The Detroit Harbor Terminal is a 10-storey tall cold storage warehouse on the bank of the Detroit River. It was built in 1925 in order to store goods delivered by cargo ship prior to them being loaded onto freight trains. On one side of the building is a single storey extension that houses the array of compressors used to pump liquid ammonia coolant around the huge structure when it was in use.
Ownership of the port and buildings changed hands many times in the decades it was active, but the port and warehouse were finally closed down in 2003. In 2005 the port was reopened and nowadays handles mainly steel cargo for the automobile industry in Detroit, however the former cold storage facility has remained closed throughout and to this day. The north and east sides of the warehouse carry huge adverts for the Boblo Island amusement park ferry service which operated from an adjacent dock and was discontinued in the 1990s, hence it's 'unofficial' but more widely recognised moniker of 'The Boblo Building' or the Boblo Island Warehouse.
There have been several fire inside over the years, the largest being in 2008, however the reinforced concrete and steel construction of the buildings interior means that very little damage has been done. The building is nigh on indestructable as it was designed to carry thousands of tonnes of cargo with the reinforced columns spreading the load across the entire building. The Port of Detroit want to reopen it as an additional storage facility but as and when is anyones guess.
One of the many places I wanted to see in Detroit was here, at sunrise - the opportunity to watch the sun rise over both America and Canada at once was something I couldn't pass up. So we got up extra early to ensure adequate time to arrive and get in and most importantly scale ten flights of stairs to the roof before sunrise. We initially didn't think we'd get in as the fence had been newly repaired but we found a way in staring us in the face after looking at it more closely, and we made it to the top with moments to spare. The rooftop can be a little sketchy though as border security officers patrol the river in boats, and whilst in Detroit nobody else really bothers you, they will, and they will make your life a misery too.
After watching the sunrise we went through the rest of the huge building - the floors are all very samey but with some decent graffiti as expected including stuff by some of Detroit's most well known artists such as Germo and Phybr, however the highlight was the compressor room without a shadow of a doubt.
Thanks for looking
Ownership of the port and buildings changed hands many times in the decades it was active, but the port and warehouse were finally closed down in 2003. In 2005 the port was reopened and nowadays handles mainly steel cargo for the automobile industry in Detroit, however the former cold storage facility has remained closed throughout and to this day. The north and east sides of the warehouse carry huge adverts for the Boblo Island amusement park ferry service which operated from an adjacent dock and was discontinued in the 1990s, hence it's 'unofficial' but more widely recognised moniker of 'The Boblo Building' or the Boblo Island Warehouse.
There have been several fire inside over the years, the largest being in 2008, however the reinforced concrete and steel construction of the buildings interior means that very little damage has been done. The building is nigh on indestructable as it was designed to carry thousands of tonnes of cargo with the reinforced columns spreading the load across the entire building. The Port of Detroit want to reopen it as an additional storage facility but as and when is anyones guess.
One of the many places I wanted to see in Detroit was here, at sunrise - the opportunity to watch the sun rise over both America and Canada at once was something I couldn't pass up. So we got up extra early to ensure adequate time to arrive and get in and most importantly scale ten flights of stairs to the roof before sunrise. We initially didn't think we'd get in as the fence had been newly repaired but we found a way in staring us in the face after looking at it more closely, and we made it to the top with moments to spare. The rooftop can be a little sketchy though as border security officers patrol the river in boats, and whilst in Detroit nobody else really bothers you, they will, and they will make your life a misery too.
After watching the sunrise we went through the rest of the huge building - the floors are all very samey but with some decent graffiti as expected including stuff by some of Detroit's most well known artists such as Germo and Phybr, however the highlight was the compressor room without a shadow of a doubt.
Thanks for looking
