What Happened to Detroits Packard Plant?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ม.ค. 2022
- The story of Detroits Packard Plant…
#detroit #cars #packard
References:
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Images:
"Packard Plant 1954" by Hugo-90 is licensed under CC BY 2.0
"Packard Plant | Detroit, MI" by Josh Walker. is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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John Lloyd
“1957 Packard Clipper”
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GPS 56
“Packard Motor Company” - บันเทิง
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Detroit's urban decay always blows my mind
As a native Detroiter, I have to say the city really blew it when it came to preserving the Packard plant. That was a missed opportunity. They're better off knocking down the whole thing and starting over.
However, the city has scored with other historic restoration projects, such as the Fox Theatre, Detroit Opera House, and the Westin Cadillac Hotel.
And now the train station. Sad I had hopes this building would be restored, they still won't say why Fernando backed out!
You can thank the Ford Motor Company for restoring the train station. Detroiters thought that was a lost cause too.
@@markbrown4039 same with Lee Plaza, which is just announced to be restored.
I drive by the Packard Plant to get to certain job sites I have in the city of Detroit. This place is huge omg. It's weird because the plant is so rundown and desperately needs to be torn down, but also whenever I drive by it the plant has such a soft spot in my heart because of the history it's had with the city I love and proud to be a part of. Also as rundown as it is, it's still beautiful to me because I can remember from when I was a kid and driving by there with my parents and remembering the beautiful place it was. Thank you for doing another video about Detroit. I know your from Cleveland and I'm a huge fan because my in-laws live there so I'm there a lot with the family. I love going to Progressive "The Jake" Field. To me it's still one of the best ballparks in baseball and with the Tigers playing there 3 times a season I've been to countless games there. I just love your videos and channel and keep doing the phenomenal work you do!
My great great grandpa was a furnace man at the Packard plant very proud to have roots in detroit
Packard wasn't just an auto assembly plant, it was historically significant, no less than the Ford Rouge Complex. The Packard plant of 1907 was designed by (later renowned) industrial architect Albert Khan and is the ***first use of steel reinforced concrete*** anywhere in the world. This allowed larger windows and allowed in more natural daylight. At least some portion should have been preserved as a historic landmark.
It was too big to preserve. Would have been nice if they saved the bridge though.
I agree, such a shame my grandfather had about 5-10 of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Packard Models made.
The Detroit auto industry got so big, so fast that their lack of ability to be flexible in changing economies, technologies and employment absolutely destroyed them. It's sad that they still operate that way while foreign makers can pivot and adapt and innovate much more quickly. And these EV startups have little restrictions to do what they want to do.
Uhh no. You are partially right. But the most important reasons big 3 autos still struggle to this day are 1) Unions 2) lack of quality.
@@jamesbarrick3403 I you don't mind me asking why are the unions one of the reasons
West Virginia was offered a state of the art hyundai manufacturing plant and the locals rejected it because it wasn't going to an inefficient 1950s style factory.
@@jamesbarrick3403unions ! They wanted more and more money and companies could not pay that much. It’s terrible but not many people say about it.
@@jamesbarrick3403I'm surprised they're still alive despite all of this.
From the Metro Detroit area, it’s sad, we are the Motor City, will always be but the auto industry left this city in the dust they abandoned us, they made this city a booming place but also made it die but now it’s coming back to life though in the past 20 years but the 60s to 90s were a rough time.
We got Google, Ally, and Quicken/Rocket Mortgage to thank for the revival. But we gotta get rid of these eyesores like the old plant because that’s all people see when they think of Detroit
The auto industry didn't make Detroit die, it's citizens did.
@@airpowered2235 The citizens who kept voting democrat no matter how many industries they pushed out of the country and no matter how they turned against the working class.
@@airpowered2235 and yet, under a democratic mayor it sees revival, one of the fastest growing tech hubs in the country. No, it was a collection of things, including private business bailing for the burbs and eventually overseas. Wake up.
