The Association of Alternative Newsmedia held its annual convention in Detroit last week. A very strange city, indeed, and one with a downtown that makes downtown Memphis look like Paris. There are lots of architectural masterworks, most of which are empty shells. There is no retail to speak of, very few restaurants, maybe one or two coffee shops, if you know where to look.
There is magnificent public art — statuary, fountains — and lovely landscaping, with fresh plantings, flowers, ornamental trees, and a nice downtown ballpark. But there are few people on the sidewalks — a fact that is magnified at night. Three large casinos appear to some draw folks in, but a look around inside shows that penny slots are the dominant game of choice. A city that was once home to 2.5 million people now has a population of 700,000. And boy, are they spread out. I’ll write more in my column this week, but here are a few photos I took …
