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That is bad news but here is an article to refresh folks memories on how far the site had come and the future plans for the site. Lots of photos but still a long way to go.
Bob -
Thanks Bob, I enjoyed the photos. Its a shame that it was left to the scrappers , and the elements, for so many years. It's also a shame that the construction site was left unsecured to the point that a trespasser was killed there. It was a large part of Detroits history, and it's nice to see that something is being done to save it.Tom Senecal Not enough money or years to build all of the Studebakers that I think I can.Comment
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OPPS:
Fatal hide-and-seek accident not at Packard plant
George Hunter, The Detroit NewsPublished 1:12 p.m. ET Jan. 14, 2019 | Updated 1:18 p.m. ET Jan. 14, 2019
The former Grand Trunk Warehouse & Cold Storage facility, built in the late 1920s. (Photo: Google maps)
Detroit — A 21-year-old man died Saturday, likely after falling down an elevator shaft while playing in an abandoned building — but the facility where the accident occurred was not part of the Packard plant complex as originally reported by police.
Detroit police sent out an alert Saturday about the incident, in which the man fell to his death while he and a group of friends played hide-and-seek inside the building on St. Aubin near East Ferry. In the alert, police said the building was an extension of the 45-building Packard plant.
But the abandoned building where the accident took place is nearly two miles west of the Packard complex. Yvette van der Velde, spokeswoman for Arte Express, the development firm that bought the plant in 2013, said the building where Saturday's accident occurred is not part of the Packard complex.
"We own the property, but it's not part of the Packard plant," she said.
Detroit police Officer Dan Donakowski, who sent out Saturday's alert about the fatal accident, said he was originally told by department officials that the accident had happened at the Packard plant.
"That’s how it came out in the notifications," Donakowski said. "That's why we tell people those (alerts) are sent out as preliminary information. We can only go by the information we have at the time."
Detroit police Sgt. Nicole Kirkood added: "After further investigation, it was determined that the accident didn't happen at the Packard plant, but in a vacant building in the 1900 block of Ferry Street."
The site of the fatal accident is the former Grand Trunk Warehouse & Cold Storage facility, built in the late 1920s. The building, which stored food for Beatrice Foods Co., was next to the Grand Trunk Western Railroad tracks.
The facility closed in 2002, and is a favorite haunt for trespassers. Photos of the building are posted on several websites dedicated to "urban explorers."
Police say a group of friends was playing on the building's ninth floor sometime between midnight and 1:30 a.m. Saturday. When the victim ran away to hide, he likely fell through the elevator shaft.
His friends looked for him in vain before leaving the building. When they returned the next morning to resume the search, they found his body amid piles of debris inside an elevator shaft on the first floor, police said. The friends then dialed 911.
Last edited by StudeRich; 01-14-2019, 04:14 PM.StudeRich
Second Generation Stude Driver,
Proud '54 Starliner Owner
SDC Member Since 1967Comment
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Yes, "OOPS"!!!
He also could have been crushed by a DUMP TRUCK: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...d-plant-window
CraigComment
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The former Packard plant, located on East Grand Blvd., just south of the Edsel Ford Freeway, is the largest industrial ruin in the world. 95% of it is there today.
When the Lima Peru developer bought it, he hired a 24 hour security service to keep out the scrappers and to stop people from using it as a trash dump.
Most of the trash has been hauled away, including the 1961/66 Ford dump truck that was pushed out of the 4th floor of one of the buildings, 1942 Plymouth sedan, several class C motorhomes and dozens of boats.
Some of the graffiti has been painted out and a canvas replica of the clock and Packard name that was on a bridge that spanned East Grand was installed.
Google Earth the 35 acre site to see what it looks like.
There are also before and after pics on the net. The plant opened in 1903 and was expanded multiple times.
This was the first reinforced concrete building in the US, designed by architect Albert Kahn who then built assembly line buildings for damn near everyone else, including FoMoCo's Highland Park and The Rouge plants.
btw: 1961/66 Ford trucks look pretty much the same, the only real difference is the grille.Last edited by WinM1895; 01-14-2019, 05:56 PM.Comment
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As an aside, the reason there are "dozens of boats" dumped at the facility (and there are) is because they are fiberglass boats. They were stolen with trailers and motors intact and stripped of the salable salvage parts; the metal trailers and the motors.
The stripped fiberglass hulks have no value, so they are dumped on that property. That's why they don't have any trailers under them or motors on (or in) them.
BP
We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge. 
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.Comment
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Bob, how about writing an article about the Packard plant.
You could add what remains of the Hudson plant, the ruins of the Lozier plant, several Fisher body plants, the Lincoln model L plant, and the first Hudson plant that was formerly the Aerocar plant.
Rickenbacker plant is still there and it looks to be in very good shape from what I can see on Google Earth.Comment
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Two steps back? https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...GgOhr8RXCV7nZcOriginally posted by sweetolbob View Post
CraigComment
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OMG! 'Just got word (and the photo below) from a friend in Detroit that the famous overhead bridge collapsed today (January 23, 2019). Hope his photo comes through. UGH. BP
We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.Comment
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Comment
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WOW, that's a sad sorry sight to see. The bridge was added in 1934 when the plant was enlarged for the upcoming 120.Originally posted by BobPalma View Post OMG! 'Just got word (and the photo below) from a friend in Detroit that the famous overhead bridge collapsed today (January 23, 2019). Hope his photo comes through. UGH. BP
In 1937, Fortune Magazine had an article about Packard and the plant.Comment
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"Only" 85 years setting out a bad climate with little to no care for most of that time. Reminds me of the Tappan Zee bridge that is being taken down now. I believe that it was first opened in December 1955.Originally posted by WinM1895 View PostGary L.
Wappinger, NY
SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longerComment
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The last car assembled at East Grand was a 1954 Clipper.Originally posted by studegary View Post
There's a photo on the net that shows it heading down the line, behind it employees are removing the rails of the assembly line.
Packard had lost their body maker, so they ended up having to making their own. It was a FIASCO from day one!
Packard built a new V8 engine plant in Utica MI (where the test track was), they also moved all the parts there.
East Grand became a ghost town. It was sold after Packard "folded the tent."
A friend of mine (StudeRich knows him too) was the parts manager of the Packard Distributor in Kansas City MO
He told me that the during the first 6 months of the 1955 model run, the Warranty costs were $500,000.00 (!) and this was just in the Kansas City district.
Twin Ulcer-Matic was the major problem, but faulty Torsion Bar suspension, V8 engine problems and fixing the horrid body problems accounted for most of the rest.
When Packard folded, the distributor closed. Bob Moss, the parts manager headed west to Los Angeles, where he worked at Frost and French as their parts manager until they closed.Last edited by WinM1895; 01-23-2019, 07:40 PM.Comment
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Originally posted by WinM1895 View Post
Bill, I've never heard of any particular Torsion-Level suspension problems during the warranty period.
True, the V8 had oil pump problems due to the associated vacuum chamber (bad design)...and I'd not take issue with anything else in your post, but I don't believe the Torsion-Level suspension presented any unusual or abnormally-high warranty issues.
"Never say never," of course, but I've followed those cars carefully all my life, and own a 1956 Clipper Super hardtop with Torsion-Level suspension. I've never heard peep about warranty issues. They were susceptible to poor maintenance because they had many grease fittings aft of the front of the car that were overlooked or ignored by "regular" gas stations, but those would not have shown up until years later, when irregular or non-existent lubrication reared its ugly head. BP
We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.Comment
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