Marche Du Nain Rouge

On Sunday March 25, 2012 I helped kick the Nain Rouge out of the city of Detroit.

According to legend, this small red devil has been causing trouble in Detroit for more than 300 years. When the French explorer Antoine Cadillac founded the city in 1701 he encountered the Nain and hit him on the head with his cane, causing the Nain to put a curse on him

Since then, the Nain Rouge has been spotted throughout Detroit's history, most notably at the city's most unfortunate occurrences.

There was once a yearly tradition of marching a symbolic Nain out of the city. This tradition, which ended in 1910, was revived in 2010.

I missed the first two modern marches, but I'm glad I finally got to participate this year. Me and BB are somewhere in the middle of this photo. 

What a treat to be part of such a positive, fun event in a neighborhood, the Cass Corridor, that was once notoriously dangerous. I hope it's a tradition that continues for many years to come.





















It's important to come to the Marche Du Nain Rouge in disguise, so the Nain won't recognize you. It's also a good excuse to wear whatever crazy thing you'd like to wear. Most marche attendees got into the spirit of the event and dressed up. I only wish I'd taken more pictures, but I was having too much fun to shoot.

One of the best parts of the marche and the party at Masonic Auditorium afterward was the presence of the Detroit Party Marching Band. A guerrilla band that sometimes appears at events unexpectedly, they play a mix of Balkan-inspired songs, and modern pop tunes re-arranged for brass. Their energy and enthusiasm made the day.

Russell Industrial Center

I spent the afternoon at the fifth annual People's Art Festival at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit yesterday. This is a huge industrial complex that's been turned into a community for artists. Very interesting.

Here are some photos I took while I was there:

This spray paint mural by the artist Kobie Solomon covers a 4000 sg. foot wall. It includes elements of Detroit's four sports teams, aspects of Detroit industry, and representation of creative activities at the Russell.

Street folk

Last week I went to see this art installation by Tyree Guyton in Detroit. He filled a block long city street with shoes as a commentary on homelessness. It's called "Street Folk."

"Street Folk" was installed on a block of abandoned Victorian era houses in the historic Brush Park neighborhood of the city.

Built for Detroit's elite, the homes in Brush Park were built between the 1850s and 1890s. Of the original 300 homes, about 150 remain. Many have been torn down, and many sit rotting, but there is a bit of a revival going on. Some of the houses have been restored, condos have been built in the neighborhood, and new residents are moving in.

I saw a few nicely restored houses while I was there wandering around, but didn't feel as comfortable photographing them as I did the ones that are empty. I'd gone just to see the art installation, but ended up being fascinated with the neighborhood. I'll have to go back some day soon when it's not as chilly and windy as the day I was there.

Here's a view of downtown from Brush Park:

The Detroit Tigers baseball park and the Lions football stadium can both be seen from this empty lot where a house once stood.

The Illuminated Mural

I went on an urban "safari" with a group of photographers last Sunday and took tons of new photos. One of the sites we photographed was The Illuminated Mural, a public art work in Detroit. This mural is painted on the side of a nine story vacant building near Detroit's downtown.

I love the way it seems to be raining color down the side of the building, and I love the way the bricks add texture. It's really fabulous in person and it was fun to hang out there for part of an afternoon.

Woodward Avenue photography show

Two photographs by me are going to be in this show. I'm thrilled to be part of it, but won't be able to go to the opening reception because I'll be in North Carolina for the second residency of my MFA program. Darn!

Woodward Avenue is Detroit's main street. It's the spine of the city, running straight up from the river, through downtown and into the northern suburbs. Woodward Avenue is known as M1 - Michigan road #1. It's a National Scenic Byway, and defines Metro Detroit.

I love Woodward Avenue, so this project was a lot of fun. Each photographer participating was assigned a mile of Woodward in which to find something significant to shoot. My photographs are details of The Spirit of Detroit, a statue that sits in front of the Detroit City Hall at the foot of Woodward and Jefferson.

Here also are two of my photos that were not chosen for the show:

I really like the way this project made me step outside of my box and photograph things I wouldn't have normally shot, in ways I wouldn't have normally shot them, with great results.

Urban Adventure Part Two

Ruin porn. That's a term you hear in Detroit these days in reference to the fascination with abandonment and decay in the city. And while I completely understand where that phrase is coming from, I can't help but be fascinated with it myself.


I know how the images of ruin skew the world's perception of Detroit - which is much more alive and vibrant that you probably imagine - and that's a shame, but the ruins are fascinating. And it's not just the condition of these abandoned buildings that's something to witness, but the fact that they're so accessible. It's incredible that these places still stand, that they haven't been razed, or properly secured, or policed.


Detroit's most sprawling urban ruin is the Packard Plant. Spread out over 35 acres, the Packard is an immense complex of crumbling dilapidation. But it's not a victim of the recent economic downturn - even though photos of the plant are often used by the media to dramatize current events.

Packard has been out of business since the 1950s.

The Packard Plant produced luxury automobiles from 1903 - 1956. It went out of business when GM's Cadillac became the luxury car of choice.


After its closure the plant was subdivided and leased to small businesses, but it has mostly stood empty for the last five decades. The city of Detroit has a long history of litigation over the ownership of the land and the condition of the property. According the the Detroit Free Press the plant is currently owned by a guy serving a jail term in California on drug charges.
I'd heard of the Packard Plant and I'd seen photos of it, but I'd never actually been there in person until last week. I was taken there by local photographer, Rob Monaghan.
It was a chilly November afternoon and we'd already been photo exploring for several hours that day so we didn't stay long, but I was awed. It's seriously like being on the set of an post-apocalyptic movie. Or actually being in a post-apocalyptic world.

