Did anyone see Requiem for Detroit last night on BBC 2? On iplayer
here, for the licence payers ONLY, OK?
Anyhow, it was a pretty amazing doc, the first part in particular, talking about the "economic Katrina" that has hit Detroit in the last three decades or so. One of the main interviewees was an urban explorer, going into the old factories and what have you.
The largest abandoned building in the world is in Detroit. The original Ford factory, the first ever assembly line, is now just overgrown with weeds. This is pretty amazing stuff. The stereotype of Americans cf Europeans regarding history is that Americans are really protective of stuff that has even a little bit of history attached to it, whereas in Europe we don't care (cos we've got so much of it, goes the argument). This didn't seem to be true at all.
Anyway, it was stunning stuff. Detroit lost 60% of its population since the 60s, from 2m down to 800k. Buildings have just collapsed there, others are still standing, like this hotel where Black entertainers used to stay when they were in town. It's now totally gutted, but still has a piano.