The Detroit Free Press

The 14 story Detroit Free Press building stands empty in downtown Detroit. It is the largest city newspaper owned by Gannett, the same company that owns The Tennessean and many more daily’s throughout the United States. The Detroit Free Press started about 184 years ago.

The paper left their large downtown structure in 1998 and moved into what they call their News Building. Gannett bought the paper in 2005 from Knight Ridder.

In 2008, they decided to cut distribution to homes and businesses to Thursday and Friday only. On other weekdays, the paper would continue to be sold on the newsstand, but it would be smaller than what Detroit residents grew up with.

In 2014 the paper moved to the former Federal Reserve building in Detroit where today they utilize about less than six floors. The operation is much smaller than their previous address of 321 West Lafayette Street where their original Art Deco building that was constructed in 1924 still stands today. Today, the once busy loading docks sit empty and bricked over. 

Shake the world in a gentle way

He was sitting in front of a closed and vacant building in downtown Nashville when I met him. “I’m 60,” he said with a drag of his cigarette.

I gave him a 7 man tent that was given to me by my friends Jessica and Rusty Bonds and he picked up the bag it was in curiously looking it over. He then handed it back to me telling me to give it to someone else in need. “This is too big for just me,” I smiled and told him to wait a minute. I then retrieved a two man tent and gave that to him. He smiled and said, “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Thank you Jessica and Rusty Bonds.

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

Let's build people UP, not DOWN

He told me that people look down on him for being homeless, however he is working to climb out of his current situation. If you drove past him failing to talk, you would never know that he has goals and dreams to lead a better life.

“People see us drinking and they make judgement against us, they don’t understand,” he said while explaining that alcohol takes his mind off the situation at the end of the day. He was fully sober and not drinking when I spoke to him on Saturday. He talked about how others talk about him and the homeless you see in downtown Nashville on a regular basis without ever getting to know him.

“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” ― Socrates

He worked for the U.S. Post Office

“I’m 60,” he told me. “I was with the Post Office for 16 years, now I do odds and ends jobs,” he said as we talked. 

As I walked away he asked as if he knew me... "Is this gonna be in your book?" I responded, "I hope so. 

I retired from Chrysler

“I retired from Chrysler,” he told me. When he saw my camera he said, “But, I have scars on my face.” I smiled and said, “You look perfect.”

He lives within eyesight of the massive graveyard of downtown Detroit and can clearly see the Renaissance Center from the front door of his high rise apartment.

The 73-story Renaissance Center is the centerpiece of downtown Detroit. It is a group of seven interconnected skyscrapers owned by General Motors. It is GM’s world headquarters. The building was constructed in 1973 and later renovated in 2004.

Despite his view, he never worked for GM… only Chrysler.

He looked as if he were in pain

He walked as if he were in pain, his back bent forward and his hands in his pocket. A nearby security guard saw me photographing him and yelled, “He was a famous boxer!”

He looked back at her and then looked towards me and smiled, “They called me Speedy. I came up with Muhammad Ali.”

“I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick.” - Muhammad Ali

The Berlin Wall, but in America

Imagine a 1-foot thick wall dividing whites from blacks. Although no longer serving that purpose, a section of the wall still stands in the Motor City. However today, the wall is colorfully painted with persons of all races on the wall. But, it stood bare in some areas and littered with graffiti in other areas up until 2006.

When the wall was built in 1940, it stretched five miles and was 6-feet tall. It was the physical barrier between those who were white and owned their own home and those who were black homeowners. It is in the area of 8 Mile Road and is often referred to as the Eight Mile Wall or Detroit’s Wailing Wall. Some compare it to the Berlin Wall.

The idea to build the wall was launched into action in 1934 and finished in 1940. The time period was when Detroit was booming and the Federal Housing Administration was pushing for more home ownership among all races. Community groups wanted the wall to keep their neighborhoods segregated as they thought housing for those of color would interfere with the successful real estate market.

Do people live here?

I asked, “Do people live in abandoned buildings in Detroit?” She looked over her shoulder at the building behind her, “Not this one, it is falling apart too much!” She then looked at me as if I were an idiot. Love it!

