tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61472552268312352552024-03-17T20:04:31.313-07:00nailhedDedicated to telling the stories of the faded empire of Michigan through its ruins and remote, forgotten places. With attitude, of course.nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.comBlogger542125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-51244807381780275582022-04-23T06:03:00.001-07:002022-08-20T18:48:58.521-07:00 Welcome to nailhed.comChoose a menu option from the tabs above, or select a post from the Archive list to the right.This website is meant to be viewed in web format.For my international fans, a translator bar is available at bottom of the page. If you're sad that I don't really post anything new anymore, go to my Facebook page and follow the random photos I have been posting lately. They feature random content nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-66295565269041704412022-04-23T06:02:00.007-07:002022-07-29T02:38:53.133-07:00The "Other" Dequindre CutNot far from downtown, on the city's west side, there is another overgrown old railroad cut full of graffiti and homeless people, just like how the Dequindre Cut used to be before it was gentrified. Granted, this one is smaller, but it is also about to be gentrified, so I guess I'll bring it to you now before that happens. By the way, I explored the Dequindre Cut in an older post.I'll admit I nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-61415457547438746442021-07-14T05:01:00.003-07:002021-07-14T05:41:37.642-07:00Hittin' The BricksOn a recent trip up north I decided to take a break in Grand Ledge on my way back downstate, to see if I could finally see the grand ledges of Grand Ledge, as well as the ruins of an old brick works I had been meaning to check out. After passing through the attractive historic downtown and entering a neighborhood of Victorian houses, I found an unassuming city park at the end of an nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-59810783192336802092021-07-11T06:07:00.000-07:002021-07-11T06:07:56.621-07:00Steering the WorldIn the town of Onaway, Michigan, there are the ruins of a factory that was once the biggest producer of steering wheels in the world, the American Wood Rim Co. In recent years the Moran Ironworks next-door has made Onaway "roadside famous" for the strange metal sculptures they produce in their apparently abundant spare time. Partnering with the local Awakon Federal Credit Union, they formed "nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-20781947942747965482021-06-03T02:00:00.007-07:002021-06-03T09:09:05.353-07:00Exodus Okay, so here goes some new stuff that I had sitting on my desktop for awhile, and a little outside of my usual repertoire. But hey, take it for what it is.You've seen me wander though all kinds of old musty historic skyscrapers, so how about a brand-new one that's just been freshly vacated? Standing next to Fairlane Mall, the Fairlane Plaza South office tower is one of the tallest buildings in nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-7151203806737584912021-01-29T14:18:01.270-08:002022-04-23T06:06:01.750-07:00The Corner of 13th & 13thThis was a place that Navi and I had scrutinized once before, sometime around 2016. At the time we couldn't be sure whether it was abandoned or not. It was right next to the railroad tunnel to Canada, so it was an interesting little nook of the city and I was pretty sure no one else had been inside. But recently I happened to cruise through there again and noticed that the front door was propped nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-3280042520354066392020-12-18T13:57:00.011-08:002020-12-25T06:56:33.955-08:00Flour Power in the History HourDespite the extremely mundane appearance of this series of structures at 17th & Warren Avenue on Detroit's west side, the land they sit on has a bit of a history to it.
The last use seems to have been Jag Auto Parts salvage house (judging by the painted sign on the wall), but some of the structures standing here suggest a much older origin. For what it's worth, Bull Auto Parts still nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-81209673904987216192020-12-06T19:26:00.003-08:002020-12-18T14:19:30.360-08:00Any Port In A StormEven for those of us who have really gotten over the whole "UE" thing, sometimes you just need a quick spot to drink that 40 while it's still cold, and light a small fire to pass some hours with an old friend on a chilly winter's night.
