April 19, 2012 | Detroit Free Press
On an abandoned lot behind Fairview Street on Detroit’s east side, the remains of a former lead foundry are crumbling. A smokestack still stands tall.
Old couches, plastic swimming pools, tires and hundreds of dismantled coffee pots litter the lot. A child’s doll and pink tricycle lie forgotten in the rubble.
In the center of the block, the fence around the abandoned plant at 11031 Shoemaker is peeled back, providing easy access from the street and backyards to the old plant. [...]