Lost Detroit tells the stories behind 12 of the city's most beautiful, all-but-forgotten landmarks and of the people behind them, from the day they opened to the day they closed. While these buildings might stand as ghosts of the past today, their stories live on within these pages. The team behind BuildingsofDetroit.com brings you the memories of those who caught trains out of the majestic Michigan Central Station, necked with girlfriends in the balcony of the palatial Michigan Theatre, danced the night away at the Vanity Ballroom and kicked out the jams at the Grande Ballroom. As Detroit Free Press Architecture Critic John Gallagher said, the buildings in these pages "held a central place in the story of Detroit's Auto Century. It was America's story, too. Detroiters lived, loved, toiled, played, celebrated and dreamed great dreams in these buildings and thereby helped shape a nation."
Dan Austin is a journalist at the Detroit Free Press and a historian of the city's landmarks. He began researching and writing about Detroit's architectural wonders in 2006. His first book, "Lost Detroit: Stories Behind the Motor City's Majestic Ruins, " tells the stories behind the boarded-up windows of Detroit's most spectacular abandoned buildings. He runs HistoricDetroit.org.