Walter has big dreams

Tonight I got a phone call from Candy Carter with Last Call 4 Grace. She told me that Walter (age 35) was in her office and needed a ride to the Greyhound bus station in Nashville. I told her I would take him.

After picking him up, Walter told me he decided he wants to make some big changes in his life. He said, “Scott Foster at the Journey Home in Murfreesboro bought me a bus ticket to New Orleans.” Walter is homeless and knows Foster well from eating his daily meals at The Journey Home.

Walter said, “I am addicted to cocaine and meth - drugs in Murfreesboro are out of control.” He then described to me how he has been in numerous crack houses over the past year and has even seen crack and meth addiction in the elderly community in the inner city. “We have gangs in Murfreesboro selling drugs nonstop,” he said with a gasp of air. It was as if he were unloading what he witnessed while struggling to make changes.

Just wait, the story gets better.

“Steve Austin got me linked with Bethel Rehab in New Orleans, he’s a good guy,” he told me. Austin operates 180 Degrees Ministries in Murfreesboro. Austin’s Christian based ministry focuses on addiction and most of all, recovery. Bethel Rehabilitation Center in Louisiana is a place for drug addicts and alcoholics to recover. Austin helped Walter get into their six month program in New Orleans where they had a current opening.

For those who don’t know, there is often a waiting list to get into rehab. If you are ready to make life changes now and you are ready to go, you have to search for a facility with an opening. In other words, that means you may have to go out of state to get help for addiction.

This short story illustrates how local non-profits in our community work together. It also illustrates that each of the persons I mentioned know how important it is to build relationships in order to make a positive change in our society.

By the way, Walter wants to be a missionary. He asked me, “Can a convicted felon get a passport?” I then looked it up on the federal government’s website. The answer was an overwhelming YES. That ride to the Greyhound bus station opened a door for him. He got out of the truck with a dream in mind and he hasn’t even made it to New Orleans yet.

As he was about to walk into the bus station I asked, “Walter, do you mind if I tell you story to others?” He smiled, “Sure, go for it.”

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Meet Maudrey

“My name is Maudrey,” she told me. “Are you from here,” I asked. “I live here, but I was dropped off here after they released me from the hospital,” she responded with a great big smile. I asked her why she had to be hospitalized and she told me that she is both schizophrenic and bipolar. “I’m taking my medicine now,” she said after telling me that she feels much better.

Prior to meeting Maudrey in downtown Detroit I drove past about five buildings with a green medical cross on the front of them. “What’s with all the marijuana pharmacies in Detroit, they’re everywhere,” I stated with a little laugh. “You want marijuana? I can get you a whole bag of it for $4,” she replied. With a laugh I said, “Naaah - I’m good, but thank you.” She then pointed across the street, “See, I can get it for you right there.”

I changed the subject and went back to her mental illness. She told me that her anxiety gets really bad and it is tough living in Detroit. Sorrow fell over her face when she mentioned anxiety. For those who do not realize, anxiety can mimic numerous ailments which can lead to more worry and make the person suffering think they have a disease or a sickness. 

As if the conversation never took place, she then danced away to buy a single cigarette from the gas station. Yes, they sell single cigarettes in some gas stations of Detroit for .50-cents each.

“Concentration is a fine antidote to anxiety.” - Jack Nicklaus

He lost his job years ago in the Motor City

“I worked for Johnson Controls in Detroit for 16.5 years. I lost my job with them in 2005 and have been homeless ever since. I did not take their buy-out because I did not want to lose my pension, which will pay out more than the $50,000 they were offering to other employees. The problem is, I will not get it until I turn 62. Today I am 47 and there are no jobs here.”

A pension is a payment made during a workers retirement. It is made from an investment fund to which contributions were made by an employer or employee during their working career.

Since 2001, Michigan as a whole has lost around 150,000 manufacturing jobs, according to a 2014 article in The Social Contract Press. In Detroit, Johnson Controls, Inc. was contracted as an automotive supplier for numerous companies. Between 2004 and 2009, the company had to close 11 plants and cut numerous jobs due to a lack of manufacturing progress in not only Michigan, but across the country.

