Thursday, April 16, 2009

Stealth Yearbook


Welcome to Beautiful Flint employs a simple concept. Once a year, in a single post, the blog features random photos of Flint without tag lines or explanations. It's a fascinating exercise for expatriates. It brings back some memories and you're often left trying to figure out exactly where this or that building—or vacant lot—is located. And although it can be a little depressing, it's worth checking out. It's like a stealth yearbook for the city.




6 comments:

  1. VVürstsydæ VVårlørdæApril 16, 2009 at 2:52 PM

    Great. More abandoned building porn. You can thank the digital camera and "urban exploration" for that. I'm guilty of being an urban decay pornographer myself.

    The top photo is on Avenue A just off of Saginaw St. Always reminded me of a castle. Sure enough its been a personal favorite since the early 80s. Coincidentally, I watched it burn on Devil's Night 95 or 96... luckily it still stands... or maybe not. Ahh, enough with the sentimentality and pipes dreams of a revived Flint- tear the mofo down.

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  2. I still stand by my half-baked idea that water shortages will revive Michigan someday.

    And I know I should tire of this abandoned building porn, but it just keeps working for me.

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  3. Love this stuff, keep it coming. Always thought that top building was interesting.

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  4. So Gordie, I'm assuming that you must be investing in housing near water in Michigan then? Buy low while it's hot, and you'll be the Warren Buffett of the future. :D

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  5. If you're curious about what most of Flint looked like last summer, Google Maps now has street view for the city. I saw the car driving around last summer, so that's when they were taken.

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  6. "Abondoned building porn". That's funny!

    I'm not sure your idea about water shortages is half baked Gordie. Maybe it's more like 1/64th baked. Down here in Narlins they had 24 feet too much water a couple of years ago. BTW, I'm getting bombarded with visit Michigan ads while watching CNN and ESPN. Michigan.org not Michigan.gov???

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.