there was a point in history when detroit the great motor city was a robust metropolis
drawing in hundreds of thousands of people from across the world as its job market boomed at
the center of all this growth was the point from where all its newcomers would venture into their
new lives a 15 story tall building overseeing 18 railway tracks connecting the city to places
like chicago new york and even beyond to canada a legendary place named michigan central station
contemporary images portray this edifice sitting empty derelict graffiti covered with broken
windows and indeed after the last train departed its tracks on january the 5th 1988 the station
simply fell apart however today a new spark has ignited and there's a chance for the station's
return this is the story of transportation architecture and abandonment this is the story
of michigan's central station i'm your host ryan socash and you're watching it's history
around the beginning of the 1910s when detroit was growing into a major city construction of a
new railway station was nearing its completion designed in the bozart style michigan central
station was projected by several of the same architects that had designed new york city's
grand central station at the time of its opening it was the tallest railway station in the world
though it did have a bit of a rough start since its preceding station burnt down in december of
1913 forcing the news station into an early opening its 18 tracks immediately made it a
crucial artery in the circulation of american industry getting the workers of the industrial
revolution across the region we now refer to as the rust belt thousands of workers would
come from all over the united states and not just the northeast the station saw a large influx of
african americans from southern states looking to escape early 20th century conditions of hardship
there were also arrivals from across the pond many immigrants found themselves passage to the
united states through michigan central station as well thanks to the connection to canada through a
tunnel beneath the detroit river this canada connection was vital for thousands of people
from europe and the middle east to enter the united states just as its sister station in new
york would connect newly arrived immigrants to the rest of the country michigan central
station would become a source of thousands of new american arrivals in fact some historians such as
steve babson directly pointed to this correlation calling the station the ellis island of detroit
as the industrial revolution really started to take hold and the first ford model ts rolled off
the assembly lines workers came in from all around the world to help really give detroit the name
motor city many came from britain through the canada connection but other railways were by
no means idle in the early 1910s and even before that ellis island was directing skilled workers
from european countries such as italy and poland to go to detroit by request of the city's board
of commerce by the time the industrial revolution was hitting its peak in the middle of the roaring
twenties detroit's population had increased fivefold from what it was in 1906 the majority
of which stepped through the gates of michigan central station though wherever one looks at the
history in the 1920s especially american history the 1929 stock market crash always looms and the
coming decades would not be kind to detroit during the depression the pistons of the motor cities
sputtered and stalled as millions of americans lost their jobs the station would continue its
operations but a concerning dip in the station's prosperity would be observed in this period
oddly to be reconciled with an economy of war in the late 1930s as the fires of war burned across
the atlantic the people of detroit suddenly had a lot of work on their hands serving as
one of the main contributors to the arsenal of democracy detroit had been pumping out the
weapons and vehicles of war with the ford motor company being a large contributor to the latter
hence more workers would find themselves coming in to assist the building of the arsenal through
michigan central station in these trying times several trains such as the twilight
limited the mercury and the wolverine would travel the rails of michigan central station
foregoing the golden age of rail travel as they moved one such train was the empire state express
beginning its service on one december day in 1941 just so happens the same day would live on
in infamy through the actions of a few hundred japanese aircraft american isolationism was laid
to rest so the united states fully mobilized for war michigan central station found itself awash in
soldiers moving out for deployment families said their goodbyes to loved ones going out to fight
and greeted those returning on leave with open arms the enormity of the station was matched with
its massive crowds that would travel to and fro during the wartime bustle the arsenal of democracy
found itself a very bountiful supplier in the motor city and the u.s military had no shortage of
detroit sons within its ranks but with the flash of the atomic bomb in august 1945 and the end of
the second world war detroit's motor industry had reached its zenith and only moved downhill
from there shifting back to a civilian economy america's automobile manufacturers began creating
expensive and intricate car models leaving the more entry-level vehicles to import japanese