@UCCEiknvAWBXkdKgp1bZYPUQ i dont give a damn
Excellent description! Thank you!👏It would have been wonderful to see it rescued like the Michigan Central Station.
The Packards of the 1930s, up to about 1941, were some of the most beautiful, and highest quality automobiles ever made. Owning, for example, a 1937 120c sedan would be my dream car. I’d rather have it than anything manufactured today.
It's disgusting that the city couldn't take full control and just level a non-useful complex. The fact that the bridge collapsed onto a public road is egregious.
Our countries dont have labor unions infiltrated by organized crime
Is it me or were cars back then gorgeous? So sleek and stylish.
No, it's not just you. For me, the 60s were the halcyon-days of the automobile, but maybe that's because I was a kid living in Detroit during that time. I do remember seeing a 1932 Chrysler Sedan when I was a teenager that was in mint condition and for me anyway, it was one of most stylish cars I had ever seen up close. You're right, stylish cars have gone the way of the Dodo Bird, which is an old saying that has gone the way of stylish cars I suppose.
There was a really cool paintball arena in the Packard plant back in the 90’s. Also many a rave party happened there, some legendary.
The Packard Plant is a major symbol of Detroit's industrial decline, but one important detail that has been left out is that the Packard Plant closed down in 1958. A full decade before Detroit would reach its peak. The Packard Plant's closure was more a function of modern industrial design over traditional industrial design. Governments were handing out fat stacks of cash to build new factories in the suburbs. While these new facilities produced about the same number of cars, they sprawled out over a much greater amount of land and employed far less people. Packard used people in place of modern machinery and maximized their small amount of space by building up. The new factories were cheaper to build and operate and gave the same results. This is why the Packard Plant stayed abandoned. It no longer had a place in modern manufacturing.
Wish I could have been there for the Rave Parties 🎉‼️ Such a shame my grandfather had about 5-10 of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Packard Models made and plenty of Studebaker's too ‼️
"Also many a rave party happened there, some legendary.". All trespassing.
Just realized I drove by this a month ago thanks to your video
I explored the plant again last weekend. met 5 other people exploring. Fun
I happened to get to speak with (when I was very young) one of the older owners of Packard. They were so angry that the owner of Cadillac had colluded with congress to renege on their Agreements to repay Packard, so that Packard would go under and Cadillac could steal their patients. Packard was the first with power windows, power steering, power breaks, and power seats. Cadillac stole all of these patients. You didn't cover any of this. Packard made engines for WWII plane engines, in agreement with the US, that they would pay for them after the war, yet after the war, the US never paid a dime. Packard had used all of their money, to make engines to help us win the war, and then got totally screwed as the US Gov just sat back and laughed as Packard went under, and Cadillac step up, steelling many of Packard's patients and got credit for many of their inventions.
No surprise there.
Some would argue that what allowed Packard to survive the Great Depression, meaning the less expensive 120 and then 110 models of the 1930s were what began its demise. It wasn't just the cars themselves, though finding Packard essentially competing with the likes of Oldsmobile and DeSoto did little for the prestige of the Packard name. It was the personnel brought on board who had little respect for Packard's upper model ranges that helped begin the end.
Packard design was a bit on the cautious side, even before the end of WWII. Some of their cars, even new designs, still had running boards after GM, for example, had largely abandoned them.
I drove past the Packard plant the weekend that they closed the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. I drove by because there was security to prevent me from stopping anywhere near the plant to take pictures. I got to take a picture of the Packard Bridge while driving a rented Cadillac (a new one, at that), and the image came out crisp, much to my surprise. But is all I got to see of it. It's a shame that none of these restoration plans have gotten off the ground, but this is what happens when a city implodes as Detroit has. You may find things like this happening in your city.
St.Louis Missouri is the same way as well.
If it wasn't so far gone, an Amazon Fulfillment Center might have seemed like an option. Butt the building is too far gone at this point. Probably (sadly?) best to just level it and start over with something new. Industry? Housing? Hospital? Park?
