The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is housed in an abandoned car dealership on Woodward Avenue.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is housed in an abandoned car dealership on Woodward Avenue.

One of Barry McGee's mechanical mannequins hangs from the roof of the museum.

The architect Andrew Zago designed the museum.

Visitors watched a video by Kara Walker. The museum’s interior walls, with their peeling paint and exposed brick, have been left untouched.

photos Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times