Known as @cadillac_flatts by the Instagram community, Max spent much of his childhood moving around the U.S. However, he fell in love with one city – Detroit – after landing there as a teen.
Max’s Detroit pride sparked a desire to share the city’s rich history and ever-changing landscape with others, “I realized that the pictures I’m taking of abandoned stuff or cityscapes aren’t going to be available very long. In some cases, the opportunity to see things is gone the next day.”
Fifteen years later, Max still works and lives in the heart of downtown, and is a witness to Detroit’s transformation, “I’ve seen what the city has gone through, and realized that I’ve been through it all with it. It has become more than a city, it’s like a friend – something that has always been there for me when I needed it. I truly love Detroit.”
The city has become a hotspot for urban explorers from around the world; capturing it’s vacant buildings gives viewers a glimpse of Detroit’s former glory. Through his photography, Max builds on Detroit’s past while sharing his interpretation of the present.
Check out Max’s Instagram for more Motor City explorations.
- Built in 1928, the Guardian Building is recognized all around the world for its architecture. Located in Downtown Detroit’s Financial District, the skyscraper is a landmark for Art Deco-inspired architecture.
- Downtown Detroit.
- Meet Motor City.
- A gritty cityscape.
- The James Scott fountain is a popular summer evening gathering spot. It’s a beautiful price to a resurging Belle Isle.
- Detroit’s firefighters.
- Relics of the way neighborhoods used to operate still exist.
- Eastern Market.
All images courtesy of @cadillac_flatts