At first it seemed we were the only people there - the only souls in this immense, desolate, squalid landscape. But then I noticed other photographers, mostly young people, here and there, like tourists seeing the sights. The Packard is a popular destination for urban explorers, metal scrappers, graffiti artists, and arsonists.
It was definitely like no other place I've ever been in my life, and I wish I'd had the opportunity to see it before it got as bad as it is now. Much has been destroyed by fire. Much has been destroyed by vandals and scrappers. And much has crumbled. But I'm itching to go back - hopefully this spring - because there is still so much photographic fodder there.

My First Urbex !

I finally got to go on an urbex adventure! (Ubex is slang for urban exploration, and pretty much means going into abandoned buildings to explore and take photographs.) There is a lot of urbexing to be had in Detroit and I've been longing to tag along with some urbex photographers. I especially wanted to go to the Eastown Theater, one of Detroit's legendary rock venues from the early 70's, and finally got that opportunity this past weekend. Rob Monaghan a local photographer and really sweet guy, took me there and gave me the grand tour.

Opened in 1930 as a movie theater on Detroit's East side, the Eastown became one of Detroit's premier rock venues in the early 70s. From 1969 to 1972 the Eastown featured bands such as Jefferson Airplane, Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, The Stooges, Savoy Brown, Procol Harum, Johnny Winter, and many, many more.

This was during my high-school years and I was often taken along to concerts at the Eastown by my boyfriend who was a few years older. Each weekend's lineup would include two or three bands - and the tickets were only about three or four dollars!

The place was always jam-packed and heavy with the scent of pot. The seats on the main floor had been removed, so concertgoers sat on the floor, or stood, or danced. There was always a psychedelic light show that I enjoyed, and an MC who wore a top hat - Stanley T. Madhatter.

I have very distinct and fond memories of the Eastown and it's sad to see the shape it's in now. It's beyond saving. I'm sure it will be razed, or simply fall down sometime soon. I wish I'd gotten in there to look around before it got as bad as it has, but I'm grateful for the visit just the same.

Following a 1973 expose in the Detroit Free Press about the easy availability of drugs in the Eastown, it was forced to shut down by the City of Detroit for failing to meet health and safety codes. After that it briefly became a jazz venue, then a performing arts space, and in the 90s it hosted raves, but its mostly been left to rot. There are holes in the roof, it's littered with trash, it's wet, stinking, and raped of it's metal by scrappers. I was amazed that the ceiling above the balcony was still in such nice shape:

I was intrigued with the idea of walking into an abandoned building, and I was thrilled to be inside the Eastown, but I must admit I had moments of wondering "what the hell am I doing?!" while there. The lobby and halls are dark and littered with who knows what ( I learned that a flashlight is an essential tool for an urbex explorer,) and I'm sure I was breathing asbestos. My first urbex experience might well be my last. I mean, is this something a grandma should be doing?!
Here's the Eastown on the day of it's grand opening as a movie theater in 1931:


The Eastown as I remember it:


The Eastown today:


After exploring the Eastown, Rob took me to the ruins of the Packard Automobile Plant - but that will have to wait for Part Two of "Hilarywho: Urban Adventurer" ! Stay tuned.

Urbex Detroit

We have a lot of urbex photographers in Detroit - urban explorers who go into abandoned and decaying  places. And I wish I was one of them, or could at least get one of them to take me along on an exploration some time. I'm fascinated by these places, and especially by the kinds of photographs they inspire.

There is debate over the worth of these types of photos. There are those who say they make Detroit's already bad image worse. And I tend to agree with that opinion. It is a shame that this is what most people think of when they think of Detroit, but there's no denying that the images are stunning. It's incredible to witness such great history and architecture gone to ruin. Not to mention it's perfect fodder for the kind of close-up abstracts and industrial photos I love to take!

Photo quiz

What do the following photos have in common?

Answer: They were all taken by me at the Michigan State Fair yesterday.

The hairy hoof is a Budweiser Clydesdale; the rooster is a Wyandotte; and the stove is the world's largest, originally built for the 1893 Colombian Exposition in Chicago and now a Detroit icon.

BB and I rode the Ferris Wheel, indulged in some carnival food, saw a cow in labor, and felt like we were doing our part to support the fair, which might be the last one. Begun in Detroit in 1849, it's the oldest state fair in the country, but threatened with extinction due to the economy.

I have many fond memories of the fair from the 1960s and 70s, but hadn't been there since 1982. It was fun to see so many things about it that haven't changed, though it did seem smaller,and shabbier, the way those things tend to do over time.

Some things I've seen in "The D" recently

Woodward Avenue, downtown Detroit on a spring afternoon:

"Hitsville U.S.A." - The Motown Museum. This is the place where all those great Motown hits of the 1960s came from:

The famous "Studio A." A converted garage attached to the white house in the photo above. It amazes me how small this space is, and what a lot of great music came out of it.

The first Beaver dam found on the Detroit river in 80 years! This is an old power plant water inlet at the north end of the Detroit River. Nature is making a comeback. This beaver dam made international news.

The Woodward fountain in Campus Martius Park Downtown :

The Ambasador Bridge to Canada:
The aquarium on Belle Isle. Opened in 1904, it was the first aquarium in the United States, but has been closed for many years.

Heidelberg

I finally went to Heidelberg Street in Detroit last week to see the Heidelberg Project. This is a block of abandonded houses and vacant lots that have been turned into an outdoor art installation.

Started in 1986 by Tyree Guyton, a resident of the street, The Heidelberg Project began as a creative response to the ongoing blight and decay in the neighborhood. Twice demolished by the city of Detroit, the project is now somewhat of a local tourist destination, and a non-profit community organization.