KIDZ PLAYLAND

5620 Federal St, Detroit, MI 48209

Abandoned: 2013

KIDZ Playland was my personal first ever building I ever explored, the building is for the most part gutted of any remanence of the banquet hall it once was but that doesn't make it lost cause in fact this is one of my personal favorite buildings as it showcases a building if a place was just left to rot without anyone but the people that ventured inside throughout the years to showcase various acts of abandoned like nature

Watch the Full Exploration

Date Recorded: 8/8/22

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History of KIDZ PLAYLAND

Not much is known about KIDZ PLAYLAND's beginnings, but it is believed to have started around 1983 according to the tax documents found in the basement. Dating back as far as that, the place was an Event Center that held many events such as banquets, baby showers, wakes, and was a big host of the Mexican Style Wrestling event "Lucha Libre" (shown below flyers from the time period showing that events were held inside the facility at least up to 2012). The building features many event rooms and office spaces that look nothing of that sort nowadays. The place was eventually abandoned after 2013 and would never see another chance of life. It is mostly past the point of return for renovation ability, as the building is in pretty rough shape in certain areas and would need a lot of work and money to fix up. For example, the roof in the main event space area; the metal supports that held up the roof failed shortly after the building was abandoned. The building showcases works of many talented graffiti artists around Detroit who have ventured inside, making for a very colorful building, which the building was originally known for. It also featured a play place for kids, which is probably where the name of the building comes from. In 2023, a car fire on the outside of the building burned the banner at the entrance, but most of the banner still stands today. The building also features an elevator shaft that goes up to the roof down to the basement, and is hollowed out with water buildup at the bottom. Easy roof access allows for a beautiful look at the Detroit skyline, and the building hosts 3 floors, a basement, and a roof. In 2024, boards from the city of Detroit were put up at the entrances to the building but were quickly broken by people looking to gain access. This cycle went on for about 2 months until the city of Detroit gave up on the property. The boards were part of Detroit's plan to secure vacant buildings; the idea was to put up very cheap boards to show people the building wasn't wide open and to attempt to prevent squatters inside. As mentioned, this did not work out well, as, at least in the case of KIDZ PLAYLAND, people knew too well that the building was abandoned and no one, not even the city, was coming back for it.

Recollection from the author

KIDZ PLAYLAND was my first ever building I ever explored it’s the building that started the documentation on this website, and due to its proximity to the railroad (Federal Junction and West Detroit) it has many great spots inside to watch the trains pass by, my other photography gig being Railroad Photography it made sense this would be the first, it took till my 3rd time in the building to find the 2nd floor as a urban explorer due to the dark nature of the entrance to the 2nd floor, and my low lumen flashlights on the beginning of my urbex journey, it wasn’t until I upgraded to my 300 lumen flashlight that I found the entrance to that 2nd floor, the basement was also visible in the 2nd floor stairwell, and inside that basement was dumped papers ranging from the early 1980s to the 2000s all in very good condition, it was crazy to see documents stamped with years from over 40 years ago just sitting in front of me and clear to read, the roof was the perfect view for watching trains and viewing the Detroit skyline, and to date that roof still holds one of my best Railroad Photography photos ever, the graffiti scene was also very good for a abandoned building definitely a top 3, all in all the building was very good but trashed with junk all over the floor

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