the heart, the soul, the beat of an industrial, cultural superpower. a magnet for everyone with a dream of a better future, from eastern europe to the deep south. american dream, you came here. the one straight ahead with the green roof? >> yep, the big rococo building, completely empty. empty. unbelievable. the white one is being rehabbed. there's some money coming in. the one next to it on the right is completely empty. the gray pyramid with the spire on top sold for $5 million. >> $5 million for that? you can't buy a garage in the hamptons for that basically. >> $5 million for a skyscraper. >> it is post-apocalyptic. i mean, it's like a science fiction film. what the hell happened here? >> well, it is post-apocalyptic except for the fact that there's several hundred thousand people living here. >> detroit 2013. charlie leduff is a writer, journalist, television reporter. he grew up here. >> but it used to be two million people.