As this man continued to talk to me the snow continued to fall. I could not imagine being homeless in Michigan during the cold winter months.

“However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse." -Henry David Thoreau

Empty Places: The Packard Plant in Detroit closed in 1958

The Packard Plant sprawls multiple city blocks in Detroit and measures in at 3.5 million square feet. The Packard Company opened the plant to build luxury automobiles in 1903. At the time, the plant was considered to be the most modern automotive manufacturing facility in the world.

Inside the multi-level structure, cars were moved from one floor to another thanks to massive elevators. Each floor included a large workforce to manually build different sections of the Packard automobiles. Most of the buildings are still completely intact thanks to the brand new application of steel-reinforced concrete in the early 1900’s.

The Packard cars manufactured in the plant were no stranger to new ideas or inventions. In fact, Packard was the first company to build a working 12-cylinder engine and to provide air conditioning in a passenger car.

Detroit resident Henry Bourne Joy bought an Ohio made Packard in 1900. He was so impressed by the car that he helped to bring the company to Detroit, thanks to a group of investors. On October 2, 1902, the Packard car, which was manufactured under the name Ohio Automobile Company, changed their name to the Packard Motor Car Company.

In the 1940’s, Packard switched from cars to the war production of airplane engines. The conversion proved to be extremely positive giving the company millions of dollars in reserve. However, bad management decisions and struggles with Ford, GM and Chrysler in the mid 1950’s destroyed the company.

Packard closed their doors for good in 1958. Other businesses rented the massive property from time to time for storage, but that completely ended for all but one of the buildings in the 1990’s. A company called “Chemical Processing” stayed in one of the many Packard structures until year 2010.

Empty Places: Northville Psychiatric Hospital

The Northville Psychiatric Hospital opened in 1952 in the Township of Northville, about 30-minutes from the City of Detroit. The massive structure was built on 453 wooded acres and had 20 buildings that included a movie theater, a swimming pool, gymnasium and even a bowling alley. It was once known as a premiere psychiatric hospital with top notch care that utilized art and music to aid in treatment.

By the 1970’s, budgets for such hospitals were drastically cut and Northville’s high standing in the medical world started to collapse. The number of patients soared from 650 to 1,000+. To make matters worse, the hospital was designed to hold only 650 beds, so the bowling alley and gymnasium looked like a shelter for storm victims by 1971 filled with cots.

As medical staff was cut, doctors ditched music and art related treatment for the mentally ill and focused only on medicine. The Detroit News reported in the early 1980’s that patients were found sleeping in hallways, rape and assaults were common and some patients even died while fighting with staff, other patients died from alleged medical malpractice, as seen in past lawsuits filed against Northville.

The facility eventually closed in the early 2000’s and has sat vacant ever since. Problems selling the property revolved around medical waste, arsenic, barium and lead being dumped on the once pristine 453 acres of land.

The hospital has been deemed as one of the most haunted places in Michigan by some.

Finding Stuff

“I found an old lamp and an ashtray today,” he told me while pushing a shopping cart down the street. “What will you do with them,” I asked. “I’m gonna’ take them home,” he told me.

In further talking to him, he told me that he lives with his mother on Hazelwood Street in Detroit. He said that he walks all over the city looking for interesting finds.

“How old are you,” I questioned with curiosity. “I’m 30 and my mom is 55,” he said. I didn’t question him as I believe he really thinks he is 30-years old.

“The dog that trots about finds a bone.” -Golda Mei

Empty Places: The National Theater in Detroit

The National Theater of Detroit Michigan is the oldest theater in the city. It was built in 1911 and closed down in 1975. The structure is labeled historic, so it cannot be torn down. The theater sat 800 patrons during nearly every performance.

The theater opened with comedy acts, song and dance in 1911. In a strange twist, the theater closed in 1975 with multiple showings of adult films (pornography). Reports indicate the adult films hit the National in 1970 and continued up until their closing date.

