The Late Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/04/brewster-douglass-projects-demolition-detroit_n_3865482.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Brewster-Douglass Projects
en.wikipedia.org

Hello Everyone:

We're going to stay in Detroit, Michigan for another post.  This time it's on the demolition of the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects.  The Brewster-Douglass Projects have been taken down.  Kate Abbey-Lambertz first reported in the Huffington Post on September 4, 2013 that the city of Detroit has been awarded $6.5 million by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to undertake the first stage of demolition.  The towers were seen from many vantage points around the Motor City.  To some, they were a much loved icon.  To others, they were symbolic of the city's decline.  For the few squatters that remained, they were home.  They were home to Detroit celebrities such as Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard-The Supremes-actress Lily Tomlin, and boxer Joe Louis practiced throwing punches in the recreation center.

Announcing the demolition
freep.com

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing was joined by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who, in a statement, announced, "The demolition of the Frederick Douglass Homes represents another important and positive step in Detroit's journey toward revitalization...We are honored to be a part of helping to write a new chapter for this community.  The people of Detroit are determined and resilient-and the Obama Administration is committed to supporting local leaders as they rebuild."  Closed since 2008, the Brewster-Douglass Housing Project were composed of four 15-story towers, two six-story buildings, and nearly 100 low-rise homes.  The housing project was the first federal housing development for African-Americans and broke ground in 1935.  The occasion was celebrated with a dedication from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.  According to former resident Barbara Battle Hunt, who told the New York Times in 1991, "The people of the surrounding areas thought were were the elites..."

Bittersweet end
discoverynews.tumblr.com

Families that first moved to the complex saw it as a piece of the American dream.  The lawns were tidy, crime was rare, people looked out for each.  There was a real sense of community.  Like many upwardly mobile families, people began to move out and crime grew in the aging projects.  Parts of the buildings have already been razed, despite the protests.  To many observers, the decaying towers came to represent urban blight and the glaring lack of funds to fix the problems.  In 2012, Mayor Bing announced that funding had been secured from HUD in order to take down the projects.  Mayor Bing made the commitment to raze 10,000 dangerous and abandoned structures at the beginning of his term.  In his announcement on September 4, 2013, Mayor Bing said, "This site has long been an eyesore and a breeding ground for crime in out city."

Taking a break from demolition
imgur.com

The projects have become a magnet for the curious and graffiti writers.  Recently, it hosted art experiments and skating rallies.  What will become of the site once the buildings are completely down is unknown.  According to the Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com), the demolition process could take up to a year to complete and will leave eighteen acres of land ready for development.  Last year, filmmaker Oren Goldenberg released Brewster Douglass, You're My Brother, a short documentary film examining the oft-forgotten parts of the projects, the squatters who still lived there and black church congregation on the site.  According to Mr. Goldenberg, "Things being torn down in Detroit seems like progress, but it all depends on what's built to replace them.  True enough.

Broken doll
flickr.com




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