Fox 2 News here in Detroit just announced that the old Packard Plant will be demolished soon.. It's number 1 on the list of many old buildings to be brought down........ Sad!
Very sad indeed. They probably need the space for: 1. A Walgreen's; 2. A Wal-Mart; 3. A bigger parking lot. Isn't that what it's all about in this 21st Century ? That's one of the reasons SO many drive-in movies theatres are bulldozed. In this Century, ownership of property equals G-R-E-E-D. They constantly do the same thing here in St. Louis...teardown iconic structures every year. No respect for tradition, history, or, how rooted the facility was to the area & the community. JK
It cost money to tear buildings down. Doesn't cost anything to just let them be. Until they have a better use for the space, I don't understand why they need to spend money they don't even have to tear down history and cool old buildings. It's Detroit, I seriously doubt they have a grand new development planned for the site. Being an architect myself, I am all for tearing down almost any old building as long as what you plan to do is clearly better that what is being taken away. There is no reason why we can't build new buildings that far exceed almost any building standing today, but we all know that all too often doesn't happen. So, what are they going to be left with, some toxic strewn empty lots now? What about spending the money to just cleaning them up some and sealing them off to minimze further decay. At least until someone has a plan to do something better than leaving ugly nothing. Detroit is as much a victim of their own inep***ude as much as anything. RIP Packard plant.
I wonder if there are plans for the property or if they consider a decaying building as blight or a safety hazard? I don't know, maybe someone in the Detroit area will let us know...
Actually could be rather expensive to keep if insurance etc could be quite high. The land itself will be worth more to sell if its clear. Since man has been building we have been knocking em down Sad seeing these places go. Pity all you gear heads over there cant buy it turn it into Condo's for car guys. Hope someone here scores that head stone (?) from above the door.
That main doorway was cut out and auctioned off http://www.autoweek.com/article/20080826/FREE/808269993
Here is a site with lots of pics of the buildings...very sad place! http://silentbuildings.com/tag/packard-building-detroit/
The Packard plant is a tremendous hazard and blight upon the working-cl***, poverty-stricken neighborhood surrounding it. Every day it survives, more damage is done to a struggling community. None of you would want this thing in your neighborhood: Imagine your worst nightmare as a homeowner and then double it. It's not a usable or even intact building. It's more of a half-mile long standing ruin, a target for vandals and a haven for s****pers, feral dog packs, car thieves, drug users, and worse. The complex was obsolete as a manufacturing plant decades ago -- that's why no real purpose was ever found for it. It can't be rebuilt anyway; it's much too far gone. Nobody loves automotive history more than I do but the Packard plant badly needs to be razed... what's left of it, which isn't much.
I read an article that Detroit is considering leveling miles of city space and returning it back to farmland so that the local agriculture industry can thrive again. I think it's a great idea. Believe me, I love old buildings, but the more that sit vacant, the harder it is for that city to turn itself around.
The Packard plant has been slated for demolition on several different occasions over the years. Will it actually BE demolished this time? Detroit can't pay for it. The city is absolutely flat broke. The actual owners of the property have essentially abandoned it, from everything I've read recently, so they surely aren't paying for the demo. The Feds are not in charge (yet) of doing things like that. So, who is demolishing it, and who is footing the bill? My guess is, that with the steady deterioration of what was once a proud city, it'll continue to sit as-is for several more decades.
Hard to believe that the city of Detroit isn't even sure who the owner is. It's probably not going anywhere soon, as the estimated demo costs are $20 million. http://detnews.com/article/20100709...g-Packard-plant-owner--forcing-action-on-site
It truely is sad to see some of these old iconic buildings like the Packard plant and others as well just get torn down and meet the wrecking ball. I believe that is one of the downfalls to our society, here in Canada and the US too. I suppose it comes from being relatively new colonies rather than long standing developed nations like some of the countries in Europe. We seem to be so eager to tear things down and place little value on tradition and history. While there are examples where preservation has been considered, but they are few and far between. Sure it costs money and takes some imagination and dedication to restore old plants and buildings for new uses. But it should not always be about dollars. In many European countries there is history in architecture that has been there for centuries. Buildings are lovingly restored and converted for modern needs while preserving the history. New buildings or renovations are carefully designed to "fit in" with the old. If you ever get a chance to travel in Europe, it is amazing to feel the history and ambiance of these historic places. We just don't have that here, and will likely never have it because of short sighted "money men".
I'll believe it when I see it. The Packard building had numerous thrieving small businesses set up in there. A couple tow companies and even a paintball set up. Then the city closed this down and started tearing down the very front and then stopped. The city is just as responsible for it's current condition as the current owners are. That said, it's time to tear it down. Now Tiger Stadium, that could have stood a while longer...
