A chain-link fence hugs the spot where steps once rose to its main concourse. Which means Joe Louis Arena no longer has a front entrance.
Not one you could get to without a crane, or maybe a catapult. And when the arena was full and lit and the Detroit Red Wings were humming, you’d probably have given anything a shot to get inside, right?
Now you can see inside from the street. Across the torn-up floor where the ice used to be, all the way through to the back, where the Detroit River flows by.