What does a bankrupt city look like? Haunting, tragic and strangely beautiful, according to Philip Jarmain's incredible images of Detroit - the once burgeoning, now desolate Michigan capital.
The Canadian photographer's brilliant series 'American beauty' captures the rapid destruction of Detroit's early twentieth-century architecture.
He depicts abandoned and forgotten spaces of a bygone era defined by ingenuity and innovation. But, inside and out, these monumental public buildings now stand tired and worn, some barely recognizable as their former selves.
Many of the structures, whether theaters, hotels or even police stations and public schools, are being torn down as the city continues its demise. But Jarmain managed to capture the impressive works in their final state before their architects' masterpieces are lost forever.
'These are the last large format architectural photographs for many of these structures,'Jarmain explains.
Woodward Presbyterian church. Architect Sidney Rose Badgley, 1908. Photograph Philip Jarmain, 2013
Mackenzie High School. Architect Wirt C Roland, Smith Group 1927. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2011. This building was demolished in 2012
Highland Park Police Station. Architect Van Leyen, Schilling & Keough, 1917. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2011. This building was demolished in 2012
Michigan Theatre. Architects Rapp and Rapp 1926. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2013
Fisher Body Plant No. 21. Architect Albert Kahn 1919. Photograph Philip Jarmain, 2013
East Town Theatre. Architect V.J. Waiver, 1930. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2011
Vanity Ballroom, left, was created by Charles N. Agree 1929. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2011. Michigan Central, right, was built by architects Reed and Stem, Warren and Wetmore 1913. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2010
The Lee Plaza. Architect Charles Noble 1929. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2011
The Lee Plaza. Architect Charles Noble 1929. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2011
Belle Isle Aquarium. Architect Albert Kahn, 1904. Photograph Philip Jarmain, 2011
The German House. Architects Louis and Paul Kamper 1928. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2012
Basement of the Book Cadillac Hotel No.2. Architect Louis Kamper, 1924. Photograph Philip Jarmain, 2012
Basement of the Book Cadillac Hotel. Architect Louis Kamper, 1924. Photograph Philip Jarmain, 2012
Ford Motor Company Model T Headquarters. Architects Albert Kahn and Edward Gray 1910. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2013
The David Whitney Building. Architect Graham, Burnham & Co., 1915. Photograph Philip Jarmain, 2013
East Town Theatre Exterior. Architect V.J. Waiver, 1930. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2011
The Farwell Building. Architects Bonnah & Chaffee, the Russel Wheel and Foundry Company, and Tiffany Studios of New York, 1915. Photograph Philip Jarmain 2011
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