For those who haven’t seen the place with their own eyes, this four-minute video captures the Detroit Packard plant better than anything done yet. Watch this.
Note: To see the Packard plant in its finest hour, building Merlin aircraft engines to win World War II, watch this rare historical film.
Here at Mac’s Motor City Garage, we’ve reported before on the abandoned Detroit Packard complex on East Grand Boulevardt. You can find our photo feature and report here, and here’s a portal to the excellent Detroit Free Press series on the plant.
However, below you can find the most striking visual reportage yet, performed by Harry Arnold of Drone Detroit/ITV and his amazing remote helicopter cam. MCG has spent some time in the Packard ruins and in his view, this video absolutely nails the current state of the facility. It’s pretty much just like being there. Also, Arnold’s video is a brutal work of art.
If nothing else, this footage should finally put to rest all the talk from but well-meaning but utterly clueless folks who’ve never been there, but for some reason keep insisting that the enormous old factory should be saved. No. The plant needs to go away, yesterday. It’s a horrible blight on the community. Now that Packard East Grand has a new owner, maybe this clip will help to inform the civic conversation about what needs to happen next.
Now watch the incredible video.
Great music. Everything gonna be everything.
It appears the crumbling is accelerating. I wish someone would do something for God’s sake. The plant has become a symbol of the city, and that’s not good.
It looks like a war zone.
My Grandfather worked there…
We buried him a long time ago
I lived around six mile & vandike a short bike ride from the plant . I used to ride my bike along side , around the plant & under the viaduct to see my relatives that lived on Frederick , Ferry & Theodore st’s . I lived on Tumey st. The plant worker’s used to wave at me & I always waved back . Those were innocent & sweet time’s compared to now . I now live in the upper peninsula of Mi. & I thank god for that as it an awesome place .
Thanks for sharing your personal story, James.
It is the result of energy, we call it “entropy” that everything “goes” to its lowest energy state. It will eventually decay to “crumbles”. Sure, this was a wonderful factory 50 years ago. I was a wonderful man 50 years ago, but both of us must obey natural rules and we will decay to lowest energy level. We must recognize that all businesses will be created, they will grow, they will live, and they will die. Once they die, they are gone forever unless someone finds a new use for that product. Face it- even some of the cities are dying and going to crumbles. The best use of this area is for it to be completely leveled and removed so that some new use of the area can be developed. That’s just the way it goes. Face it and get on with it!
I very much agree. The city’s population is a third of what it once was and has far more structures than it can ever use — many of which are in far, far better shape than the Packard complex. If the new developer can find a way to use a few of the buildings, great. But if they must be leveled, that’s great, too. It was time to move on decades ago.
I would agree that it is beyond redemption. I would like to see some elements of the building incorporated in whatever replaces it and something to mark that that the Packard Plant once stood there. Hope help comes soon for Detroit.