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Plant

main site with other cool buildings in detroit

Yesterday's Sunday New York Times magazine section had an article titled "GM., Detroit, and the Fall of the Black Middle Class". It contained a very recent page-and-a-half centerfold picture of the decaying Packard plant. While I don't suppose too much of our readership here gets the New York Times, I suppose the picture can be viewed on their on-line archive, and for that reason plus possible copyright issues, I'm not posting it here, but if you haven't seen the plant recently, it's worth a look. Date of publication was 6-28-09.

Another two-alarm fire last night :

http://www.freep.com/article/20090629/COL27/90629003/?imw=Y

I think there may be a growing groundswell of support in Detroit for tearing the whole thing down, now that the weekly fires and non-payment of taxes is getting publicized. As much as I've loved Packard, the automobile and the company, it's time to bury the decayed corpse of this plant and help this beleaguered city to move forward. Now that we have a new mayor and the biggest moron on the City Clowncil has pled guilty to accepting bribes and resigned, maybe there's a modicum of hope still alive for this place. Unfortunately, the time for hope for the old factory ended about 10 or 15 years ago.

It's funny to think that a factory has a lifespan just like a person or a car.

Even funnier to think that the life of a factory could be shorter than the life of some of the cars made in it.

While the parent languishes, its prodigy is having a second chance at life. The Proving Grounds are coming back to life! To paraphrase a well know known English writer: Packard is dead, long live Packard!

New Packard plant fire pics at this site:

http://jalopnik.com/5303681/abandoned-detroit-packard-auto-plant-catches-fire/gallery/


20 pics of recent fire.