Why the Sale of Old Newspaper Buildings Isn’t All Bad

The building at 615 W. Lafayette Blvd. looms above the Detroit street like a castle, its concrete facade commanding an entire city block. Carved above its top windows, figures of Franklin, Gutenberg, and other masters stand guard over the structure’s front entrance, where letters reading “The Detroit News” and “Detroit Free Press” span a half-moon arch. Raised inscriptions lining the parapet remind passersby of the building’s original intent: “SCOURGE OF EVIL DOERS,” one reads. “EXPOSER OF SECRET INIQUITIES. . . UNRELENTING FOE OF PRIVILEGE AND CORRUPTION.”