Imposing its will over the intersection of John R and Library, the Metropolitan Building, with its Neo-Gothic architecture, has been sitting in suspended animation for the better part of three decades. While most of the area just east of Woodward has experienced a new life in the past five years, there still remains the Metropolitan. Facing the Broadway People Mover station and sitting adjacent to the brand new Boyle Family YMCA, the Metropolitan is dwarfed by its neighbors in Capital Park: The Broderick Tower and the David Whitney Buildings. Though dwarfed in size, the Metropolitan is second to none in shear beauty and mystic feel.  
   
  During its life the Metropolitan symbolized the city’s great skill and dedication to quality. This granite and terra cotta brick goliath was once an office to some of Detroit’s finest upscale jewelers. Standing only 15 stories tall, its 3-tear roof offers fabulous views of the entire downtown area. Aside from the front windows being painted green with graffiti some years ago, the Metropolitan remains in great shape, ready to be renovated. Its structure is still as strong today as it was in 1925 when it was completed. The wood and drywall interior has been damaged far beyond repair. Water dripping from floor to floor has virtually melted the interior into a puddle of asbestos and mold. Large cast iron radiators are strung about the building, slowly being dismantled and hauled off to scrap yards for their value. In one upper floor there even remains a very large jewelers’ safe, locked tight and weighing an estimated half-ton, this might soon make its way to the melting caldron as well.
     
During one summer just after moving to the Downtown area I was walking the street late at night. From the intersection of Gratiot and Broadway I heard car tires squeal and a very large bang, then a pause and more squealing tires. I took off running down the ally that splits that block in half and watched as a group of men un-stacked a pile of iron radiators from inside the Metropolitan’s lobby and loaded them into a truck just outside. It appeared that they had used the truck, and some heavy chain to pull the boarded up-front façade away from the building. Directly behind what is now the finished YMCA, I watched these three men load their truck until it was full. Not a single person insight, I looked up toward the lofts that sit on Library, not one light on. Once the scrapers had made off with nearly a ton of old cast iron radiators, I couldn’t resist the opportunity for an exploration of the old Metropolitan building.  
   
 

A building I had long wanted to get into, I figured it was going to be easy now. I paced back and forth and decided to see if any police were actually going to come. Knowing full well most “major” scrap operations take place with some level of co-operation from the police they might not show at all. I returned home around 4 A.M. and made plans to check it out in the morning. I had no camera and no Mag-light, exploration would have been nearly impossible at that time anyway.

Up early the next morning I checked out the scene, coffee and camera in hand. I saw the 20’x10’ facade still in the street, lying just where the scrappers had left it. I also noticed that the city had sent a squad car to sit in front of the buildings entrance. A black, nearly unmarked car was sitting just east of the lobby entrance on John R. Now, that particular intersection is not just two straight roads intersecting. The last few blocks heading south on John R actually curve around to meet up at the lower end of Woodward. This last city block has a large curvature that is right where the Metropolitan sits. I noticed that the police car was sitting up on the sidewalk far to the east. Someone walking John R from the west toward the car would not be seen until after passing all the way by the open entrance.

     
I returned home once again and collected gear. Figuring that the chance of encountering hostel trespassers was not a problem. I figured the worst I had to worry about was waiting out the cops. I grabbed my Mag-light, camera, extra batteries and a warm hoodie. I packed my gear and took off toward Woodward. Coming in from the opposite side from which the police were stationed I hugged the wall leading to the entrance, then bolted in the near opening. I pushed myself to walk as far back into the darkness as possible before retrieving my flashlight. I could almost taste the cold dank air. It was like stepping back in time. All my senses were intoxicated. The level of adrenaline pumping through my blood had completely flipped my natural senses into overdrive. Hyper awareness of ones’ surroundings is key to survival.  

 

  

 
 

I stopped at the bottom of the main stairs just out of sight of the open entrance. I got my camera and light out of my bag, slipped on my hoodie. Even though it was 85 degrees outside, it was a chilly 40 degrees inside. I walked around the second floor for almost a half hour, peering out of a crack in a boarded up window, I kept my eyes on the police car. After I was certain that no one had seen my brazen entry I continued to wonder around the Metro for the better part of three hours. I can remember being able to see my breath until reaching the fourth floor. Always aware of the police still parked outside I kept away from that side of the building as much as my curiosity allowed. Once reaching the first of the three rooftops I was stunned by the size of the trees growing directly out of the roof. Much taller than myself I figured these urban invaders had been here for at least 10 years.

     

I took pictures of the limestone knight on the rooftop facing Broderick tower. Made by the hand of a skilled mason, this was what I knew I had come up here to see. I hung out on the roof for what seemed like an age and a half. Waiting the cops out and just enjoying my surroundings.

My plan was to wait out the cops until shift change, or something sooner. Shortly after midnight they pulled away. I was inside for almost eight hours. I took the brief opportunity that I had and scurried out in less than three and a half minutes. The cops left that night and never returned. Some local business owners took it upon themselves to lean the facade of plywood back up against the entrance to deter people from entering. Today the Metro sits boarded much the same; no plans or rumors of life are to speak of. Truly one of the great gothic buildings in this city it is too historical, too beautiful and too symbolic to let slip in to the abyss of despair that blankets the vast majority of Detroit.