imports in particular began rapidly eating up the market as their products quality swiftly improved
any attempt to meet these products at home just led to lower quality than the imports and
thus the motor industry of america continued to stagnate this had a direct effect on the station
as less and less people were coming into detroit michigan central station was becoming more and
more quiet not dead just yet but its demise was rapidly approaching as the 1960s drew ever closer
in july of 1967 long-standing social tensions and unemployment erupted into a series of city-wide
full-scale riots over the course of five days after a drinking club in an
african-american community was raided as 400 buildings were damaged beyond repair
over a thousand people were injured and 43 died the fires in the engine of the motor city were
snuffed out nearly 100 000 people fled the city over the course of the next two years
the devastation of these riots are still very present in modern day detroit as some
of the damage caused was never fully repaired desolation would follow in the next few years
one of the buildings that suffered greatly from the riots was michigan central station
as from that point its railway service permanently stunted and only decreased ending service in 1988
as a chicago-bound train departed its tracks the station shut its doors and the building was left
to rot without much hesitation scrappers began to illegally dismantle the station's valuables
including a grand chandelier that once graced the cathedral-like entrance but for the time
frame this was basically just a reflection of the city as a whole struggle was observed throughout
with industry continuing its decline until general motors and chrysler both filed bankruptcy in 2009.
the city's municipality itself followed suit in 2013 becoming the largest u.s municipality
to ever go bankrupt michigan central station set derelict falling apart one of the city's
most recognizable monuments remained empty for decades becoming something of a poster child
for ruined photography in the city the station once bustling with life and teeming with travelers
now laid still and cold as if that shadow chasing the city ever since the great depression
finally had its way travelers came in by plane car or trains that connected elsewhere and michigan
central was a center of travel no longer a little urban decay never seems to stop the
people of detroit a town that as we learned in our episode about book tower saves their masterpieces
so throughout all the broken windows and cold gray brick large amounts of graffiti sometimes
convey an unexpected message specifically save the depot for years the structure's owners left
the station abandoned and falling apart against the wishes of politicians who wished to see the
station torn down as a result much of the graffiti began to reflect proclamations of its salvation
because even as detroit began to pull itself out from the depths of destruction
the station remained in dismay as the city finally began to recover one of its largest
monuments to the previous age set in despair and ruin but unlike the fate of penn station in new
york this station still had a chance despite its horrific conditions with water damage holes in the
floor people wanted to see it be safe so they made their voices be heard the continuous protesting
of its demolition and the generally unsettling state of one of detroit's most iconic buildings
eventually drew the attention of ford who decided that it would be a shame to leave this building
to its fate so in 2018 the ford motor company bought michigan central station with the intention
of rebuilding it and transforming it into the centerpiece of a new future of transportation
as it once was the center of detroit's golden age of transport ford plans to keep the building
mostly open to the public as it was back in its heyday not only planning to refurbish
michigan central station but also encourage new residential development in the surrounding area
already having spent over 750 million dollars on the station alone using the technological
advantages at their disposal such as 3d scanning designs of the interior and its missing features
are already well underway the project is imagined to turn out a campus of cutting-edge technology
not unlike california's silicon valley so what about the return of transport to the station
well bill ford has stated that he would very much enjoy the return of michigan central station's
trains so it's not out of the cards just yet although it's not guaranteed either since regional
transportation has the final say on that not ford but talks have taken place which is encouraging
the building's future lies beyond just trains and automobiles as technology progresses the building
must also progress just as it did in its beginning years michigan central station's best years were
when it was at the forefront of technology the source of immigrant workers entering a new life
and when it was utilized by america's bravest young men as american technology and society moved
away from the rails and factories the station fell out of use and into despair and although its story
is by no means complete hopefully one day we can recapture the glory of its youth and escape
the throes of urban decay so as michigan central station connected detroit with the rest of america
you should help connect your friends with its story by sharing this video or subscribing check
out our series tales of urban decay and thank you for watching this is ryan socash signing off