Lafayette Building Demolition

**ghettopalmetto** · December-28-09, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by spirit2028

I happened to be downtown on Saturday and heard some rumbling so I figured they were working on the Lafayette Building. Here is a short video just shortly after a huge chunk had come crashing down. They stopped work for awhile as they assessed the situation but I was still a little wary of traveling eastbound on Michigan Avenue. They have a buffer of the sidewalk and 1 lane of traffic blocked off. They may want to consider extending that buffer zone just to be on the safe side. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENJmvQHKcKM

See! It's obvious the Lafayette Building was structurally unsound!

**Patrick** · December-28-09, 01:34 PM

Has the park that they're creating by demolishing the LB been named yet?

Fukker Park

**gumby** · December-28-09, 02:10 PM

Hope no one was hurt. That said It too bad it didn't crush Adamo's machine.

**buildingsofdetroit** · December-28-09, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by ghettopalmetto

See! It's obvious the Lafayette Building was structurally unsound!

9/11 Dee-troit style

**ventura67** · December-28-09, 09:36 PM

Funny how BC's parking garage looks like a windowless, abandoned building. Why bother taking the Lafayette down?

**Whitehouse** · December-28-09, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by gumby

Hope no one was hurt. That said It too bad it didn't crush Adamo's machine.

Kind of hoping this would happen.

Machine carnage without injuries.

**ventura67** · December-28-09, 10:56 PM

What's going to happen to that little red turd between Laf and the Coney. They tear the Lafayette down but not that??

**buildingsofdetroit** · December-28-09, 11:20 PM

Photo from about 3:30 p.m. today [[Dec. 28):
http://buildingsofdetroit.com/galler...ayette_056.jpg

**staticstate** · December-29-09, 03:04 AM

they should tie RIKRIK and WARD up in there.

**Fnemecek** · December-30-09, 11:27 AM

Park Inglot gets serious props for the excellent word play. Fukker Park is pure golden.

However, I still feel drawn to call the LB site Kilpatrick Park. It just seems appropriate.

**buildingsofdetroit** · December-30-09, 03:12 PM

They've ripped into the southern tower of the Lafayette today. It's about half-gone. She's really coming down fast now.
Pictures to be posted soon on BuildingsofDetroit.com.

**ventura67** · December-30-09, 09:28 PM

Stopped by today and just cannot believe they are tearing down a building that looks like it was in remarkable condition given its situation. Buildings in far worse condition have been remodeled [[Kales, Book Cadillac, Fort Shelby, the big theaters etc.).

I missed it- what is the jest of the reasoning behind this crime against urban preservation? Please fill me in.

MichMatters · December-30-09, 09:34 PM

Does anyone seriously think they are going to name this "park"? This will end up just as the Statler site "park" has. I guess it could be worse; they could have made this "park"..."park"ing a la the Madison Lenox. I guess they finally began to sprout the tiniest evidence of a sense of irony. lol

**buildingsofdetroit** · December-30-09, 10:24 PM

Pictures of today's destruction up at:
http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/pl...demolitionpics

[[As always, newest photos at the bottom.)
Looks like they're doing the same thing they did on the northern tower: Chewing deep into the tower and leaving the top alone. Last time they did that, there was a massive collapse and dust cloud.

**Fnemecek** · December-30-09, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by MichMatters

Does anyone seriously think they are going to name this "park"? This will end up just as the Statler site "park" has. I guess it could be worse; they could have made this "park"..."park"ing a la the Madison Lenox. I guess they finally began to sprout the tiniest evidence of a sense of irony. lol

When the DEGC announced their intention to demolish the Lafayette Bldg., they specifically stated that their intention was to convert this site into a park.

Of course, they never named this park that they're creating. The only name that I could think of was to call it the George Jackson Had A Few Million Bucks That He Didn't Know What To Do With So He Knocked Down A Historic Building Park. However, that doesn't really have much of a ring to it, which is why I started soliciting suggestions.

**Fnemecek** · December-30-09, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by ventura67

I missed it- what is the jest of the reasoning behind this crime against urban preservation? Please fill me in.

The official story is that the LB is so badly deteriorated that it could never be rehabilitated. Therefore, our Dear Leader at the DEGC decided to demolish it with the stated goal of converted it into a park.

The unofficial story is that the DEGC had some cash left over from their Super Bowl XL clean up fund that never got used. After a few years of it burning a hole in his pocket, our Dear Leader decided to demolish the LB because it can be seen from the Westin Book Cadillac. The fact that it wasn't a part of a designated historic district - and thus isn't subject to any outside review - probably had a lot to do with it as well.

MichMatters · December-31-09, 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by Fnemecek

When the DEGC announced their intention to demolish the Lafayette Bldg., they specifically stated that their intention was to convert this site into a park.

Oh, I realize that. I was being tongue-in-cheek about it all. I just can't imagine them doing much with it, hell, even naming it anything. If you guys are lucky, you may get a few park benches. Maybe, their irony meter will fail, again, as it often does, and they'll name it Lafayette Park. Maybe, it'll only fail slightly and they'll name it Lafayette Park the Second [[2.0).

**buildingsofdetroit** · January-02-10, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by staticstate

they should tie RIKRIK and WARD up in there.

New photos from today are up at: http://buildingsofdetroit.com/places...demolitionpics

Staticstate will be glad to know that "RIKRIK" is now just "KRIK"; a third of the southern tower is gone now. She's really, really coming down fast. At this rate she'll be gone by mid-January.

**staticstate** · January-04-10, 03:31 PM

is the red building between the lafayette and the coneys gonna be left up? who would want to hang out in a park with that eyesore next to it?

**buildingsofdetroit** · January-04-10, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by staticstate

is the red building between the lafayette and the coneys gonna be left up? who would want to hang out in a park with that eyesore next to it?

Yes, the building that once housed the Arcade Bar will survive. They went to great lengths - and most likely costs - to ensure that building wasn't damaged by falling Lafayette Building.

**Fury13** · January-04-10, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by ventura67

What's going to happen to that little red turd between Laf and the Coney. They tear the Lafayette down but not that??

The building with the closed Arcade Bar in it? That's not a bad building, really... it goes back about 100 years... it could be nice with a thorough washing and cleaning. The Arcade was a great old downtown bar... hope it reopens someday.

**buildingsofdetroit** · January-04-10, 10:27 PM

Video from today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcmNTtT_lYo

Photos from today, as always, up at www.buildingsofdetroit.com

**rjlj** · January-08-10, 03:21 PM

Tear-down is another bad break for Detroit

World media gets first hand look at Detroit tearing itself apart by it's own leaders.

http://www.freep.com/article/2010010...ak-for-Detroit

**buildingsofdetroit** · January-08-10, 03:28 PM

[quote=rjlj;108348]Tear-down is another bad break for Detroit

World media gets first hand look at Detroit tearing itself apart by it's own leaders.

http://www.freep.com/article/2010010...ak-for-Detroit[
/quote]

The Times reporter's original Tweet:
@nickbunkley Only in Detroit: http://twitpic.com/x7dnd

**ghettopalmetto** · January-08-10, 03:29 PM

"Bad break", my ass. This was a conscious decision that George Jackson made. Maybe he can explain his rationale to the media as well as he explained it to everyone in Detroit.

The media criticism isn't the problem in this instance. Frankly, I'm glad that people outside Detroit are waking up to the ridiculous bullshit that happens in the D on a regular basis. The City can't seem to find a motivation to set itself straight, so maybe Global Embarrassment is the last resort.