The theater was sold in 1976 for $35,000 and never reopened. The building was later sold again in 1977 to a man who wanted to turn it into a restaurant. The idea never materialized as the theater had unpaid back taxes.

In 1999 the theater was sold again, but plans for turning it back into a theater died when it was learned it would cost between $12 million and $20 million to renovate.  

Today, the theater sits empty and boarded up. 

Wheelchair bound and homeless

This group of homeless men were sitting on a closed off street in downtown Detroit. The one on the ground is paralyzed from the waist down. His friend is sitting in his wheelchair as he props his head on the curb as if there was a pillow beneath him.

“I was in an accident while at work which placed me in a wheelchair,” he said. He went on to tell me that he lost his job the same month along with losing his wife to divorce. Those three combined items placed him on the street several years ago.  

Another man on the street said to me, “We are starving and haven’t had anything to eat in the past day.” Without another word I picked up ten hamburgers for them to enjoy on a cold January day.

“To do more for the world than the world does for you, that is success.” – Henry Ford

Empty Places: Home and store on East Bethune Street in Detroit

This home was first just that, a single family residence. It was later remodeled to feature a downstairs store front on East Bethune Street with living quarters upstairs. It now sits empty and gutted due to fire. 

Empty Places: A decaying church in Detroit

The New Glacier Missionary Baptist Church sits on a downtown street of Detroit, Michigan. The church has succumbed to urban decay as the city that once boasted over 1.8 million residents in 1950 is now at 680 thousand residents (2014). 

In one month alone, 19 different crimes of a variety of levels were committed within a one mile radius of the church. The church is now unsafe to rebuild as the floor is falling in and a section of the roof is completely gone. 

Prior to the church building being used by New Glacier Missionary Baptist, it was utilized by the Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, which bought the property in 1979. As St. Paul grew to over 1,000 members, a lack of space became an issue. So, the church sold in 1984 as St. Paul moved to a much larger space. 

The building was eventually purchased by the members of New Glacier Missionary Baptist Church.

This photo was taken from the second floor balcony inside the church. 

Empty Places: Waiting rooms for death

Documenting History: The building sits in a somewhat undeveloped area of Nashville, Tennessee. It was built in about 1913 and was used by the Tennessee Masons as a group home of sorts for widows and their children. The money to allow orphans and their mothers to stay in the property came from a fund that was developed in 1886. At one point the four story home and two other buildings on the campus had 400 residents that included widows, their children and the elderly.

In 1941, the State of Tennessee used the massive structure that looks like a mansion as a hospital to treat patients with tuberculosis. In the 1900’s, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the United Stated. It was known as The Great White Plague. Those who suffered were isolated from society in homes or hospitals like the one pictured. Structures like this one were known as “Waiting rooms for death.”

The building was later used as a health department office in the 1970’s through about 1994.

The Abject Poverty of Memphis

I handed him a pair of new boots and he jumped down on the ground and then rolled over onto his back. He then twisted his legs and feet outward and jumped back up. He announced, “I use to dance on Beale Street.” He told me he is 60-years old, but can still dance with the best.

He said, “They call me the Homeless Preacher,” he then started to preach. Boy did he ever preach. His voice began to change tunes as if he were growing mad. The louder he got the closer he came. As I started to photograph him he got within 7 or 8 inches of my camera lens, so I snapped away.

With a personality bigger than life you may wonder why he is homeless. He told me he has eight felonies and did time in prison. He has been a free man for almost a decade now, but boarded up houses throughout Memphis are his home. I would imagine that he sometimes preaches to a house of solitude that has no windows, only paneling where glass use to be.

I ran across the Homeless Preacher in a less desirable area of downtown Memphis filled with boarded up homes, industrial type buildings, title loan stores and businesses specializing in beer, tobacco and lottery tickets. His housing choices could vary nightly, depending on where he grows tired.

American songwriter Shawn Amos once stated about Memphis, “Memphis is the place where rock was born and Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed. It's full of contradictions, abject poverty, and riches that only music can provide.”