Great pics of the old Packard plant.

[OVERKILL]

Another iconic piece of North American history slides into the abyss. Its loss mourned only by the few pockets of hold outs who still consider our history significant.

Down the spiral we go........

 

[PF52]

Ahh the Packard plant. Every couple years or so there's a new article or a new book about it or a new plan to tear it down and replace it with more empty land and it draws more suburban hipsters into town to take cool artsy photos of it. Then they go back to where they parked their cars only to find their windows smashed and the car ransacked and pilfered. I could name a couple dozen or more buildings in Detroit I'd rather explore and photograph but fortunately they don't get the notoriety the Packard factory does. Anymore it is really a bombed-out shell filled with junk.

 

[L_Sludger]

Is anybody going to address the 800-lb gorilla in the room - the change in demographics of detroit from then to now?

 

[PF52]

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Is anybody going to address the 800-lb gorilla in the room - the change in demographics of detroit from then to now?


LOL No, it would probably venture into the realm of Politics and get the thread locked.

 

[sleddriver]

WOW. Amazing. What an era of growth, development, investment, rising tides, prosperity & education. Rather sad to see it in its dismal present state. An empire no longer. Now, just a waste land of what was and the passage of time and change.

"The Only Constant Condition is Change."

"Changes Aren't Permanent. But Change Is"

 

[Autobahn88]

"Changes Aren't Permanent. But Change Is" [/quote]

Could this be a Rush reference, maybe Tom Sawyer..

 

[SLCraig]

The really awesome looking Luben apartments burned down in 2010. Pretty sad, that is just a really cool piece of history.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
I was working at Chrysler Canada in Windsor, Ontario (across the river from Detroit) in 1967 when the riots were going on.

It was a very scary sight, I was glad the river was there to isolate the violence from the Canadian side.

it's not a very wide river ......... I wish you guys the best with all your problems.


Well my guess is that a significant number of states will try and secede from the Union and a few like Vermont might just ask to join with Canada.

 

[ddrumman2004]

Thanks for posting.

I see the same thing happening to small towns here in MS. Some that I remember as thriving back in the 60s and early 70s are all but gone. Empty Main streets....sad.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Is anybody going to address the 800-lb gorilla in the room - the change in demographics of detroit from then to now?


Sure, this is what happens when white flight occurs. Wealthy cities have wealthy people living inside of them.

I think the problem was larger than that in Detroit though. A lot of their manufacturing base went out of business too (not just moved). Add in some corruption and there was no way to sustain what the city became during its boom years.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: Autobahn88
Quote:
"Changes Aren't Permanent. But Change Is"
Could this be a Rush reference, maybe Tom Sawyer..

Though his mind is not for rent
to any God or government
always hopeful yet discontent
knows changes aren't permanent
but change is

right you are!

 

[CharBaby]

The pictures would bring back some sad memories to someone that may have worked there in the day.

Not long ago, I drove by an old 3M Plant that I once worked at for 21 years. Although it's an industrial park now and going strong with no decay, it's still sad to see, as I had many good years there until Corporate decided to close her down.

Well, life goes on!

 

[gman2304]

What we don't see in these pics is more frightening than what we actually see...! To me we are seeing the death of the American culture which dies a little more everyday. I have 6 granddaughters ages 3 through 11. It troubles me to think what the future might hold for them.

 

[mechtech2]

Totally cool effect! Stunning!

 

[default]

For the love of god and all that is holy, STOP TAKING PICTURES OF THE PACKARD PLANT AND TRAIN STATION.

 

[Astro14]

Makes me want to cry, frankly...

In the days in which the old pictures were taken, Packard epitomized the pursuit of quality and perfection. The H-pattern gearshift was a Packard innovation in the early 1900's...the First V-12 car was the Packard Twin-Six of 1916...In the 1920's, the Packard engineers could measure thickness to one millionth of an inch. Driver-adjustable suspension? Standard on all Packard models in 1932....Rolls-Royce came to Packard to build the Supercharged, V-12 Merlin engine that powered the Spitfire and Mustang (among others) of WW II...only Packard met the RR engineering quality standards for that magnificent engine.

The fact that this building, built in 1903, still stands after all that abuse over the last 50+ years is a testament to the quality of its construction.

It's truly disheartening that this is the legacy of true commitment to quality in American manufacturing - a dilapidated old building that refuses to succumb to the ravages of time, neglect and vandalism...