Why so many factories?

[DetroitPlanner]

Tell me about the rabbits, Detroitnerd......

Forget about the rabbits, I want to know about Curley's wife!

[Islandman]

Sorry to offend your sensibilities too. But could there possibly be a dumber question on a board about Detroit than "Why so many factories?"

Not offended at all, and I find it humorous that you think so.

I don't think his question was "why so many factories in Detroit?" but "why so many factories in this particular area?", which I don't think is such a stupid question in 2014.

Sounds like you and others are more offended than I, but carry on..and keep hating on his boat.

[Detroitnerd]

Tell me about the rabbits, Detroitnerd......

You go to the drive-in restaurant. The bunny is there for car-hop service. :P

[nain rouge]

Detroit's problems can be summed up with 2 questions:

Why so many factories? Why so many homes?

Boom! Topic creator is a genius.

[PeachLaser]

...it would be great if these abandoned plants could be, at minimum, cleared out and perhaps reforested, turned into public parklands, etc. Of course, that would take X amount of money, and anti-tax ideologues have long ago successfully recast taxes as a theological evil, especially if directed at those who can most afford them...

Turn them into great parks honoring industry, history and the contributions these made. Leave a portion of the 'core hulk' of each relic and have museums in them with walkways and bikeways connecting them through the reforestation. Have a usage fee to support the destruction, construction and maintenance. The area would make great theme parks with all the heavy lifting apparatus around [[if they haven't already been taken).

[raptor56]

I've always marvelled at the raw display of industry in that area as I drive up I-75. I am curious though, are most of those factories operational [[I hope so) or are a majority of them closed?

[Dumpling]

Here is a qualitative set of observations about this industrial area from someone that
makes mistakes. [[Am too lazy to do heavy lifting research on the individual companies.) Generally, over the past ten years, I would guess that somewhere between fifteen and thirty percent of the firms have gone out of business forever. A certain fraction of these were burned out and covered with graffiti. Some of these still stand. Some have been cleared.
A few have become new firms. Examples: the commercial linens laundry across the street
from the Del Ray bar was eventually burned down and is now a vacant lot. The Del Ray bar itself. It is still there but is closed. Wayne Soap [[thank heaven - that was the worst
stench - it closed in the 1990s I think). Systematic Recycling suburban leaf composting [[stench) closed; the composting operation more or less was moved to Uni-Dig out in
Macomb County. The land that Systematic Recycling had been on, on the south side of Jefferson, was apparently purchased from Lakeshore TolTest [[not Mr. Rosendall as I thought earlier) by DWSD for the NEFCO biosolids drying facility that is under active construction there.
During the 2008-2011 recession, maybe another thirty percent of firms experienced
slowdowns. The Zug Island blast furnaces to convert iron ore into iron and the nearby auto related steel industries were among these. They are operating at a steady clip now.
The WWTP on the southeast corner of the I-75 Rouge Bridge, the fuel depots, and the Marathon Refinery on the northwest corner of the I-75 Rouge Bridge have operated
steadily with no major slowdowns over the last ten years.

[Dumpling]

This one is for the OP:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...see_where.html

It stopped by at the Detroit Marine Terminal to refuel on its way to Chicago
I presume. I was nearby though wearing my oldest work blue work pants that
don't reach down past my ankles that day [[so no pics!).