Roof top of an abandoned car manufacturing plant in Detroit Michigan. The ceiling supports have toppled over graffiti on walls
The Packard Automotive Plant is a former automobile-manufacturing factory in Detroit, Michigan where luxury Packard cars were made by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The 3,500,000-square-foot (325,000 m2), plant was designed by Albert Kahn and is located on over 40 acres ( km2) of land on East Grand Boulevard on the city's depressed east side. It included the first use of reinforced concrete for industrial construction in Detroit. The Packard plant was opened in 1907 and at the time was considered the most modern automobile manufacturing facility in the world with skilled craftsmen who practiced over eighty trades.[citation needed] The factory complex closed in 1958, but the structures remain mostly intact as of 2012. The City of Detroit has pledged legal action to have it demolished or secured. Dominic Cristini, whose claim of ownership of the property is disputed, is said to be conducting construction surveys in advance of full-scale demolition as of early 2012. Portions of the upper floors of several small sections in various buildings have collapsed or been partly demolished and lay in ruins in the wake of several aborted attempts at demolition over the years. Owing to the reinforced concrete construction, almost all but those small sections remain structurally sound. Since its abandonment, the plant has served as a haven for graffiti artists, urban explorers, paintballers and auto scrappers. Scavengers have extensively stripped the buildings of wiring and other building materials. A number of the outer buildings were in use by businesses up through the early 2000s. In 2010, the owner of the last remaining lessee, Chemical Processing, announced his intention to vacate the premises after 52 years. As of March 2012, however, Chemical Processing remains on the premises, and the company's website still lists its Packard address on Concord Street.
Size: 4608px × 3073px
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
Photo credit: © Cynthia Lindow / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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