Observation:  In a recent interview about ELM, I was asked what I thought about graffiti artists and urban explorers.  I really don’t have a major issue with either (I know I am one of them), but I also know both of those roles can help and hurt the city.  Graffiti artists using random buildings can add beauty, but also make it harder for a building to come back at the same time.  Most urban explorers are just looking for photo opportunities and to check things out, but no question some do damage at the same time, either accidental or on purpose.  Anyway, with ELM, I am trying to highlight all the art the city has to offer, but at the same time, I don’t want to encourage any extreme urban exploring, especially when it can be dangerous and in most cases, you are trespassing.  Personally, I only enter buildings that are fully open to the elements, but I avoid putting out too much detail that encourages people to do the same.  I know existing explorers will know many of these places, but I’m not trying to add to that collection.  All these pics today actually came from one building that I actually explored for four hours.  The building/complex was huge and while some of it may be salvaged one day, most of it will not, which is really a shame since you can tell it was active and alive not that long ago, and it now contains some great graffiti that will likely be torn down.

Distance:  00.00 miles

D-Fact:  At 439 feet, the J. L. Hudson Department Store, formerly of Detroit, holds the record for tallest building brought down with explosive demolition.  It was 29 stories above ground and 4 below.