I spent the day on a wonderful urban exploration jaunt with a fine upstanding graffiti artist. We met and explored the acres, 35 to be exact, of abandoned factory known as the Packard Plant.

The plant has seen better days. The inevitable and unstoppable scrappers are devouring the structure. Driving rusty pick-up trucks with unstable trailers and armed with torches the secretive workers are removing the support beams. I am no structural engineer but I suspect this may accelerate the natural spiral of decay.

This is readily visible in the numerous imploding warehouses and sagging bridges. Few, like two, businesses soldier on in the decaying buildings. Unfortunately, this awesome relic of manufacturing might has caught the eye of movie editing hack Michael Bay. He’s hoping to distract movie watchers from his lack of a plot or even simple continuity by blowing the Packard Plant up.

I’ve been watching a war this summer. No, not that never ending Orwellian one; nor the nauseating rises and fall of the economy either. It’s a struggle of man dominating nature, nature struggling back, and some street artists stopping in to admire the view. It took place in what the artists refer to it as “the market”, others know it as the Dequindre Cut.

A rail line skirts the east edge of downtown Detroit. This rail line, long abandoned by humans to the vagaries of urban tolerant wildlife, cuts a deep swath. Nestled in its embrace is an urban canvas. Hobos, debris and the occasional dog walker all gathered on this pathway that ran from the Eastern Market to the Detroit river. That was until the MDOT, encouraged by the noble rails-to-trails, came up with something a wee bit more family friendly.

With a surprising quickness the construction crews toppled the foliage and replaced it with sterile woodchips and manicured rows of flowers. The artists stubbornly persevered. Each night every newly erected surface received a complementary coating of paint. Every day towering construction vehicles craft new surfaces and the spiraling dance goes on today. For a glimpse into the past of the cut, stand at the mouth of the Gratiot bridge and stare north.

After reading Scotter’s post on opening of the Woodbridge Pub I decided to mosey on down and see what kind of sustenance I could devour. Actually, I had been planning to go there anyway to see a fall photography show put on by some fellow Exposure Detroit members. The pictures and ambiance were spectacular. It has a really homey feel, with rich wood tones and tin ceilings.

The food was decently priced, as were the drinks. I got the Detroit Hipster burger, which comes on a ciabbatta bun, with a whole portabella mushroom cap, and a pesto infused mayonnaise sauce (I copied that part from the menu, I don’t even know what it means). It was delicious, if a bit messy. I can’t wait to get back and sample some more of the wonderful food!

 Since I am going to be writing for Detroit Metblogs I thought I’d take a second to introduce myself. I was born in Detroit. Before I was eight weeks old my fifteen minutes of fame was squandered in an article in the Free Press. Since then I’ve been wandering around the city in a semi-confused state of awe.

 This wandering has taken me, in a shifty chameleon-like manner, through scene after scene. I have skateboarded in Hart Plaza, and been rewarded for my efforts by having to flee angry cops on motorcycles. I have stood in the freezing rain on the front porch of Saint Andrews to ID the countless masses waiting to get inside. I have danced the night away in dingy warehouses manned by minimalist masters of techno. Now, for the most part, I wander the city in a compulsive manner, diving into decrepit buildings in search of elusive streetart.

 I am here now. And I am bringing vivid images of the city of Detroit, both verbal and visual. I hope to make you as interested, excited, and as passionate as I am about this wonderful urban environment. 

If Metblogs is a city, hub.metblogs is the playground. We kept hearing from people that one of their favorite parts of Metblogs was meeting and interacting with readers and writers from other parts of the world, as well as getting requests for more ways that readers could be involved besides just posting comments. We thought about this for a while and decided that with a network like this, a giant community area where folks from all over the world could hang out, post photos and videos, talk with each other, form groups, play games, send messages, and do about a million other things was probably a pretty fun idea. The Hub is that.

If you have any tech ideas or suggestions join this group and speak up. See you on hub.metblogs!

Want to be a part of the blogging revolution? Then today is your lucky day: Metroblogging Detroit is currently looking for a few new authors.

Interested? Read on for details on how you can become the newest member of our team.
(more…)

the title of this post looks more sinister than it is. i’m not going to start throwing my weight around about the UAW, concessions, health care and that sort of thing because i don’t work in the auto industry and i really have no idea about any of that stuff for i am but a humble retail man with no big business experience. what i’m wondering is if the title “The Big Three” is still relevant? maybe they should now be called “The Local Three” or is it time to (dare i say) include “those other guys“? they are selling just as much product (and in some cases more) than the home team so maybe it’s time to update it to “The Fab Five”? or perhaps this is going to be one of those situations where the name has stuck and will always be used wether it still applies or not. sorta like how Madonna, who has had dozens of hit songs, is always referred to in any media report as the “material girl” (based on one of her songs from the ’80s)…or like how Elvis Presley is called the “king of rock & roll” but blow in a call to WCSX for a request and the chances of hearing Viva Las Vegas on the air are about as slim as getting Jack White to buy another house in Indian Village. the mere mention of something like this has me fearing i’ll disappear into the trunk of a 1977 Coupe DeVille and a dozen years from now someone will be digging up a parking lot after getting tipped off.

For the next seven days, the Metroblogging sites around the globe will be unveiling seven gifts their cities can share with the world – one gift a day for seven days. These gifts can be serious, funny or sarcastic. Kicking things off, Metroblogging Detroit begins with an old Detroit favorite: Eastern Market.

Food-fanatic or not, Detroit’s Eastern Market is a hidden gem – a unique city staple we’re lucky to have.

Located on Russell Street near Gratiot, Eastern Market’s vendors and shops offer nutritious, inexpensive selections, plus tasty meats and cheeses, homemade breads, wine, beer, flowers, antiques and so much more.

Sure, other cities have markets – DC even has its own Eastern Market – but how many have been around since 1841?
(more…)

Starting today, many Metroblogging sites around the world are unveiling seven gifts their cities can share with the world. Participating cities – London, Berlin, NYC, Los Angeles, Karachi, Montreal, Vancouver, Islamabad and, of course, Detroit – will each post a gift a day from their city for seven straight days.

Each city has its own “gift list” and Detroit’s will be published on this site. If you’d like to see what other cities are offering up to the world, check out this post on L.A.’s site – it’s got a running total of them all.

You know I am into it here. I live the D’, I breath it. I embrace it. Anything to make it better, count me in, k? Well yet another group of visionaries have joined the project. The 22 member Entertainment District Association.
(more…)