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82 Comments
- rwert, on 05/07/2009, -3/+22Some of my most vivid memories are of the RenCen before it was bought by GM. As a child, my dad took me there to spend the day at work with him -- he worked at the Merrill Lynch in one of the five-finger-like office towers surrounding the phallic hotel in the center. I remember eating at the Big Boy downstairs and then throwing up on the floor because I ate too much. I think in many ways that's analogous to GM. I'm not sure how it is, but I'm pretty sure it is.
- nigelmansell, on 05/08/2009, -0/+19amazing view of Detroit. How sad it is to see one of the major city in united states fallen so hard for so long.
- etx313, on 05/08/2009, -2/+16Detroit: Don't knock it till you try it.
- mocomber, on 05/08/2009, -4/+18I live in Detroit. No matter how high, how nice the building, how great a CEO's office is... it's still Detroit...
- Tw3ek, on 05/08/2009, -0/+13Yes, because the RenCen was built after the bailout.....
- SpeedSteamBoat, on 05/08/2009, -0/+9It's Detroit's fault the auto industry left and a mass exodus from greater Michigan took place over the course of three decades?
Please do explain how. - swicepick, on 05/08/2009, -0/+7Uh, no. The big GM signs were built many years before the bailout. Nice try though, capseaslug.
- Excuvator, on 05/08/2009, -1/+8san fransico is really nice, it happens to be the most visited city in america by foreigners idk what your talking about
- etx313, on 05/08/2009, -0/+7Ren Cen garage is on the other side of the building. That lot is mostly closed off as they are renovating the Detroit river walk.
- Tw3ek, on 05/08/2009, -0/+7If pennvneff is talking about the jokers we keep electing to our city's government, then hes right. We do deserve it.
- brianhatch, on 05/08/2009, -0/+6The video, especially the part where they show the 70's hotel atrium, reminds me of Logan's Run. I love how stark and brutal 70's futuristic design was.
- h0m3styl3, on 05/08/2009, -0/+6I love how everyone lives IN detroit when these articles come up.
really?
i don't care what people say - there's still some great hangout bars and such to watch local bands play or drink cheap beer at.
And hamtramck still has badass pierogies. F mrs. t's. - swicepick, on 05/08/2009, -0/+6Sorry, I agree with SpeedSteamBoat. The reason there has been a slow and steady decline since the 1950's in Detroit's population is largely due to the economy. The second big event that contributed is probably the riots of the 1960's.
True, there have been a lot of lame people in the city government lately, but they weren't always bad since the 1950's. The city has had a decline in population and tax revenue due largely to the economy; plain and simple. Oh, and the trend of the ease of auto transit leading to suburbanization didn't help either. The leadership of late may not help, but a great mayor in the city will never help me convince my friends to move there--only jobs and good neighborhoods (brought on by public services via tax revenue) can do that. - Tw3ek, on 05/08/2009, -0/+5From the article that you obviously haven't read:
In 1996 General Motors purchased the building and ordered a $500 million renovation which addressed the previous issues, adding beautiful river access, removing the terrible concrete berms and adding a handsome glass and steel foyer where they showcase their newest models.
13 years before != after. Sorry. - Trollemite, on 05/08/2009, -1/+6Yeah I've lived in the area for about four years now so I've seen many of the run down, bombed-out looking buildings in the city. I was half expecting the aerial views to look like Baghdad after a bombing run.
- AquaOSX, on 05/08/2009, -0/+5What are you doing, vacationing in the Tenderloin?
If you go by Flickr's tags, SF is the 4th most photographed city in the world.
http://www.life.com/image/LS005917/in-gallery/2611 ...
If you think SF is a "trash hole," come over to my side of the bay and I'll give you an Oakland reality check. :P - jbmcb, on 05/08/2009, -0/+4> the empty parking lot says it all
It says that you don't know what you're talking about. - DennisPwnsj00, on 05/08/2009, -0/+4Detroit's had some hard times.. but I still love this city.
- Tw3ek, on 05/08/2009, -0/+4That's definitely a fact. However, having a Mayor and City Council that do more than toss racial attacks around all day wouldn't hurt. You are right though. The riots in the 60's didn't help. It still depresses me to drive around and see buildings that are still ruined from that.
- hankidic, on 05/08/2009, -3/+7cool building
- jbmcb, on 05/08/2009, -0/+3ivory tower alliteration - check
trashing the CEO - check
thinking that there is somehow more than one CEO - check
ignoring the fact that up until a year or two ago, GM sold more cars than any other company in the world - check
sarcastic final comment - check
Well, looks like you've got all the bases covered there. Nice post! - jbmcb, on 05/08/2009, -0/+3Here's what happened:
1 - Henry Ford offered a comparatively insane wage of $5/day so he could get his assembly lines staffed up. Until that point, Detroit was a trading hub for lumber and minerals, not an industrial center.
2 - A *crapton* of poor people flocked to Detroit. $5/day for unskilled labor (turning wrenches, inserting slot A into tab B) was a fantastic wage back then. Imagine making $40/hour working at McDonald's.
