Mark Byrnes of The Atlantic Cities tackles a Detroit mystery that many Detroiters might not have known was a mystery.
Why are there five new windows in the city's iconic train station?
Byrnes writes: "Perhaps no building is seen as a symbol of Detroit's struggles as much as Michigan Central Station. The face of American ruin porn, its 18-story tower makes the hollowed-out, decrepit former train station easy to find throughout the city. So some recent, and very minor, additions have locals curious.
"Hollowed out and window-free for years, there are now five, yes just five, brand new windows that have been reinstalled in 2013 so far. Windows one, two and three even garnered the attention of the local media in February and March.
Byrnes checked with the city. No one there is sure what's going on, either.
"Halfway through the year, no one inside Detroit's city hall seems to know what the idea is behind these sporadic new window installations. "We've asked questions, but we've received no specific answers," says Detroit's director of city planning, Marcell Todd.
An oblique clue comes from the Michigan Central Preservation Society, a nonprofit created in 2009 by John Mohyi. He posted this May 26 in a discussion about the windows on its Facebook page:
It's all test stuff at the moment. We're working on a press release with the owners just waiting for the green light and some interior pictures to go along with said press release.
One social media commentator, Charles Roberts Jr.. of Detroit, suggests: "At this rate, MCS will be fully renovated by 2052."