The c.1921 Sanborn maps for Detroit call this place the Michigan Pressed Brick Co., "manufacturers of sand lime brick," located at 4500-4524 nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-44519047774869279782020-11-17T16:47:00.000-08:002020-11-17T16:47:22.432-08:00Packard: 2007, Part CCLICK HERE to return to the Packard Portal
CLICK HERE for the Packard Map
Now let's take a look inside some of those shed buildings in the south end of the plant. Buildings 40-50, and Al's Place:New Center and Milwaukee Junction seen over Building 92A:Inside there was more light than expected, thanks to these glass panels in the roof, even though they had been painted over at one point:
The nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-56763487139327865092020-11-17T16:40:00.001-08:002020-11-17T16:50:50.885-08:00Packard: 2007, Part BCLICK HERE to return to the Packard Portal
CLICK HERE for the Packard Map
Hidden architecture in the Land Before Time:
On Building 39, this sign reads, "Michigan Industrial Electronics, 5300 Bellevue Ave."
Abandon all hope, ye who enter the south end here:
Looking up the southern face of Building 92:
I remember finding a T3 headlight out of a classic GM car on the floor here by the door on mynailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-1574247761634625652020-11-17T16:36:00.001-08:002020-11-17T16:52:10.883-08:00Packard: 2007, Part ACLICK HERE to return to the Packard Portal
CLICK HERE for the Packard MapI am somewhat sad to say that beginning with these three Packard posts for 2007, there will not be as much storytelling, reciting of historical factoids, or verbose pontification as previous posts, since I pretty much exhausted my storehouse of that stuff. So the subsequent posts will mainly be a slideshow of my old photos,nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-23263627979901551612020-10-16T05:55:00.001-07:002020-10-19T06:36:05.356-07:00The Powers of Air, and WaterAlger County was originally laid out in 1850 and was part of Schoolcraft County until it was organized in 1885, named after Russell Alger, a patriarchal Detroit lumber baron who was governor of Michigan that year. Au Train was its first county seat until 1901 or 1902 when it moved to Munising. The county embraces the famous Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, more than a dozen waterfalls, and 250 nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-69040779417266400462020-06-20T18:25:00.001-07:002022-11-13T12:38:38.034-08:00Mr. Midtown RisinWhile out and about on foot in the New Center area late one night, I was arrested by the sight of something I did not expect. Through a storefront window my girl and I noticed that a recently gutted building had been hiding a secret...
It sorta looked like an old ballroom or theater used to be in here, but Sanborn maps of the area from 1921 just show a row of unnamed storefronts here. The oldnailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-25985559433410129562020-05-29T11:24:00.001-07:002020-05-29T11:27:39.389-07:00The Pandemic Blues, Part 2CLICK HERE to go back to Part 1
In my first post about Maybury Sanatorium I told the history of the institution, and showed you four old houses that used to be part of the hospital complex, which are now demolished. In this second episode I will show you some of the other ruins of the sanatorium that can still be found in the woods today. I had heard a rumor years ago that there was still nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-68407363980698541732020-05-22T07:43:00.000-07:002020-05-30T07:19:12.634-07:00Little IndianaPhotos from April 2006.
The year 2006 was the first time Chisel and I were able to pull ourselves out of the Packard Plant's considerable gravitational field and manage to explore this handful of handsome buildings that sat practically next-door. We assumed that they were originally part of the Packard Motors complex, but I later learned this was not the case.
The white building on the nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-88522604992791061012020-05-14T14:26:00.003-07:002020-08-02T01:27:01.887-07:00Packard: 2006, Part ACLICK HERE to return to the Packard Portal
CLICK HERE for the Packard Map
Welcome to the second chapter of my Packard saga. The year 2006 was the first year I used a digital camera. Contextually speaking, it was also the first year that "urban exploring" in Detroit began to get big, and we suddenly weren't alone anymore. Graffiti began to increase exponentially, and so did vandalism. The nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-15377419818232241602020-05-14T14:26:00.000-07:002020-07-16T19:31:08.318-07:00Packard: 2006, Part BCLICK HERE to return to the Packard Portal
CLICK HERE for the Packard Map
Welcome to Part B of the second chapter of my Packard saga, covering the year 2006. If you missed Part A, CLICK HERE.
