Skid Row

Let us continue the Detroit posts with a visit to posh Park Avenue, the unquestionable skid row of a city that could pass as a giant skid row.



First up was a return visit to the Park Avenue Hotel, the first of Lew Tuller's mid-20s residential hotels built within a few blocks of each other.



As a recap, when Detroit started shrinking instead of growing, and thus the need for extended stay hotels dried up, the Park Avenue was converted to senior housing. Then it became the Salvation Army center, the Harbor Light. It was the domain of hobos. Then a few years ago the Salvation Army left, the hobos did not.



Now they are quickly picking away anything of value from the building. On our first visit in April we found it practically pristine. Today it is completely ransacked and every window has been removed.



The most distrubing update was the changes to the ground floor. Scrappers are now making off with the lobby's wood paneling. The neighboring lounge has a hole punched into its ceiling, thanks to scrappers tossing radiators out of windows.





Anyho, we spent some time on the roof enjoying the view.



The next day we decided to pay a visit to the Park Avenue's neighbor and sister, the Eddystone. This was the last and smallest of Lew Tuller's hotels.



Closed in the late 90s, it became a hobo-haven in the days that the Harbor Light still operated. We paid it a visit back in 2001. We found that it was not truly abandoned. Heck, in its heyday it likely seldom enjoyed that high of an occupancy rate. We ended up only seeing a small fraction of the rooms that trip, those which were unoccupied.



What we did see was in very good condition. Aside from the evidence of squatters, there was little about the building that indicated that it was abandoned. There was even power throughout. Well, in the years since that trip there have been a number of fires, the squatters have left, and scrappers have rummeged through.



The ground floor has a lobby at the center, wood-paneled like that in the Park Avenue. The ceiling still has its stenciled beamed ceiling, although it is slightly faded since I last saw it. The registration desk is now long-since removed. On either side are two restaurants, a 30s-style cocktail lounge and a dining room.



The lowest floors have been gutted. The owner of the Eddystone (and Park Avenue) has plans to convert them into condos. But the problem is he first needs to get his condo project at the formerly abandoned Carlton Plaza Hotel wrapped up. How long has that been taking?



Upstairs the guestrooms look just like those of the Park Avenue. They have the exact same panel molding, same bathrooms, etc. The floors are arranged on an H-plan, with a wide elevator corridor at the center.



There is not as much furnishings or artifacts left behind as in the Park Avenue. More pretty decay though.



In one room with a stack of old issues of the Detroit News I found the opening day segment for Ilitch Stadium back in 2000. Just when you thought I wouldn't rant...



The articles point out how Ilitch Stadium is the greatest ballpark on earth cuz it offers all kinds of amenities such as fattening snack treats like dippin' dots, extra-wide seats for today's extra-wide American, and ferris wheels. The dots blurb is somewhat confusing. "tiny dots of ice cream taste like the real thing... Doesn't taste exactly like ice cream but it's good." um you just said they taste like ice cream.



One article praises the stadium's intimate, close-to-the-action views provided by the seats by pointing out how the seats offer a great view of a crumbling skyline of pigeon-infested skyscraper-caves and that some of the best seats "in the house" are from the roofs of these tombs of old Detroit. The Broderick Tower was mentioned by name. They might as well have pointed out this little factoid. Did you (Ilitch Stadium-lovin' Matt) know that the front row of the upper deck is actually further away from the field than the roof of the Broderick Tower! Strange but true!



Oh, I'm not done. Another article praises the fact that fans will find within a ten minute walk of the stadium ten thousand parking spaces. We are talking about the central business district here. Detroit Yes!!!



Thankfully these numbers have only gone up as, despite another one of the articles claims that the stadium would encourage redevelopment of downtown, dozens of buildings have been pulled down for additional parking. This list includes significant structures that had developers licking their chops, Statler, Madison-Lenox, Motown, etc... All gravel lots now. All the stadium has done, besides line Ilitch's pockets, is insure that the north end of downtown will remain a wasteland of gravel for years to come.



um, back to the Eddystone...





It is definately in much worse shape now than during that first visit.



Perhaps the worsening condition is why the squatters moved on.



Well, not all of them. Our attempt to open one shut door was met with a cry of protest from that room's occupant.



We skipped that room. Finishing up the last couple of floors we found ourselves back on the streets, cutting across some of the 10,000 Ilitch Stadium parking lots and through the crowds back towards downtown and another adventure.