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Just saw on the local 11pm news, that the old Packard plant is the victim of arson and is burning. Current reports are that arsonist set fire to stacks of pallets and plastic barrels stored in the assembly line areas. Hazmat has been called to the scene.

And so goes history, with a hiss of flame... what a shame it all is.

Does anyone ever wonder if this was the future that was the alternate reality, the one that not supposed to happen? Have you ever wondered why our future is not at all what we thought it would be 40 or 50 years ago? Have you ever wondered what the country would be like if we weren't lamenting the loss of Chrysler and Packards were still rolling off the line?

I do.... so long East Grand.

Bummer, I like old buildings, and that one would have been very cool to see. Searching for updates I ran across this news article from 1915:

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Here's a panoramic from 'www.detroityes.com'

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any updates?

Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Packard plant continues to smolder following Monday fire
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News

Detroit -- A section of the old Packard plant is smoldering this morning after a Monday night fire drew investigators to the scene.

The blaze originated on the fourth floor of a six-story building in the industrial complex on East Grand Boulevard, said Fire Chief Katrina Butler, spokeswoman for the fire department. Firefighters responded some time before 10 p.m. Monday but were not able to go inside to extinguish the fire because it was too dangerous to enter after dark, she said.

The fire remained contained within the building, she added. By Tuesday morning, it had reduced to a smolder, and investigators left the scene.


"At this point we're just going to let it burn out," Butler said.
She said investigators believed some kind of plastic on the fourth floor had been ignited. Authorities at this point don't know how the blaze started.

The old Packard Motor Car Co. plant consists of about 3.5 million square feet of factory stretching a full half-mile along Concord Street. Packard abandoned the factory in 1956. Dozens of brick warehouses remain standing.

cjun@detnews.com (313) 222-2019


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BILL MCGRAW
At night, crews let Packard Plant burn
BY BILL MCGRAW ? FREE PRESS COLUMNIST ? JUNE 9, 2009

That big plume of black smoke that filled the sky Monday night and was visible from downtown to the eastern suburbs?

It was just the Packard Plant burning.

Again.

And that fire is likely to be burning this morning, because the Packard Plant is too dangerous for Detroit firefighters to enter after dark, so they had to let it burn Monday night.

Fire crews are called to the massive and mostly abandoned complex about once a week, said Lt. Steve Kirschner of Engine Co. 23, which is stationed a few blocks west of the plant.

The fires stem from scrappers and their acetylene torches and people, many of them young, who like to explore the Packard Plant and think it's cool to set fires to the huge mounds of trash and other dumped debris in the complex's large rooms.

On Monday night, the black smoke came from thousands of wooden pallets, garbage and plastic tubing on the fourth floor of a six-story building a few hundred yards north of E. Grand Boulevard.

"We're going to let it burn itself out," Kirschner said. "We never go in at night. It's just not safe."

The Packard complex, designed by Albert Kahn starting in 1903, is located near Mt. Elliott and I-94. It consists of 3.5 million square feet of space in 43 interconnected buildings. Many of the buildings are filled with trash and dumped articles, including old pleasure boats and shoes. There is one small business that remains in the complex, a chemical-processing concern.

Kirschner said Engine 23 and other fire companies responded to a fire recently during the day and discovered about 25,000 square feet of shoes burning. The smoke, partially from the shoes' rubber and glue, was dangerous for the firefighters and anyone in the neighborhood who might have breathed it.

Hazardous-materials crews monitored the air Monday night and found no need for evacuations. The cause of the fire was not known, but firefighters were certain it was set. They called for an arson car, but none was available.

The Packard site is filled with tunnels, open sewers and collapsing walls and ceilings, often the result of scrappers cutting out I-beams. Last fall, two scrappers fell one story in a cloud of dust, cement slabs and bricks when they cut out a beam and the lower part of a covered bridge collapsed into an alley-like street, Bellevue Avenue. The scrappers limped away. The debris remains where it fell.

In 2007, the fire department warned its personnel about the Packard's dangers and had fire crews from across central Detroit tour the site to try to understand it, in case they were ever called to fight a blaze there.

A memo from the chief of department said the complex's roadways could collapse due to the weight of the rigs. It advised that fires should be fought from the outside of the building, shooting water inside.

While it is technically not abandoned, the Packard Plant is mind-numbing in its vastness, decay and the large trees growing from its roofs. It is totally open to trespass.

The complex is owned by a company called Bioresource Inc., which emerged with the title after a lengthy court battle with the City of Detroit. City officials say the firm has failed to pay Detroit taxes since it bought the plant in 1987. State records show Bioresource has not filed an annual report since 2000 and was declared dissolved by the state in 2003.

Thanks for the research on this. Such an impressive place. To be abused so terribly and still be standing is a testament to how well Packard built things. It's amazing that, as the first reinforced concrete structure built, the original Packard buildings don't rate an historic preservation.

In a way, though, it's a wonder to see how the plant stands in the face of all opposition. I wonder if one reason it hasn't been "torn down" is that it would be such a colossal undertaking.

Here's to the old gal and her big neon sign: QUALITY FIRST

Even if the plant were to be on the registry , the city of Detroit has a nasty habit of demolishing buildings that are on the historical register.

I am told that these are pictures of the Packard plant fire of the 1950's.

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Best as i remember, i was told that around the time pac made a push to save the proving grounds, they made a push to save the factory and get it on the national historic landmark list. i was told ford was willing to talk. the city of detroit was not, and started demolition on a couple of the buildings. then its been in legal battles since.