadillac Chair 1901-1941 (40 years)
Hotel Tuller 1906-1991 (85 years)
Hotel Ponchartrain (the original one)1907-1920 (13 years)
The City of Detroit III 1912-1956 (44 years)
The Graystone Ballroom 1922-1980 (58 years)
The Hollywood Theater 1927-1963 (36 years)
The Detroit Times Building 1929-1978 (49 years)

The average is only 58 years with the lowest being the Ponchartrain which despite the fanfare and state of the art design, was quickly made obsolete by newer hotels with more modern amenities.
This book, of course, doesn't cover all of Detroit's razed landmarks. The J.L. Hudson building and Tiger Stadium immediately come to mind. Also are all of the abandoned buildings that haven't yet been destroyed.

The author also wrote an earlier book about many of Detroit's currently abandoned architectural beauties, which will likely be destroyed, and are now being dismantled by unauthorized scrappers. The title of that book is "Lost Detroit".

Although it may be shorter in Detroit than in most cities, compared to Europe, buildings in the US have a very short life. This throwaway attitude which is rampant throughout our society disturbs me on many levels. aesthetically, historically, ecologically...… (meer)

A fascinating, but troubling, book of many buildings, one sculpture and one boat that were prominent and important Detroit landmarks. The informative text gives a great sense of why the landmark was important, how it impacted the city and the people involved, including the owners, architects, citizens who used it and finally the demolition crew. Combined with the black and white pictures we get a real feel for these beautiful structures and their histories.

The landmarks covered are:
Old City Hall 1871-1961 (90 years)
Waterworks Park Tower 1876-1962 (86 years)
Detroit Public library 1877-1931 (54 years)
The Detroit Museum of Art 1888-1960 (72 years)
The Hammond Building 1889-1956 (67 years)
Union Depot 1893-1974 (81 years)
The Majestic Building 1896-1961 (65 years)
The federal Building 1897-1931 (34 years)
The Cadillac Chair 1901-1941 (40 years)
Hotel Tuller 1906-1991 (85 years)
Hotel Ponchartrain (the original one)1907-1920 (13 years)
The City of Detroit III 1912-1956 (44 years)
The Graystone Ballroom 1922-1980 (58 years)
The Hollywood Theater 1927-1963 (36 years)
The Detroit Times Building 1929-1978 (49 years)

The average is only 58 years with the lowest being the Ponchartrain which despite the fanfare and state of the art design, was quickly made obsolete by newer hotels with more modern amenities.
This book, of course, doesn't cover all of Detroit's razed landmarks. The J.L. Hudson building and Tiger Stadium immediately come to mind. Also are all of the abandoned buildings that haven't yet been destroyed.

The author also wrote an earlier book about many of Detroit's currently abandoned architectural beauties, which will likely be destroyed, and are now being dismantled by unauthorized scrappers. The title of that book is "Lost Detroit".

Although it may be shorter in Detroit than in most cities, compared to Europe, buildings in the US have a very short life. This throwaway attitude which is rampant throughout our society disturbs me on many levels. aesthetically, historically, ecologically...… (meer)

This book highlights many of the awesome buildings in Detroit that are continuously deteriorating at the hands of scrappers, taggers and natural forces. The author's lnformative and compelling text and the photographs, both black and white and color, deliver a wonderful story of these magnificent structures. I was so fortunate to attend a presentation, at the local library, by the photographer, Sean Doerr, who shared many incredible picture's from his massive database. Some of these, such as Cass Tech High, where my aunt and uncle met, have been demolished since the book was published.

Here's the list:
Broderick Tower
Cass Technical High School
Eastown Theatre
Grand Army of the Republic Building
Grande Ballroom
Lee Plaza
Metropolitan Building
Michigan Central Station
Michigan Theatre
United Artists Theatre
The Vanity Ballroom
Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church… (meer)