Re: Historic Packard Bridge Collapses

Posted by HH56 On 2019/1/24 15:54:22

Just curious if there are more historic Detroit sites that maybe don't mean as much to Packard folks but are sentimental to others that were allowed to get in a similar situation. Seems like the Packard plant gets the press and is the poster child for what not to do but just wondering if it is the only one -- or just the oldest, worst or most nostalgic.

The PBS series This Old House featured a couple of Detroit homes undergoing the renovation treatment a few seasons ago. The renovation was directed and partially funded under the auspices of some city agency. The before shots showed what looked like once grand old homes in deplorable condition -- one was empty and gutted by wire and metal scavengers and the other looked like the family had just walked off leaving everything behind and people had come in and trashed the place after they left. At the time Detroit officials were interviewed and said the homes featured on the show were just a small sampling and a similar clean up approach was happening to abandoned homes in neighborhoods all over Detroit. Said the program also had or was planned to include some of the larger historic sites making them suitable for "repurposed" uses. Is that actually happening or just so much wishful PR?

I seem to remember reading South Bend was much more proactive with the old Studebaker facilities and had found uses or had razed and redeveloped the land around some of them. Are any of the major Stude buildings still there and in similar condition?