Eleven dollars one week in advance. That's all it cost for the Megabus to Detroit on the middle day of a good three day forecast. I kissed the kid and the wife goodbye, tossed the bike box in my friend's car, and got dropped at the Megastop downtown for the redeye to Detroit.
Here's the first picture I snapped on the way to Gratiot Ave. "Low Winter Sun" is essentially a tour of modern Detroit on Netflix and this building is center stage.
The Rosa Parks Transit Station is an interesting place on Saturday at 6 am. About 30 locals populated the benches even before the buses start running. There was this smelly homeless guy who talked to me as I worked, wiping away his drool with an old T-shirt every few seconds. I still have no idea what he was saying so I just carried on a conversation with his gestures and glances.
It took me way too long to assemble the bike but I got a standing ovation when I started pedaling. Riding away, box in hand, one gentleman stood up and applauded. "You came in with a box and rode off on a bicycle." I tossed the box inside a locked dumpster enclosure, hoping it would be there when I returned.
Here's the bus station from later in the day - Morning darkness does not do it justice and I just wanted to get moving. Speed is safety...
Here's the first picture I snapped on the way to Gratiot Ave. "Low Winter Sun" is essentially a tour of modern Detroit on Netflix and this building is center stage.
And here are some building details from later in the day with good sun. Click on any image for the big version.
Then I headed northeast on Gratiot Ave.
Trinity Lutheran Church
Gratiot is a wide, five lane street with lots of empty space and zero Saturday morning traffic.
The sunrise over the empty Detroit plain was interesting.
These two houses make a perfect image of Detroit. The new and the abandoned, house by house, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood. I found one four block area that had one occupied home on each street. Every other house was abandoned. Some streets have lines of houses that have all burned. Arson is rampant. Sometimes the city comes in and razes an entire block while the next block is well-occupied.
More from Gratiot Ave.
Elmer's tags were everywhere and I wanted to borrow one of these bikes.
I stopped for breakfast at McDonald's and took lots of little side trips.
"Section 8 OK"
Bulletproof Burger King
I rode along 8 Mile and thought of Eminem and his Momma in the trailer park. Supposedly it gets better north of the border. South of 8 mile it's often pretty rough.
Heading back toward downtown on Woodward was Wayne State University. Highland Park, Hamtramck, and this university were like separate countries that seemed unaffected by Detroit decay except at the edges.
Heading back toward downtown on Woodward was Wayne State University. Highland Park, Hamtramck, and this university were like separate countries that seemed unaffected by Detroit decay except at the edges.
Along a highway a couple blocks west I found art
a new housing complex, and an important public service announcement.
No comments:
Post a Comment