Ford Rescues a Detroit Train Station as It Plots Its Own Future

When he was growing up in Southwest Detroit, Cristian Rubio was never all that curious about the shuttered train station that loomed over his neighborhood. The building, a couple of miles west of downtown, was among the city’s most visible symbols of urban decay and a go-to for photographers who wanted to capture its decline.

Cristian Rubio, who grew up in Southwest Detroit, didn’t pay much attention to the crumbling train station until he watched the 2009 music video “Beautiful,” which showed the rapper Eminem walking through the dilapidated building.Credit…Jacob Lewkow for The New York Times

Mr. Rubio’s interest intensified in high school, after he watched the 2009 music video “Beautiful,” which showed the hometown rapper Eminem walking through the ravaged Beaux-Arts building with its vaulted ceilings and tall columns, broken windows, rainbow graffiti and smashed fixtures.

Ever since, “I wanted to go in whether it was abandoned or not,” said Mr. Rubio, 29, the manager of a Mexican restaurant, who moved to Southwest Detroit from Jalisco, in west central Mexico, 20 years ago. “Now we have a chance to do it.”

A 2010 photograph shows the barbed-wire fence placed around the decaying building to keep out intruders. Credit…Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Harsh weather, vandals and graffiti artists all left their mark on the station.Credit…Rena Laverty/Epa-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock/