Going, going, gone... Old Packard plant in Detroit

[Sherlock]

The long abandoned Packard plant will be demolished by the owner, anyone in Detroit will likely know that it's in awful shape now after years of neglect, I can't say that I've seen it in person :blush: A shame to see it go, but it almost sounds like it's time...

https://www.freep.com/article/20120301/NE...ays?odyssey=mod Be sure to follow some of the secondary articles linked to it... Some interesting reading...

And you wanted more photos of it? Almost ten thousand of them posted at Flickr, just to show you how popular it had become for urban explorers... https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Packard+plant

 

[Roger]

I suppose I hadn't paid attention, but I'm astonished it's still standing after all this time. Has it really been empty and idle for 55 years?

 

[Sherlock]

I suppose I hadn't paid attention, but I'm astonished it's still standing after all this time. Has it really been empty and idle for 55 years?

My understanding is that after 1957 it has been used for various industrial uses (non-automotive) but never really kept in great condition... Apparently the building has entirely abandoned for at least ten years now, not fenced off in any way or even patrolled by security, so has been subject to extensive vandalism...

 

[billspit]

It's hard to believe that the company that built the Rolls Royce Packard engine in WWII could not make it.

 

[DrEntropy]

We left the "Rust Belt" back in late 1980. Before everything went cold, the paternal side of my family all worked in a local steel mill. After the collapse my bro "scavenged" our Old Man's parking lot I.D. plaque, sometime in 1995. The mills and lab facility were wide open, unguarded and starting to cave in on themselves. Abandoned.

This company was the outfit supplying most of the tubing for nuclear reactors the Navy put into the ships and subs. Grandfather was a millwright, father headed destructive testing and quality control, I worked a while as a nuclear grade tubing inspector (ultrasound, mag flux & particle).

Seeing any of the manufacturing facilities like that is demoralizing, IMO. Yamamoto's "sleeping giant" has been fatally wounded by victory...

...and the Marshall Plan.

:madder:

 

[jessebogan]

Funny you would mention tubing for reactors. I was reading about the problems in the San Onofre (sp?) reactor in California. The original tubing in the heat exchanger was made in the USA. After 30 years, it had corroded 25%, and was due for replacement. After a certain number of tubes were replaced one at a time, the whole unit gets rebuilt, and the plant is off line while this happens.

The new tubes were made in Japan. The exchanger was rebuilt 4 years ago, and the new tubes are made of an improved alloy that was supposed to last longer. Fact is, in 4 years they are actually FAILING, corroded way past the 25-30% threshold. Last thing I read was that they were trying to find out where the raw steel came from.... I can only guess

I have also read that the US only has one forge capable of forging aircraft landing gear legs... We have lost our industrial capabilities, and now would depend on imports to keep us going. Shades of Great Britian in WW2. If not for us coming to their aid with Lend Lease, not to mention our other "assistance", things would have been much different for them. Who is going to come to our aid??

 

[DNK]

Canadians?

 

[Bayless]

Can't answer that without getting pulled for political content.

 

[JPSmit]

Can't answer that without getting pulled for political content.

what's wrong with Canadians?

seriously, it's even worse here because any company with a USA head office address is relocating their manufacturing overseas or (understandably) to the USA. Our economy is not in the shape yours is, significantly because we never had sub-prime mortgages so the banking system is in fact sounder. But, the real factor is natural resources - oil, potash, gold etc. The problem with being a resource based economy is twofold - First, resources have a nasty habit of running out and second, the strength of the resource sector masks the weakness of other sectors (like manufacturing) Put another way, resources (especially oil) were responsible for 140% percent of the last quarter's economic growth.

 

[Bayless]

JP, my comment was definitely not derogatory toward your great country, Canada. Quite to the contrary instead.

 

[JPSmit]

JP, my comment was definitely not derogatory toward your great country, Canada. Quite to the contrary instead.

see that's why we need more silly smilies - I knew that! (no worries)

 

[Guest]

JP, my comment was definitely not derogatory toward your great country, Canada. Quite to the contrary instead.

see that's why we need more silly smilies - I knew that! (no worries)

What's wrong with Canadian's?!?!?!? :shocked:


.... they'll sliver a car down to it's innards to make it nice and purty but don't by new wheels for it.... :confuse:

THEN....they'll sliver another car down to it's innards and STILL not buy nice new shiney wheels for the first innard slivered one.

And the most important one of all
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THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT BACON IS !!!!

"Canadian Bacon" ....might as well be innards.

Crazy Canooks!