(below) The following photos are taken on Saginaw Street on the north side of Flint
(below) Some of the old factories and buildings off E. 5th St. near I-475 Freeway, and the rear view of the National Guard Armory on Chavez
Below is the National Guard Armory in Flint
(below) North Dort Hwy near Carpenter Road: scrap metal yards and water tower being refurbished
(below) Dort Hwy across from where the old Flint East (Delphi) plant used to be, this is the W. J. Shambes parking lot where the shop workers used to park
(below) Moving south on Dort Hwy is the area where restaurants and business used to thrive but, since the destruction of the Flint East plant, the area has fallen into disrepair and most businesses are now closed
(below) Mostly abandoned trailer park located at Dort near Lippincott Blvd
Flint, Michigan: home of General Motors and the birthplace of the United Auto Workers Union. I was born here in 1960. My grandfathers, uncles and my dad all worked in the factories. My great grandfather participated in the great sit-down strikes in 1936/37.
Flint's heyday, in the mid-20th century, created a middle class of factory line workers who were very well-paid and very ill-educated. The plant closings started in the 80's, Michael Moore's film, "Roger & Me", documented the sociopolitical impact of factory closures during this time. GM continued to downsize until well into the 21st century, ruining the infrastructure of the community.
Flint's crime-rate was documented, in 2007, as the third worst in the United States. The next year, when gas prices climbed past the $5.00-a-gallon mark, the fallout caused the eventual bankruptcy of GM. Flint has taken a turn for the worst and is fading fast. I've been documenting the city's decline since 2007 in photographs of building structures, roads, factory demolitions, etc.