Don't Forget the Motor City

It's a semi-creepy project: Robin Levitt's new book helps the would-be tourist appreciate the ruins of Detroit. The Michigan metropolis has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, and is especially deadly for children. Yet in a talk and slideshow called "Vanishing Detroit," architect Levitt mostly focuses on the beautiful abandoned buildings, of which there are famously many. As a city, Detroit has had an especially steep fall from industrial grace, and at the moment, according to Levitt, it has "more farmland within the city limits today than in 1900." He calls the ruins "fabulous," too, referencing an ongoing local walking tour and Web site. If you decide to spend your few tourist dollars there, you won't have to fight a lot of crowds.
Tue., Oct. 7, 7 p.m., 2008