East Side Public Library, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
After just posting the cheerful repurposing of the chest of drawers below, I came across here a series of wonderful photographs depicting what appears to be a whole city in need, desperate need, of repurposing and rejigging. This is not just one photo essay. Here is another by a different photographer. Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino hints at the urban decay facing Detroit. But we see nothing like this.
For me, the scariest picture of all was the one above. As a book-lover, knowledge gnome, information junkie and former librarian, I wondered why - even if the building was vacated - why no one packed up the books and put them into appropriate storage.
For me, the scariest picture of all was the one above. As a book-lover, knowledge gnome, information junkie and former librarian, I wondered why - even if the building was vacated - why no one packed up the books and put them into appropriate storage.
Clearly, Detroit is still there. It is not the end of the world - but (as the saying goes) you sure can see it from here.
Is this the fate of globalised, post-industrialised economies?
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