Michigan Central, 2010

Philip Jarmain grew up near London, Ontario, with part of his childhood spent in Switzerland and Ireland. There were also many family trips to Mexico. His mother is a textile artist and fathers an entrepreneur. A childhood love of storytelling led to early fascination with film, photography and cameras. dShort dramas shot with an 8 mm wind-up camera were a passion. Later, his training was in film (Vancouver Film School), and for some years he worked in lighting for feature films and episodic television, and after that as stills photographer for film.

While establishing himself as a full time artist in photography, Jarmain supports himself as a commercial photographer specializing in conceptual advertising, based in Vancouver, where he lives, and Toronto. In this area he is a recipient of multiple Lürzers Archive and Communication Arts awards as well as other international honors.

Detroit’s Michigan Central Station is one of the city’s most famous vacant buildings. The mammoth 18-story complex stands out in an equally derelict residential area west of the downtown. Opened in 1913, the building is made up of two distinct parts – a three-story train station and an 18-story office tower. The station’s waiting room with its 54 foot ceiling and chandeliers filling Guastavino arches was the stations most impressive feature. Modelled after a Roman bath, the waiting room was clean, bright, and imposing. The concourse was equally impressive with its brick walls and large copper skylight The station opened at the peak of rail travel in the United States. More than 200 trains and 4,000 passengers used the station every day. A general decline in rail travel and the station’s location contributed to its declining use in the 1950s. To save money, the waiting room was closed in 1967. Amtrak redeveloped the station and reopened the waiting room in 1975. By the mid-‘80s, less than a dozen trains used the station on any day. On January 6, 1988, a last Amtrak passenger train left Michigan Central Station. In 1996, the station was bought by the owners of the nearby Ambassador Bridge. In recent years, some work has been done to remove asbestos. A new roof and windows are promised.