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Journalism of Courage
Detroit grew fast and died young. But theres hope yet
One of the two edifices that best tell the tale of Detroits rise and fall is the long-abandoned Michigan Theatre. Its perhaps the worlds only parking lot with Italian Renaissance architecture. Built on the site of Henry Fords first automobile workshop,by re-accommodating cars,the theatre had,ironically,returned to its origins. When Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy last week,it became the largest US city ever to do so and the biggest municipal bankruptcy in American history. But it didnt come as a surprise to anybody,since Motor City,once the symbol of Americas industrial prowess,had been on that road for decades.
If some Detroiters were reassured when Chrysler and GM reemerged from their recent post-Lehman bankruptcies,their city has finally stepped into the unknown. Unlike a corporate bankruptcy,a municipal bankruptcy cant countenance liquidation. Yet,as some say,Detroit is finally executing a fix,no matter how painful. Detroits fall may have come just when the private sector had begun to pick up,but therein lies redemption for a city that lived fast and died young. As French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre portray in their seminal photo essay on Detroit in Time magazine,there is beauty and hope amid the horror of urban decline.
