Motor City is Burning

I always stop to take a picture of any "Steve's" I run across; this one in Cleveland is by far the best. And the front window proved prophetic: Steve's (my) lunch today consisted of coffee and hot dogs. For dessert, Steve (I mean, I) drove to the nearby Elmwood Home Bakery (as seen in the awesome American Splendor), but it was closed today.

Headed out west on the Ohio Turnpike, where I checked out the beautiful downtown home of the Toledo Mudhens (Tacoma should do something similar for the Rainiers). Then up into Michigan (bringing my states-I've-visited count to 34), driving past the monstrous Michigan Stadium and the communal houses where the Stooges and the MC5 lived in Ann Arbor, and then passing the Uniroyal Giant Tire along I-94 on the way into Detroit -- time to roll 'em up.

Here's what's left of Tiger Stadium, which I wish I got to see intact before its demolition began earlier this year:

And the exterior:

A few blocks away is the creepy Michigan Central Station, built in 1913, closed in 1988, and has since been heavily stripped and vandalized, and it seems to be crumbling.

It was fenced-and-barbed-wired off, but I heard the occasional breaking of glass coming from deep within, which spooked me in a haunted-house sort of way.

My inner-city driving tour also took me past the Hotel Yorba, the Grande Ballroom, and Hitsville U.S.A.. Downtown, I walked around the outside of the new Tigers stadium (where, oddly enough, I saw a stray cat scurrying down a concourse), and Ford Field (where the Hawks and Stones appeared at Super Bowl XL).

Finally, I took a spin on the clunky People Mover. I've heard it described as a monorail, but I can confirm that it's not. The cars runs on two rails.