Blue One....I agree to a point but the question remains: What should be done with it and at who's expense? I doubt the taxpayers want to pay to tear it down or rebuild it with no purpose that I can think of. I doubt any corporation would be interested in rebuilding it or even going through the expense of demolition. If they were interested in building a plant in the area, they could start with a piece of vacant land and be money ahead. Its like the gentleman earlier that it was a shame that drive-in theaters are being torn down. I miss them, too. But they shut down that because people don't go to them as much as before. People today go to those cine-plex dumps at the malls. They want big stereo sound and air conditioning. Of course, they are missing what truly was magical about the drive-in experience. But they don't "get it". If my family owned a drive-in theater and I was losing money, I could not afford to continue to run it because I "should". I'd have to close 'er down. The bulk of the population do not see things the way we do. We are recyclers and we appreciate the things that remind us of a simpler times, when quality and craftsmanship was king. We are a small, special breed, but the majority of folks just move along with the times....and they become the just a speck in the boring m***es. We're doing the best that we can working with our hands and preserving the hobby.
This site will give people that haven't been here, or haven't been here in a while, what the city of Detroit is up against. For every building on this site, the number of abandond home's is in the hundreds. Check this out. http://www.forgottendetroit.com/
I'd love to be able to go in there and take out some of the cool features of the building before it's knocked down. That doorway alone is cool. I'm sure there's all sorts of neat fixtures, doors, benches, etc.
I recall that article. Roughly 35 square miles of inner city turned (back) into farmland and open country. Sadly, Detroit has been dying away for decades. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/09/detroit-looks-at-downsizing-to-save-city/
I agree its sad to the places of iconic industry go. Studebaker, Packard, Willeys, International and Kodak. Hopefully these areas can be reconstructed to bring manufacturing might back to America. As the "cheaper" off shore areas cost increase the corporate greedies will realize the product needs to be made at home in the USA.
Personal Historic Building Story: My Dad worked for the Wagner Electric Company here in St. Louis for 36 years. Wagner, as some may know, was at one time one of the nation's largest suppliers of electric motors, automotive parts, brakes, brake fluid, seals, lights, etc. So I grew up learning about cars from my Dad almost from the time I was born, and by the age of 7 or 8 could tell a Buick from a Merc from 2 blocks away. A few years after my Dad p***ed away, I went to see what had become of that huge plant that he'd spent so much time in from 1935 to 1971. I was shocked, hurt, and depressed, as the plant had been closed years earlier and was partially there, partially in decay. BUT, through it all, I saw that parking lot that he had driven to everyday for 36 years, saw the door he went through to get to his department and, at the same time, I could envision all of those THOUSANDS of others that worked there doing the same thing. I thought about how each one going into that plant had hopes, dreams, families, and, went there dutifully everyday to make a living, support themselves, and, make products that would be used World Wide to hopefully make others lives easier, or help solve their problems. As a preservationist of many things for many years, I will admit I had a tear in my eye as I observed this once thriving facility, and saw what it had become. I thought part of it COULD have been preserved (the frontal buildings were still restorable ). The City of St. Louis did put the property to good use, and it's been that way for many years now. But, it's not the way it was. But, again, anytime I look at an "old" and abandoned property be it a gas station, fruit stand, general store, house, a manufacturing facility, etc., I still think about all of those who relied on that place for their needs, and those who owned it who had hopes, dreams, and, a certain vision when the place was built and they moved in there to put all of that into motion. And, you know fellow HAMBERS, I still get a lump in my throat for all of the "broken dreams" that eventually occured, and the shattered lives that were left in their wake. Those thoughts and feelings were all brought back again with the start of this thread, as I lived in Detroit at one time and saw the Packard facility while I was there. JK www.legends.thewwbc.net
That's sad news, my familys connection with the US and it's car industry started back in the 30s when my dads Aunt emigrated to Detroit to work for Packard. She spent most of her working career there. Some of my other relatives worked at the Ford Rouge plant. I guess that's where my interest in US Tin comes started. Kind of in the blood!
It is always sad to see something that was once successful and great coming to a slow end. Think of all the great turn of the century Mansions that almost every semi-upscale town had at least a few of. Eventually the families couldn't afford them any more, they were turned in to schools, nursing homes, etc. When that use was no longer economical they are torn down. Sometimes a local historical society can raise enough money to save them but not often and only for the really special ones. The system actually works with efficiency that keeps our standard of living constantly rising. If we spent all our energy maintaining *every* piece of the past we couldn't move forward.
Sad as it is, this needs to be done, Detroit has to be reborn and reformatted. Looking at that plant it looks like a beloved relative in the last days of his life, decrepit, despondent and looking forward to death. America will never be the great manufacturing giant it once was, you can blame whomever you want, but now is the time to think about the future, a building built in 1907 isn't it. I'm saddened to my soul over this, but you've got to let this loved one go, death is inevitable.
they need to just move a few cool old buildings to some other town, and then drop an A bomb on that place...... lol im such a jerk. by the way anyone seen the guy with the old cars downtown? i think he had a few old caddys and a 49 ford truck and some other random 50s cars. i think its some sort of music venue? or maybe its just a crack house i have no idea.
I hate to see history lost as much as the next guy but in the real world economy someone somewhere is or has been paying property taxes on the building's. Land without improvements,,ie.no structures equals a lower tax base. HRP
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