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This site is located in a fairly rural area 60 miles or so southwest of Detroit. It opened in 1948, and closed somewhere in the 2013-2014 range. Most of the buildings date from the early '50s. For those 60+ years it evolved from a home for troubled boys into a juvenile correctional facility. It was always operated by an order of Catholic Priests, but pretty sure they contracted with the State of Michigan as well.
The campus reminded me of a small community college. The grass is still being cut occasionally, but otherwise it is empty. Three of the 15 or so buildings were accessible: The food service building/cafeteria, the church, and a school/recreation building.
All buildings were completely brimming with artifacts, as though the people who lived at and ran this place just got up and walked away one day. The township and the state are currently fighting over what this site will become next, with the state wanting to re-use it for corrections, and the township residents rejecting this.
The most striking items to me were the graffiti (from students, not taggers) and something called "The Book of the Names of the Dead" in the church, in which students were encouraged to write messages to loved ones that they had lost. Anyone from the area can easily identify via roads and geographic locations referenced in the graffiti/book the fact that a good chunk of the kids here were from Detroit.
This was really an amazing explore. You could truly get a feel for the lives of the people who spent time living here. Here goes...
The overall feel of the place:
 
The church exterior and general interior:
  
Strangely, there was some sort of makeshift apartment in the back of the church with beds, couches, wardrobes, newspapers from 2013, Taco Bell hot sauce packets. Also closets full of vestments and other church artifacts:
   
At the rear of the church, where you walk in the door, was The Book of the Names of the Dead, and some student (inmate?) graffiti. The Book really got me...
      
The school/rec center:
        
Food service training center/cafeteria:
    
A couple of final shots outside - bball courts, the pool, the gymnasium, football field, 1953 cornerstone:
    
Hope everyone likes this as much as I enjoyed exploring and learning about this site!
[last edit 8/9/2020 3:55 AM by jgomez12 - edited 1 times]
Best Regards | |
This looks really cool. I live in Northeast Ohio and was thinking of maybe taking a weekend trip to go explore this place. I was wondering if you could provide more info on where this thing is.
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Hello, and welcome to UER!
Just a head's up, it's typically frowned upon to just hand out details and locations to new people. There are a variety of reasons for this, but basically, it is important to keep most places on the down low, in order to prevent it from being vandalized, scrapped, burnt down, etc. Posting details online, especially for someone without any established cred is iffy.
Now, i'm not saying you're bad person or looking to cause any destruction, but you'd have better luck after first adding to the community with stories and such. Perhaps start with checking out the "Rookie" section and introduce yourself. Happy explores!
"When it rains, just find bigger drains." | |
Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely keep that in mind next time.
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