Packard Automotive Plant (Detroit, Michigan)

USA / Michigan / Hamtramck / Detroit, Michigan
 abandoned / shut down  Add category
Site of the mostly abandoned Packard Automobile Factory. The Packard factory on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit was designed by Albert Kahn, and included the first use of reinforced concrete for industrial construction in Detroit. When opened in 1903, it was considered the most modern automobile manufacturing facility in the world and its skilled craftsmen practiced over eighty trades.

The 3.5 million ft2 (325,000 m²) plant covered over 35 acres (142,000 m²) and straddled East Grand Boulevard. It was later subdivided by eighty-seven different companies. Kahn also designed The Packard Proving Grounds at Utica, Michigan.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Automotive_Plant
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   42°22'42"N   83°1'40"W

Comments

  • According to what I saw on CNBC recently, this is the largest abandoned industrial facility in America. It is a sober testament to the realities of how capitalism leaves certain entities - be they people, careers, dreams, factories, what have you - in the dust in the onward march of growth, profits, and progress. I'm surprised some developer hasn't converted this sprawling place into a giant condominium project, "The Packard Palisades," or some such.
  • If you`ve ever seen the inside of this place you would know why they have never developed it. It is also in a horribly dangerous neighborhood. They really should tear this thing down.
  • Its a sober testament to the ignorance of many that this a seen as a capitalist reality. Of course there are no such relics of socialist economies....
  • Таких "реликвий социалистических экономик" в нашей стране стало полно именно после перехода на рыночную экономику. До того всё это, как ни странно, вполне себе работало.
This article was last modified 9 years ago