Left to rot: Detroit’s 40,000 abandoned and empty buildings awaiting demolition as decaying city nears bankruptcy
- Thousands of shops, homes and offices lie disused of Detroit's streets, awaiting demolition or renovation
- Buildings include historical temples and theatres, as well as one of the Michigan city's nursing centres
- Many of the buildings are covered in graffiti, while others are boarded up and falling into ruin
These eerie pictures shows some of the nearly 40,000 abandoned or empty buildings in Detroit, as they wait to be either demolished or renovated as the city nears the completion of its bankruptcy proceedings.
Thousands of shops, homes and offices sit empty and rotting on Detroit's streets, as well as two beautiful former synagogues - one of which had become a theatre.
Many of the dilapidated buildings are now covered with graffiti, while others are boarded up, with the sad signs of once bustling local stores fading in the sun.
The Michigan city filed for chapter nine bankruptcy on July 18 last year, becoming the largest municipal bankruptcy by debt in U.S. history. This debt is estimated at around $18-20billion.
Chapter nine bankruptcy is the chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code designed for towns and cities which aims to help them restructure their debts.
The city's progress is currently being threatened as a major creditor is objecting to the debt restructuring plan, who say it will fail, and they want it ditched before the trial, which is due to begin next week.
Detroit's bankruptcy is down to problems which started all the way back in the 1950s, with elected officials failing to make important economic and political decisions that might have saved it from the state it is in today.
The once great city of Detroit is now full of abandoned and empty buildings which are falling into ruin as its bankruptcy proceedings near completion
Many of the Michigan city's buildings are now covered with graffiti and sit eerily empty - like part of a ghost town
The former Temple Beth El on Woodward Avenue was a synagogue used between 1922 and 1973. Beth El, founded in 1950, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Michigan
This building is now covered with graffitied words, including 'care' in huge stencilled lettering, 'September 11' and also 'justice' and 'the local police'
There are thousands of houses left empty, including this pair of beautiful former homes, one of which has been bricked up and is being invaded by ivy
Share this article
The Bonstelle Theatre on Woodward Avenue was the Temple Beth El between 1902 and 1922, before it became a theatre used by Wayne State University. It is influenced by Roman and Greek temples, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982
An old shop's signs fade in the sun - a sad reminder of what Detroit once was as the city becomes the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history
Around 40,000 buildings in the city are abandoned or empty, and will now either be demolished or renovated as Detroit looks to rebuild
The word 'chaos' is appropriately spray painted on a building which used to house the Woodward Nursing Center
Detroit is the largest city by population to ever file for chapter nine bankruptcy in the USA. Its population has declined from 1.5m in 1950 to around 700,000
The bankruptcy is also the largest municipal bankruptcy by debt in U.S. history. This debt is estimated at around $18-20billion
Before Detroit, the largest chapter nine bankruptcy filing in America was by Jefferson County, Alabama in 2011, which had around $4billion worth of debt
The city is now swathed with huge expanses of wasteland and rubble, as people leave their homes and find a new city to live in
Entire streets have been deserted, and it looks like it will be a long way back for Detroit to reclaim its former glory
Most watched News videos
- Travel chaos as flights traveling to Heathrow diverted
- Dramatic moment pilot turns flight back heading to Heathrow Airport
- Global travel chaos as Heathrow shuts down
- Huge blaze as fire hits electricity substation near Heathrow
- Moment drunk barmaid sobs 'who's dead?' after killing friend
- Indiana mom boards bus and brutally beats son's 14-year-old bully
- Heathrow power outage after electricity substation fire
- Man fears brother is his son after sexually assaulted by mom in teens
- Joe Rogan breaks with Trump after calling out 'ridiculous' stance
- Dramatic moment Marcin Majerkiewicz arrested whilst on bus by cops
- Dramatic aerials from near Heathrow following fire at substation
- Fire brigade give update on Heathrow shutdown after huge fire
70 years of the democrats running the city and thi...
by panzer 224