For Sale: One Packard Plant

[Honky Tonk]

Whatever happens it would be nice to see some people from The Henry Ford make a move to recover as much of Building 10 as possible for installation in the Village or even the Museum. It fits exactly with the vision of preserving engineering firsts. I know it won't ever happen because it never does here. But it would be nice to see it preserved for future generations to learn from.

With all due respect, The Packard plant is a bit to far gone for that. [[though it would be a nice gesture) The other issue is Ford, like the other auto companies, are watching their pennies more so then they did in HF1's day. Still.....

[Packman41]

Whatever happens it would be nice to see some people from The Henry Ford make a move to recover as much of Building 10 as possible for installation in the Village or even the Museum. It fits exactly with the vision of preserving engineering firsts. I know it won't ever happen because it never does here. But it would be nice to see it preserved for future generations to learn from.

The Henry Ford? Umm… you do know a dedicated group of volunteers is preserving and restoring the Packard Proving Grounds out in Utica [[Shelby Township)?

They have acquired many artifacts from the original Packard Plant and have them in storage at the Proving Grounds until such time that they can be displayed in the appropriate setting. I am sure that any additional artifacts from the Plant site would be accepted at the Proving Grounds.

[Krawlspace]

With all due respect, The Packard plant is a bit to far gone for that. [[though it would be a nice gesture) The other issue is Ford, like the other auto companies, are watching their pennies more so then they did in HF1's day. Still.....

With all due respect to you, I was making the case for Building 10, and only a portion of that. The building part in question is very small relative to the entire plant.
See the DetroitFunk page here for an actual image.

Additionally, the Ford Motor Company has nothing at all to do financially with The Henry Ford as an institution save for the FMC Fund's donations of support along with DTE, The Kresge Foundation, and Roger Penske but to name a few. Building 10 changed industrial architecture forever. It would not be horrendously expensive to remove the facade and a portion of the interior floors for an installment. But like I said, it won't happen. Not because of the reasons you mentioned, but rather for the complete apathy for history that so very many of the residents of Metro Detroit have when it comes to the city itself. Just look at the Ford Piquette Plant and Highland Park Plant as examples. Forgotten but to a few dedicated souls [[especially at Piquette, and I'm not detracting here) who try to make the masses aware of the amazing heritage we all should celebrate.

[Krawlspace]

I am absolutely aware of the Proving Grounds and the rescue of the entrance ways and other items. I simply felt that Building 10 might be more appreciated at the Henry Ford set among so many other historically significant mechanical and engineering buildings and equipment. If the Proving Grounds can step in I'll come down myself and help with labor. I was only thinking of rescue in general and the potential exposure at the HF.

[Richard]

I was making the case for Building 10, and only a portion of that. The building part in question is very small relative to the entire plant.

The whole plant was building 10 as in building #10 or the tenth factory that Mr. Khan designed.He engineered a whole design not just a little part or small building.

[Richard]

How many square feet does the Packard Plant have? Ballpark.

Year and Half ago it was at 2.2 million sqft,who's to say now considering the renewed interests in the unabated demolishing of the city,at that time it would have taken less then 18 million to get it serviceable enough for production or revenue generation multi use.

[Krawlspace]

The whole plant was building 10 as in building #10 or the tenth factory that Mr. Khan designed.He engineered a whole design not just a little part or small building.

Building #10 of the Packard Plant is a single structure within the greater whole. Khan did not produce a "whole design" for the plant which evolved over decades and in fact he was not even the first architect for the Boulevard location factories. Building 10 for the first time utilized the Khan Method of reinforced concrete which was a product of Khan's brother Julius and as I stated had a huge impact in factory design and as a direct result productivity and profit for these companies. Do a little research.

[Richard]

Building #10 of the Packard Plant is a single structure within the greater whole. Khan did not produce a "whole design" for the plant which evolved over decades and in fact he was not even the first architect for the Boulevard location factories. Building 10 for the first time utilized the Khan Method of reinforced concrete which was a product of Khan's brother Julius and as I stated had a huge impact in factory design and as a direct result productivity and profit for these companies. Do a little research.

He was asked or commissioned to design a factory for PMC or actually for Packard Land Development Corporation which was the building or real estate division for Packard Motor car.

The original blue prints clearly show the entire factory and is labeled as such building #10 not Packard building etc.

The original design was for two stories and the other two were added which in turn would make it easier to reconstruct as it was not built as a single pour but in layers,but anyways why would PLD corp ask to build a small single story building that was smaller then what they had already? They commissioned a full factory build.

I did my research probably way deeper then most,have you ever seen the original full set of blueprints?

[Krawlspace]

He was asked or commissioned to design a factory for PMC or actually for Packard Land Development Corporation which was the building or real estate division for Packard Motor car.

The original blue prints clearly show the entire factory and is labeled as such building #10 not Packard building etc.

The original design was for two stories and the other two were added which in turn would make it easier to reconstruct as it was not built as a single pour but in layers,but anyways why would PLD corp ask to build a small single story building that was smaller then what they had already? They commissioned a full factory build.

I did my research probably way deeper then most,have you ever seen the original full set of blueprints?

If you want to call the whole place Building 10 and cast aside the myriad mentions of it being a separate building within the complex go right ahead. The Legacy of Albert Kahn, the Packard Cormorant winter issue from 2009, the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press, 1915 Sanborn Maps, and several other sources I don't have right in front of me disagree with you, but that's ok. And yes, I have seen many of the original prints [[including a very nice elevation and cut away of the "non-existent" Building #10) both at the Bentley Library at U of M as well as at Albert Kahn & Ass. where I was given limited access due to my knowing a manager who works there.

[Jimaz]

Meet Allan Hill, the man who lives In Detroit's abandoned Packard Auto Plant.

Attachment 20748
This Must Be The Place

[Tetherunit]

My suggestion; Talk to Michael Bay, do a Transformers 5 and implode & level the entire complex, Hollywood style.

[townonenorth]

Here's a description of the plant for those of you that think the entire complex is building 10.

[AUSSIE]

What would be the approximate cost of demolision and remediation of the site?

Not as much as you think!

A 40 ton excavator with a hyd. hammer and claws is all you would need, and a tip truck and trailer to cart it away [not sure of tipping fees in your city?] the steel would be accounted for and recycled

ONE person could do it, of course wont be the fastest way but you would be surprised what a good excavator operator can do in 10 hours.

Shame to see another piece of Packard leave the earth...

[M CD M]

Wikipedia says it has 3.5 million square feet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Automotive_Plant

Is that before or after the collapsed floors? or is that just talking about ground floor footprint?

[old guy]

Not as much as you think!


ONE person could do it, of course wont be the fastest way but you would be surprised what a good excavator operator can do in 10 hours....

The Packard Plant down in 10 hours. Good luck with that one.
Maybe with a hydrogen bomb.

[AUSSIE]

The Packard Plant down in 10 hours. Good luck with that one.
Maybe with a hydrogen bomb.

Go have another read of what I wrote, a good excavator operator can do a whole lot of work in 10 hours, I DID NOT SAY the whole building!!I use to operate one, fairly hands one what they can do, cheers

[cramerro]

Not sure if there is another thread... this is pretty big news to me at least:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...text|FRONTPAGE

They have 'hired' Kahn to work on it, serious enough for Kahn to say they have a principal assigned to the project.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...O01/307170042/

They even did a whole rendering of the overpass... this must be for real [[/sarcasm).

Thoughts?

[mikeg19]

And queue the "it'll never happen" comments in 3,2,1..............

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Well, we can always dream. I do like that nifty rendering. But I think I'd call it PackardTown instead of Villages of Packard.