Another year, another walk up and down the blasted streets of Detroit. Another Bleat tradition. Alas.

At first glance, not bad!

Catholic Charities, it says.

In need of some charity of its own now.

Elegant, civilized, historic, ruined, an empty embassy of a long-gone empire.

That’s the dandiest thing. Once a bank, I’m sure.

JAYE DEE’S MART says the faded sign.

I’m curious about the interior. What was left, if anything. You assume anything of monetary value was stripped long ago, but vandals or squatters won't care about some decorative plaster bits. But it's probably rotted and gone.

It’s almost begging you to stay away, because horrible things have happened here.

		The original details are still sharp, above all the darkness.

Mostly closed, then entirely so.

Decline like this is hard to reverse.

f it was a bank, it was a branch. Now it looks like a drive-up Roman temple.

It’s probably been not-a-bank for half a century.

Three tidy little citizens, two of which were modernized.

Probably helped for a while. Shep had the nicest facelift, because it was total and clean and redid the whole thing. The building on the right looks like an old man who's hiked his pants up to her sternum.

None of this was necessary or inevitable, you know.

Probably lots of parking available now.

Another simple facade, maybe late 40s or 60s, with a Hee-Haw wood ruination.

When you can’t keep the lights on in this business, well.

Well, if things turn up, the solid building on the corner could be rehabbed -

Or not

As of press time, the remaining structure could be brought back to life.

Block after block after block of emptiness . . .

. . . and ruin . . .

But now and then, yes! A sign of commercial activity.

Mostly this, though.

Someone's hard-fought accomplishment, once upon a time:

It’s like the building just threw up its entire past.

Not even the church is spared; illiterate scrawls abound.

A reasonable reaction.

And now the words you've been waiting to hear: more next week!