Sucks that such a historic building and city are completely abandoned
I love '20's and '30's cars. Today's ones suck.
It is so sad. Packard was once a great and proud name and one synonymous with quality and prestige. As Hank Weiand Bowman wrote in his book," Famous Old Cars," in the chapter on Packard he stated in the subtitle," For many years the choice of the worlds social elite, ultra conservative Packard symbolized the quality car". Well said.
Great video!
The Packard plants enormous size means it has multiple possible destinies. Part of the plant is being torn down. Other parts of the plant are being offered for lease. Other parts of the plant have unknown futures. Generally, the area of the plant is being cleaned up. The owner of the plant have not been helpful. They seemed to be more concerned about owning a derelict site, than doing anything with the real estate.
Packard stopped production on East Grand Boulevard in 1954. President Nance moved assembly to a different factory for the ‘55/‘56 last true Packards. The ‘57/‘58’s were built in South Bend along side the Studebaker twins. Glad to see this eyesore is being demolished.
I was wondering in a future video if you could do a video about the Michigan Train Station in Detroit. It's some of the best architecture in the city and after being vacant for over 30 years, the Ford motor company bought and has started a 4 or 5 renovation of it and will be ready in 2023. There's stuff on TH-cam you can watch about it.
Another Forgotten stadium you should do is bush stadium at Indianapolis. This stadium went abandoned between 2008 to 2011, until 2012 this stadium was transformed into an apartment complex. Also called the stadium loft. It’s pretty interesting look it up.
Always wondered hat happened to that area. They seem to show it quite a bit on Tv and in Movies.
I would've imagine what Packard would be like had both Studebaker and Packard merged together with Hudson and Nash along with Kaiser and Jeep to create AMC in 1954 or better yet have Ford Motor Company buy both Studebaker and Packard and turn those 2 independent car companies into divisions like Studebaker competes with Pontiac and Packard competes with Buick, it would've not only help out Ford Motor Company but it will help out both Studebaker and Packard and plus giving Pontiac and Buick some competition as well.
it was huge
It still is…
@@forgottenplaces9780 i have not been up there for a while, may go again soon
I used to work in real estate development about 15 yrs ago. The Chicago based company I was working for at the time wanted to develop some property in Detroit. I was fortunate enough to drive through here on numerous occasions. I was blown away by its sheer size.
Actually no, it's small compared to modern auto plants. GM's Poletown plant about a half mile west is many times larger
I love Detroit!
Why did Fernando backout after starting and the clean up,,,? He let everyone down. With Ford restoring the train station this was perfect, now it's just gonna be another vacant lot
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@Cottonheaded Ninnymuggins My feelings? The rebuilding of Detroit is at stake, go away bot
Now downtown Detroit did have a rapid revitalization but it seems to have stalled majorly lately
As a resident of Detroit, I can say with confidence its still happening. Its finally starting to spread outside of Downtown. There are three new apartment buildings going up at Clairmont and Woodward right now and there has been a ton of renovations and new homes going up over there. Livernois/7mile area is going the same way as is Kercheval/Van Dyke
Inside looks just like Giga Texas
It's too bad some over promising rich guy bought it and not Ford Motor Company which is continuing to restore Michigan Central Station.
The State and City should bite the bullet and level everything except perhaps the Administration Building. 40 acres would make a nice mixed use (business, housing, parkland) ares.
I agree, can you imagine how much the aesbestos abatement would cost for a building that big?…
I am surprised that the City of Detroit doesn't offer people $1 lots as long as they have a provision to build on it within 12 months... There are enough people who need housing even in Detroit that they would offer some sort of promo deal... After all we do that here in Alberta to attract people to our more ahem... less than in demand communities like my old home town... In the early 1990's you could buy a 50' x 150' serviced lot in the rich part of town for $10-15K USD... And even now? $20-40K CAD which is like $12-24K USD... And smaller towns outside of town? WAAAAAY cheaper...
