Historic Detroit

Every building in Detroit has a story — we're here to share it

Michigan Central Station - Pre-Renovation Photos

The Central Station during sunrise in Nov. 2016

Michigan Central Station Winter Festival 3D light show in 2019

Tiger Stadium falls, looking west on Michigan Avenue toward Michigan Central Station on April 17, 2009.

Michigan Central Station Sep 2016

Michigan Central in September 2018

Facade detail shot from Nov. 2016 during blue hour in the morning

On Feb. 7, 2013, a window was installed at the top of the station. A sign of things to come? Or just a tease?

The grand facade of Michigan Central Station

A hallway in the office tower

The waiting room of Michigan Central Station

The cornice of Michigan Central Station

Hundreds of thousands of people passed here on their way to trains that huffed and puffed them away to distant locations.

The massive waiting room of Michigan Central

The ticket windows at Michigan Central Station

The lobby of Michigan Central

Michigan Central Station is perhaps the most infamous abandoned building in the world.

Sunlight bursts through broken glass into the waiting room

The waiting room

One of the upper floors in the empty office tower

The rear elevation of Michigan Central Station as seen from the air

Michigan Central has been ravaged by scrappers and vandals.

The front of MCS has been landscaped.

The grand window inside the MCS lobby

The ticket windows at Michigan Central Station

Another angle at the North facade ca. 2010

The lobby and waiting room of MCS

Elevator shaft ca. 2010

A light display illuminates MCS on Jan 21, 2019

MCS' waiting room

The main entrance to MCS

Michigan Central Station aerial shot during a stormy sunset in 2015

Michigan Central during renovation. Shot from a distant vantage point.

In the fall of 2012, Michigan Central Station's exterior was illuminated with architectural lighting.

The massive windows in the waiting room

The ghostly beauty of Michigan Central on a foggy morning

MCS as seen from the CPA Building

The lobby of MCS lit up at night

Michigan Central Station stands alone along Michigan Avenue

Michigan Central in the winter snow.

Fog fills a room in the office tower