Where am I again?
Chances are, if you don’t live around Detroit then you have a preconceived notion of what the city looks like. And it’s probably not like the image above. Heck, I probably don’t do much to discourage that view with my own images on this site. But what a lot of people may not be aware of is that less than 100 years ago, Detroit was referred to as Paris of the West specifically for its architecture. It was one of the preeminent places to live in this country.
Today, you hear mainly negative things coming out of the city. Some of it even I can’t believe – just when I think I’ve heard it all I hear something that resets my lowest expectations.
Despite that though, there are some truly amazing places nestled throughout the city. This particular street is one of them. Detroit can be quite an interesting place for contradiction. While there are plenty of blown out buildings that look ready to collapse on themselves, it’s also filled with beautiful turn of the century houses that will drop your jaw. There are many streets with large shady trees, fully manicured estates with secondary carriage homes by themselves larger than a typical residence, and as you can see here this one even has old world style brick streets. The neighborhood is as kept up as yours is, and the people here take a great deal of pride in living here.
And no, it’s not right near downtown either.
This isn’t by far the only area like this. In fact, this is on the low end of the nicer areas around the city. Research places like Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest, and Indian Village just to start. There is still incredible architecture in Detroit and some amazing history. You’ll begin to appreciate why Detroit was referred to as Paris of the West.
Best of all, with the economic collapse, if you’ve ever wanted to own a turn of the century mansion you’d be amazed at how far your dollar can stretch around here. In fact, in September it was reported that an 18,000 sq ft mansion in the Boston Edison district sold for $625,000 and needed about $250,000 worth of updates. So for less than a million, this person will get a storied residence, fully updated, with all of the old world charms and building quality that you’ll never see again. Unbelievable.
Take a look around. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.
7 Comments → “Where am I again?”
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thank you for posting this. I rarely get out to explore detroit…honestly I wasn’t ever looking to go around Michigan at all until the photo walks started. Now I want to go everywhere!
Hi Angela, thanks for stopping by. There’s a lot of cool things to see all around the metro area. Glad you’re enjoying exploring them.
Chris, I visit Detroit every year for the North American Auto Show and I have to tell you, Detroit is one of my favorite places to visit. The architecture is incredible. The neighborhoods are outstanding. My family and I reside in TN. and I love it here, but I have always felt like Detroit is a second home. Thanks for posting great photos of a great city.
Hello Todd. Glad to hear how much you enjoy your time in the D and that you’ve found the nicer things to appreciate. Thanks for stopping by Lens Artwork.
I like the photo of the avenue with the brick paviors and the globes of the lamps that look as though they could be lit by gas. I wonder how old they are?
This is not what I ever have thought of when I imagined Detroit.
Is this a ‘good’ neighborhood or is it one of those blighted by the recession and the foreclosures?
Hi Daivd. Yes, this a very good neighborhood. Everything is kept up quite nicely, and even the few foreclosures here haven’t fallen victim to much of the blight that affects so many other parts. While you’ll see some foreclosures and abandoned homes in the toniest neighborhoods, they’re less likely to fall victim to boarded up windows, uncut lawns, collapsing roofs, walls, and so forth. It’s very much unlike the streets that you’ll see featured in most news reports where every other (if not every house) on the block looks ready to fall apart at any moment, or is burned out, or boarded up haphazardly, etc.