The former Studebaker plant on Piquette at John R

Can anyone shed any light on [[or stories about) this former auto factory? What condition was it in, and when was it demo'd?

I don't think much has even been done with the vacant plot since, but New Center overall has promise and a lot of auto history or what's left of that history.

It was not demoed, It was destroyed by fire.

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Originally Posted by night-timer

Can anyone shed any light on [[or stories about) this former auto factory? What condition was it in, and when was it demo'd?

I don't think much has even been done with the vacant plot since, but New Center overall has promise and a lot of auto history or what's left of that history.

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http://www.studebaker-info.org/Build...detroitmi.html

Here is some history of the building. When my father was in the 425th Infantry Regiment of the MI ARNG [[1948-1952) they used that armory for drill. I went down there with him many times when he had paperwork to catch up on. It was pretty dark and very dirty. The motor pool was in a courtyard with the motor shops in some bays just off the courtyard. The tank company had old WWII Sherman tanks. They used to go up to Camp Grayling every year via the Michigan Central railroad line to Mackinac.

During WWII, the National Guard was called to active duty in 1940. With the national Guard gone, state governors formed "state guards" or "state defense forces" from those too old for the draft or who were exempt from the draft for medical or occupational reasons. Here is a picture of the Michigan force at the Piquette Armory during WWII.

Attachment 33776

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Originally Posted by rjlj

It was not demoed, It was destroyed by fire.

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It burned on the night of June 20, 2005, in a huge fire that could be seen, and even felt, across much of the midtown area and the east side.

Here is the story:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/...oit-fire_x.htm
Here is Lowell's old page on the building:
https://www.detroityes.com/webisodes...studebaker.htm
Here is some pretty spectacular footage of the fire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvD2ZYV_M0Y

Before and after:

Before:
http://www.studebaker-info.org/Build...tudefrtpan.jpg

After:
http://www.studebaker-info.org/Build...BurnFrtPan.jpg

^^^ Yep, it housed a storage company [[bad time for anyone storing things there) and a meat place that had gone down hills well before the fire. The smell of the fire was for miles it seemed!

There is some kind of a Veteran's building on that sight now. Also, the Ford Piquette Ave. plant, [[now a museum), was owned by Studebaker for many years.

http://detroit1701.org/Studebaker%20Plant.html

http://detroit1701.org/Piquette%20Square.html

The smell of the rotting meat was horrible until they finally cleared the site.

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Originally Posted by gumby

The smell of the rotting meat was horrible until they finally cleared the site.

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It's not good when you read this first and then click on the Piquette Square link above thinking it's the Studebaker link...phew! :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by gumby

The smell of the rotting meat was horrible until they finally cleared the site.

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Yup.....and probably a few rat cadavers too. I was shooting photos a week later, one definitely wanted to get upwind.

Ground was broken for the plant on May 23, 1910. According to the Freep it was a brand new factory. The houses in the photograph below were being razed as the foundation for the factory was being built.