3 - The factories filled up fast, but poor people kept flooding into the city looking for jobs. There were no more.
4 - The poor people coming in were mainly blacks from the south. They were treated poorly - segregation was still in full swing.
5 - In the 40's and 60's there were race riots - nasty ones. The rich white people moved to the suburbs, money began draining out of the city.
6 - Fuel crisis in the 70's, people didn't want to buy the big, fuel guzzling Detroit cars - they opted for the smaller Japanese cars that, while being pieces of crap, at least got good mileage.
7 - The Detroit car companies didn't know how to make small cars, their first attempts were awful. They didn't make a decent small, or even midsize by modern standards, vehicle until the 90's. In the meantime, Japan perfected their line of small cars and were eating Detroit's lunch.
9 - Colemann A. Young. Worst... mayor... ever. All those white people with all the money who fled to the suburbs? He basically told them to screw off and never come back to Detroit. Awesome plan, there. - jbmcb, on 05/08/2009, -0/+3> The revolving restaurant on top? Doesn't revolve anymore.
Says so in the article. They stopped because the transition area ate up space for tables and made the whole restaurant feel cramped - not to mention it was a nightmare for the servers having to figure out where their tables were constantly.
> The wallpaper is pealing and the carpet is torn.
So you haven't been there in a few decades, if at all? I just ate at the Coach a couple of months ago, it's in fine condition. - themoop, on 05/08/2009, -1/+4Not accustomed anymore to having to reload the complete page for each picture..
- Tw3ek, on 05/08/2009, -0/+3Actually, I grew up there. I love it. My goal is to try to improve it when I have the means to.
- pinchduck, on 05/08/2009, -0/+3The revolving restaurant on top? Doesn't revolve anymore. The wallpaper is pealing and the carpet is torn. It's a neat building in a "logan's run" kind of way, but it is also a metaphor for the decline of Detroit and GM.
- PhillyOC, on 05/08/2009, -0/+2Yeah, they have hicks and snobs.
- Sagags, on 05/08/2009, -0/+2more like han solo
- balthisar, on 05/08/2009, -0/+2GM didn't build the Renaissance Center. They bought it. Do you want to know who they bought it from, just a few years ago? Ford Motor Company! (Well, Ford Land, a wholly owned subsidiary.) Another sign of Ford's prescience.
- BoneStamp, on 05/08/2009, -0/+2I bet Uranus would love this thing.
- PhillyOC, on 05/08/2009, -6/+8Those executives deserve such views from their ivory tower. After all, they did such a good job running their company into the ***** ground.
- BoneStamp, on 05/08/2009, -0/+2When GM bought the office complex, they were the largest company in the world with double the market share of their nearest competitor. So yes, at the time, they did deserve it.
- VeryBoredNow, on 05/08/2009, -0/+2You got homosexual tendencies
- ChileanGoD, on 05/08/2009, -0/+2That building looks like it's about to take off to outer space.
- mattmeow, on 05/08/2009, -0/+2Urban decay is eating away at Detroit, there won't be much left soon except for the downtown area.
Look:
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&c ... - UNL1M1T3D, on 05/10/2009, -0/+1I feel that the RenCen is what makes Detroits skyline. The older buildings blending with the more modern futuristic looking RenCen. This photo is much nicer:
http://detroitloansource.com/files/images/DetroitS ... - Tw3ek, on 05/08/2009, -5/+6Don't like it? Why not try to make things better rather than complain?
- jhails, on 05/08/2009, -3/+4It looks like the CEOs were more concerned with building an ivory tower to house their lavish offices instead of designing automobiles that would continue to attract buyers. Good job GM.
- VeryBoredNow, on 05/08/2009, -0/+1You fail at life.
- inactive, on 05/08/2009, -0/+1ya..its a land fill for new york...it gets all sorts of trash
- UNL1M1T3D, on 05/10/2009, -0/+1Actually you don't LIVE in Detroit, you live in ANN ARBOR which is about 30 minutes outside of Detroit.
- AquaOSX, on 05/08/2009, -0/+1We all get buried from time to time, but after seeing your profile... damn. Mike, you have a talent for trolling.
- LordVance, on 05/08/2009, -1/+2New Jersey is a far more diverse state than the interwebs would have you believe.
- rdolishny, on 05/08/2009, -1/+2It's really a maze in there, I've been lost a number of times. I haven't been back there in years, I heard they tore down the massive concrete barricade on street level and made it easier to get around.
It succeeded too well. The last of the businesses in Detroit moved in leaving downtown an empty shell. - VeryBoredNow, on 05/08/2009, -0/+1Belle Isle is where you go to abuse substances. You ain't from Detroit!
- VeryBoredNow, on 05/08/2009, -1/+1Detroit IS in hard times
- ViscidGobs, on 05/08/2009, -1/+1I hear a giant sucking sound.
- riyehn, on 05/08/2009, -1/+1It's because you're looking into Canada.
- krolm, on 05/08/2009, -3/+3the best view of detroit is when you see it fading in your rear-view mirror as you drive away...never to come back again
- inactive, on 05/08/2009, -2/+2cool story hansel
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