When I travel to areas of great recession, decay, and abandonment around the Unites States I truly feel bad that I went mainly capture the decay. I always photograph the good and positive as well when I am in these cities but I’m drawn to the bad. I think for me it is about shooting something that is much different from what I can see easily near me in Wisconsin. I try to capture the usually strong feel I get when I’m there. I want to show how I feel through my photos. As an outsider coming into cities like Detroit and Braddock, I felt an overwhelming feeling of darkness and hopelessness. I had completely different feelings between Detroit and Braddock. Detroit I see a lot more hope, I saw a strong revolt against failing. They are definitely on their hands and knees slowly trying to push forward. Braddock is dead. The only heartbeat left in Braddock is the steel mill, a steel mill that doesn’t employ a single Braddock resident. It isn’t that the steel mill doesn’t hire local workers, it is that the steel mill’s workers move away from Braddock. The Edgar Thomson steel mill can be seen from almost anywhere you are in Braddock, the mill is Braddock. I did not see any hope for Braddock, 90% of the population is gone and I don’t foresee any of them coming back. I think that Braddock has an incredible mayor that is working very hard to save his city and I hope he wins.
Detroit gave me a different feel. It is also full of abandoned lots, decaying homes, burnt out houses and entire industrial complexes that are standing empty. The scale and number of abandonments in Detroit is mind numbing but there is a lot of good mixed in between the bad. That mixture makes a big difference compared to having complete areas of devastation like the coal towns in Southwestern West Virginia. Another thing that helps is that Detroit also has an incredible mix of architectural styles that adds so much interest and beauty to the city. The beauty of some of the these building completely overcomes the fire damage or decay. You don’t even notice it until you really look closer, almost a double take at times for me. But seeing abandoned skyscrapers really can mentally break a person. It is these building that are built to survive that now stand empty which made me realize how hard Detroit really was hit. It appears downtown Detroit has made a strong comeback from the research I have done which I hope they continue. Enjoy my images below and visit the links below to see more.
Detroit Fire Station 23
Abandoned Detroit Cathedral
Homes in Detroit’s Mansion District
Historic Home in Detroit
Artwork Along the Grand River Creative Corridor Project
Old Cadillac Hood Ornament With a Graffiti Backdrop
More photos from my Detroit Photography Project.
Virgin Mary in Braddock, PA
Steel Mill off Braddock Ave.
Steel City Pawn Brokers in Braddock
Former Site of the UPMC Braddock Hospital
US Steel Edgar Thomson Plant at Dawn
View of a Braddock Church Through an Alley
Castle Like Historic Home in Braddock
More photos from my Braddock Photography Project.
Through the creative lens of Travis Dewitz; he demonstrates time and time again how much splendor can be extracted from the interplay of the industrial world around us. In the most unusual and unexpected places Dewitz showcases images that embody the forgotten beauty of railways, factory floors, the rolling smoke of steel mills, and the cities that are built around them. He brings a certain magic as he invokes the very souls of these once-glorious industrial areas; his captures overflow with inspirational energy. Click here to view his personal series.
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Elisse Jo Goldstein-Clark
You actually made it look Less depressing that it is in “real life”. Gary, Indiana, Flint & Detroit, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois are now, in great measure, no-go zones of deadly drive-by danger that have deteriorated into anarchy. (Several years ago when I worked in northern Indiana I was informed that Gary was “the most dangerous city in America”; the last supermarket in the city had closed that week). I hope they can “come back”, but it would take some serious & passionate “sweat equity” & investment by the people who live there, and I don’t see that happening. Sadly, at this time nothing would get us to go to any of them, and it’s utterly heartbreaking, because we well remember them- not so long ago- as great cities. If ever there was an illustration of the “decline and fall”, it’s photos of these once-great cities.
Marcel de Lannoy
Detroit has (had) a treasure trove of fabulous architectural gems that tantalise the senses. It’s sorrowful, tragic state today, despite the encouraging renaissance, beggars belief. Like other Midwestern towns and cities that have fallen on pitiful times, I look on with profound horror and teary eyes. How could Americans have allowed their “magical” cities to disintegrate into veritable urban wastelands? Is it unthinkable that these cities could have been turned into tourist meccas for those eager to learn about the cultural heritage and history of the US? Looking from the Netherlands, I can hardly believe that large swathes of the richest country in the world resemble a third world country.
Emily Thompson
Hello Travis,
Back in the late 1980’s I sat in my small pick up truck and did a couple of water color paintings of the houses in
Detroit. I happened to paint a picture of the lone house on Ferry Street. You did a fine photograph of that house. I also painted three houses on Canfield. Unfortunately they were replaced with a less important structure-for parking. I sold that painting but took a few photos of it for keepsake. In fact I’ve produced some greeting cards of the image of the three houses. You would have like those homes. So much character in that old architecture. Detroit- even as parts fall apart is so visually rich.
Thank you for being an Artist.