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Detroit Then and Now
Celebrating America's favorite cityscapes, this series combines historic interest and contemporary beauty. Then and Now features fascinating archival photographs contrasted with specially commissioned, full-color images of the same scene today. A visual lesson in the historic changes of our greatest urban landscapes.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 30, 2019
The book presents before (mainly, early 20th century) and after (late 20th century) photographs of Detroit. The earlier building structures struck me as impressive edifices, worthy of a rapidly industrializing city. Most of these buildings are now gone. The book’s narrative captures this movement of time by some fairly standardized language: “came down,” “torn down,” “replaced,” “felled by a wrecking ball,” “today the corner is home to…,” “the imposing structure stood here,” “demolished to make way for…,” “razed to make room for…,” “arose from this site,” “office buildings replaced the church spires,” “now vacant,” “left unprotected to the ravages of time,” “stands on this site,” etc. A few of these old buildings remain, but these are buried among replacement structures that are more functional, and lacking in inspiration. I liked looking at the old pictures, not the new ones. There’s some nostalgia about the loss of these old buildings and structures, but I suppose the native Americans who lived in the area back then would have expressed similar sentiments about those same buildings that replaced their natural environment.
One of the pictures shows where Vernor’s Ginger Ale got started, which explains my mother’s answer to my question, “What is your favorite soft drink.” She grew up in Detroit. Another picture is of Grace Hospital, which “was the first in Detroit to practice homeopathic medicine,” which might have something to do with my Grandfather’s interest in that form of medicine. Another picture is of a building where Wonder Bread (sliced) got started.
One of the pictures shows where Vernor’s Ginger Ale got started, which explains my mother’s answer to my question, “What is your favorite soft drink.” She grew up in Detroit. Another picture is of Grace Hospital, which “was the first in Detroit to practice homeopathic medicine,” which might have something to do with my Grandfather’s interest in that form of medicine. Another picture is of a building where Wonder Bread (sliced) got started.
November 13, 2022
"Detroit" brought to mind many things as I read it. It was a book of photographic/explanational befores and afters.
My father grew up in Detroit, and my grandparents and aunts and uncles all lived there. I knew how to pronounce all of the French words that dated back to the 1700's. I had visited there. What I found out the most was that the "before" photos and the "after" photos. Beautiful buildings, most built by Albert Kahn, that I would have loved to go into, especially the churches, old homes, and parks, and how I would look at the next page and see that it was in terrible disrepair, or was being torn down. I saw the old "Tiger Stadium" baseball park, which I visited many times, and then I knew that it had been torn down. Sometimes people resisted the changes, and raised money to save buildings in old Detroit. Others were simply moved out of the way, and torn down.
Reading this book also brought back so many memories. I will be able to read it over and over again.
My father grew up in Detroit, and my grandparents and aunts and uncles all lived there. I knew how to pronounce all of the French words that dated back to the 1700's. I had visited there. What I found out the most was that the "before" photos and the "after" photos. Beautiful buildings, most built by Albert Kahn, that I would have loved to go into, especially the churches, old homes, and parks, and how I would look at the next page and see that it was in terrible disrepair, or was being torn down. I saw the old "Tiger Stadium" baseball park, which I visited many times, and then I knew that it had been torn down. Sometimes people resisted the changes, and raised money to save buildings in old Detroit. Others were simply moved out of the way, and torn down.
Reading this book also brought back so many memories. I will be able to read it over and over again.
May 27, 2024
An enjoyable stroll through Detroit.
December 27, 2013
As someone else has said - I really wish they'd made more of an effort to take the modern photos from roughly the same place as the 'then' photos. If you're not familiar with Detroit (which I'm not - never been) it makes it very difficult to work out what on earth you're looking at when trying to match up old and new.
The information given was very dry and factual, but perfectly informative.
The book is a little outdated by now - the 'now' photo of Cass technical school shows it still in use when it was actually 'abandoned' in 2005 and has since been demolished. There could well be other 'now' changes that I'm unaware of.
I did like that this book included a greater variety of buildings than in 'Lost Detroit' - including some grander private residences.
I'm still in awe at the scale of most buildings in Detroit - honestly do people/cities really need such massive structures? I've never seen anything like it! I'm not surprised Detroit struggles financially - even if you don't take into account the motor industry aspect of it, those gigantic buildings must cost a sheer fortune in construction and maintenance.
I was also struck repeatedly by what a terrible state pretty much every road surface is in the modern photos, which doesn't say a lot for the fortunes of the city and makes the authors optimism seem maybe a little misplaced.
A highly interesting book, but much scope for improvement with regards to handling of the photos and could do with an update to reflect further changes to Detroit over the last decade.
The information given was very dry and factual, but perfectly informative.
The book is a little outdated by now - the 'now' photo of Cass technical school shows it still in use when it was actually 'abandoned' in 2005 and has since been demolished. There could well be other 'now' changes that I'm unaware of.
I did like that this book included a greater variety of buildings than in 'Lost Detroit' - including some grander private residences.
I'm still in awe at the scale of most buildings in Detroit - honestly do people/cities really need such massive structures? I've never seen anything like it! I'm not surprised Detroit struggles financially - even if you don't take into account the motor industry aspect of it, those gigantic buildings must cost a sheer fortune in construction and maintenance.
I was also struck repeatedly by what a terrible state pretty much every road surface is in the modern photos, which doesn't say a lot for the fortunes of the city and makes the authors optimism seem maybe a little misplaced.
A highly interesting book, but much scope for improvement with regards to handling of the photos and could do with an update to reflect further changes to Detroit over the last decade.
January 6, 2011
This pictorial work gives a glimpse back at some of Detroit's buildings in their heyday and in their current state. The author is optimistic that Detroit will recover but anyone who lived through latter part of the 20th century in Michigan may remain skeptical. I would have liked to see more residential areas since they show the shift more than the public buildings, but a good read for anyone from the area or those who are interested in Detroit.
December 3, 2010
I find this book has little effort to make the reference photographs line up. While the historical blurbs are not bad, the fact that the book was created to show Detroit's change from "then" until now via photography and little thought was given to them to make sure they are from the same vantage point really bugs me.
March 10, 2008
More of a picture/coffee table book than an actual "reading" book, the contrasts between past and present of my beautiful city are all portayed in a positive light - I only wish everyone could see these places - definitely recommended to all!
January 13, 2013
Very cool to be able to see some of the changes that have gone on around Detroit over the years. It's an ever changing ever evolving city that is on the rise again and will make a comeback if given the care it needs.
October 30, 2011
This is a wonderful gift for out of town visitors. Excellent pictures over the years.
January 23, 2015
An excellent book showcasing the positive changes in Detroit with photos and narrative. Great historical perspective.
August 2, 2009
Beautiful, melancholy photo chronicle of my hometown.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews