Hotel Fort Wayne/American Hotel Ghost Signs in Detroit

This abandoned hotel on Cass Ave. at Temple in Detroit boasts two ghost signs for its two incarnations: the larger, painted Hotel Fort Wayne and the more modest American Hotel. More information about this building can be found here.

Mom & Pop’s Toy Shop Ghost Sign in Hamtramck

Mom & Pop’s Toy Shop was located in the heart of Hamtramck’s retail district on Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck being a separate town inside of Detroit, which was at one point mostly Polish, then seemed to become more hipster, with an influx of other ethnic groups and, on my last visit, seemed a bit barren, with more ghost signs than I’d expected.

Dabls’ African Bead Gallery and MBAD Museum

Dabls’ African Bead Gallery and MBAD Museum is located at and around 6559 Grand River Ave. on Detroit’s Near Westside. The outdoor installation spans a block of buildings, empty land, and the exteriors of two more buildings beyond, which are visible from I-96.

Buhl Building by Wirt C. Rowland

As far as I can tell, the Buhl Building seems to be considered one of Detroit’s lesser architectural gems, which is a shame because it’s gorgeous in its own right. Designed by Wirt C. Rowland, it’s located at 535 Griswold St., practically rubbing elbows with the Penobscot Building and the Guardian Building, both also designed by Rowland.

Elsewhere

Gift Guide For: The Kids: our 10 Seed Bombs with Slinger gets some love from Ivanka Trump herself!

Gifts That Give Back: more love from The Citizenry.

Cincinnati Gift Guide // A Few Of My Favorite Things…: plus, Cincinnati love from VB.

Northside Photo Show: worth checking out in Cincinnati tomorrow at Chicken Lays an Egg in Northside.

How to Make Transit Succeed in a Sprawling City: Calgary versus Dallas.

Urbanists Need to Face the Full Implications of Peak Car: on traffic levels in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

Detroit by Air: crazy photos.

VisuaLingual 2014 Gift Guide

It’s time for the annual VL Gift Guide and, as always, the focus is on the talented independent designers whose work we admire, including friends from Crafty Supermarket and a few cool peeps we met at Signature Mix in NYC earlier this year.

Elsewhere

Historic Brewery Demo ‘Would Be a Terrible Loss’: the Bavarian Brewing Co. in Covington, KY is at risk.

Businesses Get Custom Made Signs: Cincinnati’s CoSign works its magic on Covington businesses.

Put Back the Hole into the Fence on the Davis Sq. Bike Path: in my old stomping ground of Cambridge, MA, a petition to break something that was recently fixed, as well as the city’s response.

Federal Judge Rules Detroit Residents Have No “fundamental right” to Water: sliding toward the Third World, I guess.

‘Hi, Do You Have Water?’ In Central Calif., the Answer Is Often No: more on water.

Silicon Valley’s Newest Dating App Is ‘Tinder Without the Poor People’: also from California, “With the rise of high-speed digital dating, it’s about time somebody introduced a filter to weed out low-income prospects by neighborhood.”

Notes for Things to Not Forget: a lovely read from Walkers in the City.

New Morning by Al Loving

Located in the massive Broadway Junction MTA station in Brooklyn, New Morning by Al Loving consists of 75 stained glass panels plus a large glass mosaic mural wall.

Elsewhere

Charley Harper Art Adorns New Books by the Banks Poster: a nice gesture honoring one of Cincinnati’s most beloved artists.

St. Mark Catholic Church: photos of a beautiful abandoned Cincinnati church.

Get That Life: How I Became an Urban Farmer and Artist: a great Detroit story, and likely the only time I share something from Cosmo.

One Incredible Entrepreneur Saved This Struggling Neighborhood By Replacing Everyone in It with Affluent Twentysomethings: sound familiar?

Photos: Recently Uncovered Harlem Wall Reveals 1960s Artifacts: spoiler alert: ghost signs and posters.

Life After Brooklyn: the latest in this ongoing narrative.

Mapping the Very Best Art Deco Sprinkled Around DC: just that.

Elsewhere

UC Professor’s Project Is Labor of Love: tonight in the DeSales Corner parking lot, a free screening of films about some residents of Walnut Hills, Cincinnati.

The 2014 Letterpress Trail, Part One: we met Chicago-based Starshaped Press at Signature Mix earlier this year; last week, the crew visited Nashville and Cincinnati.

Giant Robot Returns to Downtown Cincinnati: Nam June Paik’s Metrobot returns on 10 Sep 2014!

Gentrification, Inc.: if you’d like to know how the machine operates, read this.

Baltimore Gets a Giant Bus Stop Shaped Like the Word ‘Bus’: exactly what the title says, and the results are pretty awesome.

New York Has Nine Starbucks for Every Square Mile in Manhattan: you don’t even have to read the article, just the title.

Impressive Photos of the Detroit Masonic Temple: apparently it’s the largest in the world.