Blacksmith Adam Ison uses a lot of fire to create knives and other blades at Forge Detroit, a business he's been running out of the Russell Industrial Center for two years.
"This growing city, this movement that's happening, you can feel it and see it. I wouldn't chose anywhere else to do it but here."
But the city is telling Ison and other artists in the Russell Industrial Center to pack up and leave. Building inspectors posted letters on every door, explaining the building is not up to code and the space-- which has been leased to artists and other start-ups for decades-- is being operated illegally.
Photographer Scott Sprague has run a studio in the building for 12 years and is part of why it is the biggest hub for artists in the mid-west.
"We tend to be the first ones to move in and see beauty where others do not see it and then we improve it from there," Sprague said.
Concerns about safety were raised after a similar space for artist in Oakland, California caught fire, killing dozens. That building, a former warehouse, was made mostly of wood.
The Russell, as it's called by tenants, is concrete and brick. They said it has a working sprinkler system and several fire hydrants in hallways. They're not worried about safety.