This was when we were becoming a little more brazen, since we never used to just walk around outside the plant. Again, 2006 was the first year that the Packard was not guarded by security men.
Inailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-65900813663116304682020-05-14T10:38:00.001-07:002020-12-19T19:04:36.144-08:00Trial By FireFor awhile I couldn't believe this place on West Warren Avenue was abandoned. Then I remembered, "Oh wait, this is Detroit."
It's the old Detroit Fire Department Training School and Fire College, last used by the fire department in 2014. It was built in 1930-1931 and designed by Hans Gehrke who also designed many of the familiar Peoples' State Bank branches across the city, as well as almost nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-30000874730504385102020-05-14T08:01:00.002-07:002020-05-14T08:58:17.725-07:00Houses of the Holy, Pt. 2Originally posted December 30, 2009.
One of the grandest churches in the city of Detroit (and the third oldest parish) is Old St. Mary’s. In the heart of what is now Greektown, it originated in 1834 under the Swiss-German missionary Fr. Martin Kundig for a large group of German Catholics who were arriving from the farming village of Neustadt.
The land was acquired from Antoine Beaubien nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-21084584693841774292020-04-21T19:58:00.000-07:002020-06-23T19:20:16.845-07:00Packard: 2003-2005All photos scanned from 35mm film, taken between 2003 and 2005.
CLICK HERE to return to the Packard Portal
CLICK HERE for the Packard Map
The Packard Plant...the name alone is infamous enough. One of the world's most notorious abandoned structures. Certainly one of the most foreboding-looking. Definitely one of the biggest. The sight of it coming into view as one drives east on I-94 is ominousnailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-38902178674304367852020-04-17T10:14:00.000-07:002020-05-29T11:25:26.563-07:00The Pandemic Blues, Part 1
Photos date from March 2005.
Some of you may be familiar with the fact that Maybury State Park used to be the Maybury Sanatorium, a tuberculosis hospital up in the hills of Northville, far northwest of Detroit. It was bounded by 7 Mile and 8 Mile Roads, between Beck and Napier Roads, in the far upper-left corner of Wayne County, on the highest elevation of land within the county. There isn't nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-3411961743208193522020-04-16T12:30:00.003-07:002020-12-18T14:18:37.764-08:00Wait A Minute Mister PostmanThere seems to be this thing where my friend Navi comes to town more often now, and the expectation of exploring new stuff pushes the limits of our ability to locate and check out new and interesting spots (that are also within our geriatric skill level, and lethargic ambition level). Sometimes I just cruise around aimlessly until we either get tired or spot something that looks like a good placenailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-52949315214086183892020-03-21T10:50:00.002-07:002020-03-21T11:02:19.520-07:00Basketball or Building CadillacsExterior shots from March 2013; interior shots from January 2015
Detroit's Southwestern High School was built in two halves. You can see both here, on Fort Street...
...on the left is the more modern half, built in 1921, while on the right is the older building, built as the John Nordstrum High School in 1915. Both were designed by the local architects Malcomson & Higginbotham, thenailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-27110221104525188402020-03-19T20:20:00.002-07:002020-04-02T06:28:46.485-07:00The MothershipPhotos from 2011.
There are other urbexy websites out there that have already covered the famous Phelps Lounge in Detroit, but the history they offer focuses mainly on the bar's most recent era, and the fact that it was where George Clinton turned the Parliaments into the Funkadelics. Another website even says that the structure at 9000 (9006) Oakland Ave. was built in 1945, which isn't true. nailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147255226831235255.post-36999279109337587402020-03-15T17:49:00.001-07:002020-03-19T15:47:25.066-07:00Houses of the Holy, Pt. 1Photos from 2019.
So if you've been tuning in to nailhed.com since the beginning, you may have noticed that there was a crescendo of both increasing quality and increasing quantity in the posts that I was writing through 2014 up to like 2017...and then a slow, disappointing decline, and then almost like a sudden shutoff-notice in 2019, where I must have gotten evicted or somethingnailhedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07339834717269186348noreply@blogger.com0