Detroit may have a lot of vacant land, but it lacks CONTINUOUS vacant land. Large sites are actually quite desirable. In fact, the city famously has a large shortage of industrial space that would allow for more manufacturing jobs in the city. The problem has become so extreme that the city has converted abandoned schools Like Kettering High School into industrial space, supplying hundreds of well paying jobs to the neighborhood. If the Packard Plant gets demo'ed, I don't think its massive 40 acre site would stay vacant for long.
Yea but the problem is no one wants to spend the millions upon millions to clear the site
@@forgottenplaces9780 It would be difficult but not impossible. State of Michigan could issue a brownfield tax credit to help with demolition and clean-up costs and the city of Detroit can offer tax abatements to help lower them further.
Turn it into a brewery so everyone can drink their sorrows away.
I wonder. Even if the Packard brand had survived wouldn't that building be dated?
Just start making Packards there. Put a good roof on it! 😊 Packard Electric could take over and make Electric Packards!! ⚡🎯
I used the old Packard Assembly Plant in my independent novel, Twisted Saga Aftermath for the base.of operations for a major drug cartel. The undercover FBI and DEA agents that infiltrate the organization incidentally kicks off the Destruction of Detroit.
Well, what happened?
SAD !
I think the
People in Detroit hate tearing down old abandoned buildings, they all have this dream of someone rebuilding them into some amazing new free housing unit
I mean yeah motor city casino and Ford Field were old buildings
We used to go here to drink and smash bottles and do extensive vandalism and cause damage.
Google can build a HQ nd save Detroit. Hire employees from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and even Canada. U got Windsor and Hamilton ain't that far.
Sell it to Amazon
The auto companies have priced themselves out of the market for new cars.
Copper tubing
demolition begin yesterday
This is a crime against american history, a sign of a country that has lost the only thing it had worth a darn - our history and culture. . The plant was unique in being the first reinforced buildings in the world. It saved the world in WW 2 producing 56,000 Merlins and huge numbers of trucks for the US and USSR. The Federal government should have made it a museum at the very least - it's a tragedy.
You'd have thunk SOMEBODY would have bought it and fixed it up by now if only as a matter of civic pride... Even Tesla... Alas...
There were several options to preserve and save this plant but City Hall politics doomed them all. Chrysler leased a section for several years. A jobs training program operated there. Significant private sector funding was available. These were just a couple of ones that I knew about because of direct involvement. Unfortunately strong left-wingers controlled the voters and wanted the property free for themselves. A real waste that did not need to be.
There is no real reason to build in Detroit anymore. The institutional manufacturing knowledge of generations of factory workers is gone, and even that knowledge is questionable given that manufacturing is completely different. We would have to pour tens of billions of dollars just to bring the city's infrastructure up to code and all of that time, energy, and expense would be about nostalga for a generation that's retired or should be retired.
What nobody talks about is cities like Detroit gasp for air because of backroom connections. Not just unions hold progress hostage so a few individuals are able to have a nice living or to keep political power. Cities like Detroit are one big good old boys club. Only way to get away from it is to move away from it.
That's a good reason why Mars is a desirable place to colonize, it's just one giant clean slate. Sure it has some environmental problems but those are easier to deal with than politics that asphyxiate society.
Why do would want to invest tens to hundreds of billions on a dying community like Detroit when you can do so in Texas that has people who aren't tainted with a rotten mind set?
I think that Democrat s they like foreign cars I like when America we made cars America used to be bad ass and s*** kicking
I totally agree brother, you can thank the evil Democrats for creating this in the 1970s.
What could you really do with the remains of the building? It was beautiful and worth preserving but it no longer is.
Now, in 2024, the plant is being put out of its misery with its demolition.
It needs to be a homeless shelter.
Its abandoned and crumbling.there i saved you the whole vid
Coleman Young