cahartley Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/01/historic-packard-plant-bridge-in-detroit-collapses-into-road.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Steel Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Damn. We lost a little bit more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Skelly Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Considering how the metal scrappers have had a field day at the Packard complex for close to 20 years, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. I don't know if any metal had been removed from the bridge, but I wouldn't be shocked if it had. It's another lost treasure of Detroit - especially with the awesome Packard grille on both sides of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Licespray Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Dang that sucks. Building looks old and run down majorly. Reminds me of the disappointment to be had when the Geranimo factory in Enid, Oklahoma was destroyed to be a parking lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) You would need to explain if there were future plans to rebuild anything in the above photos to understand that this was a loss. Sure glad no one was hurt or killed. Bob Edited January 24, 2019 by 1937hd45 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I had read in a past article, about a year or so ago, that restoring the pedestrian bridge was planned as part of the renovation project. So very sad it didn't hold up long enough. I am just very grateful that nobody was hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1935Packard Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Glad they realized the problem and cleared the area before it happened. Interesting context in the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wetherbee Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 9 hours ago, Jim Skelly said: Considering how the metal scrappers have had a field day at the Packard complex for close to 20 years, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. I don't know if any metal had been removed from the bridge, but I wouldn't be shocked if it had. It's another lost treasure of Detroit - especially with the awesome Packard grille on both sides of it. I wonder if one of the Packard grills could be salvaged for a museum somewhere, it would be a great thing to keep out of a sad situation IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 5 hours ago, wayne sheldon said: I had read in a past article, about a year or so ago, that restoring the pedestrian bridge was planned as part of the renovation project. So very sad it didn't hold up long enough. I am just very grateful that nobody was hurt. It wasn't a pedestrian bridge. It was part of the assembly line. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Mark Wetherbee said: I wonder if one of the Packard grills could be salvaged for a museum somewhere, it would be a great thing to keep out of a sad situation IMO Those concrete grilles were removed long ago. They are currently in the Packard Museum in Dayton, along with the iconic front entrance. The whole bridge, before it collapsed, was wrapped with a poster depicting what the bridge used to look like. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 6 hours ago, wayne sheldon said: I had read in a past article, about a year or so ago, that restoring the pedestrian bridge was planned as part of the renovation project. So very sad it didn't hold up long enough. I am just very grateful that nobody was hurt. Here is the assembly line as it operated on the bridge. It was much more than a pedestrian bridge. This is whole thing is so eerie to me. Symbolic of many different economic factors. The city actually owned 1/2 of it and the south building. It was never going to renovated with the city involved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 "Our first priority is to ensure the area is made safe for the public and the roadway is reopened as soon as possible." Right up until that statement I bet they considered the cost of demolition outrageous. It's more now. Think they are checking a list of other dangerous situations today? Nah. They will applaud how quickly they opened the road. Bernie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frantz Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I was at the new Volvo plant in SC and they had bridges too, much more modern and less ascetically pleasing.... Though I think it's fair to say that the bridge here was probably weaker than expected and I'd guess anything other than a full replacement would have been possible anyhow. Perhaps they can do as I've seen in many historic buildings, they can use elements of the old bridge if it still fits their intentions. Two years ago I was in Detroit and one of my goals was to see the Packard plant but too many things came up and sadly made that impossible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWLawrence Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, 39BuickEight said: Here is the assembly line as it operated on the bridge. It was much more than a pedestrian bridge. This is whole thing is so eerie to me. Symbolic of many different economic factors. The city actually owned 1/2 of it and the south building. It was never going to renovated with the city involved. Edited January 24, 2019 by JWLawrence delete (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 16 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said: "Our first priority is to ensure the area is made safe for the public and the roadway is reopened as soon as possible." Right up until that statement I bet they considered the cost of demolition outrageous. It's more now. Think they are checking a list of other dangerous situations today? Nah. They will applaud how quickly they opened the road. Bernie I can see it now, the city, who owns part of it, will sue the other owner for the cost. The owner will blame the city. It will never end. I'm surprised they even care about opening the road. From what I gather, it's not heavily traveled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWLawrence Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 The bridge was built in 1939. The photo caption is incorrect in that all the bodies pictured are prewar. They are traditional bodies. The Clipper bodies were made by a contractor elswhere. Packard did not make any of its bodies postwar. Its a shame the bridge did not survive, but over 60 years of neglect will take its toll. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 5 hours ago, West Peterson said: The whole bridge, before it collapsed, was wrapped with a poster depicting what the bridge used to look like. I bet that hid a few sins from plain sight!! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 If we had a failing bridge like that around here we would have made a pool with 60 squares, one for each minute of an hour and sold the squares. The winner would get all if they had the minute it feel. We just had a section of highway built nearby. It has three dangerous intersections. I'm trying to get three pools going for the first fatal accident. Good money to be made on the failings of these municipalities. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Who gets to sell "Genuine Packard Bricks"? Flat rate priority mail could deliver one maybe two for $13.65 Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Skelly Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 22 hours ago, 1950panhead said: I can't tell from the photo, but I think the one on the left is the Administration Building, which has recently been completely gutted for restoration. The owner spent over a million just to clean the debris out of it and to presumably remove asbestos, failed plaster, etc. The whole complex is in rough condition. If he can get this building restored, and the world's first concrete-reinforced building (1909), that will be a major accomplishment. Albert and Julius Kahn did a magnificent job building this complex. Hopefully the rest of it will be redeveloped and turn this neighborhood around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 My Wife and I were in Detroit for two days a few years ago. We left the city heading south the length of Fort Street from the center of town. I looked over at her after we had driven past a couple of miles of storefronts with caved in buildings behind them. She was crying. That Packard bridge is probably not the only disaster waiting to happen. No money for prevention and a whole nation to rally after the fact. We sure are a nation of hero worshipers. Bernie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54vicky Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 just watched a program called mysteries of the abandoned they showed a short bit on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 (edited) Not to divert this thread but as others have said, bridges come down accidentally or by design. Here in Windsor, Ontario, Canada GM (Generous Motors...) decided to close the Transmission Plant some time ago and after sitting for some time decided to demolish the main plant leaving the assembly and pedestrian bridge to the very last. With Walker Rd being the busy north south road it was, guess they didn't want to take a chance on the liability of a collapse. I missed the actual day it came down but heard there were four massive cranes used to lower it and load onto a massive multi tired float. Sad day, I used to clean the glass on that Plant when it was running... The work will never come back and now they are closing the Plant in Oshawa. Edited January 29, 2019 by dei (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I grew up in Detroit. I last visited the city in 2014 for the Dodge Brothers Club Centennial Meet. I doubt if I will ever go back. I know why your wife was crying. Everything I knew and loved in the city was disintegrating or gone. Urban blight was just a few blocks away from my maternal grandfather's wonderful Tudor-styled home, built in 1927. My dad was an executive with General Motors, working his way up from claims adjuster for the old Motors Insurance Corporation to regional vice president at GMAC. When we went to look at our first house (1950) it was a gutted, collapsing shell in what had once been a nice suburban neighborhood. My fraternal grandfather was the chief engineer in the design of the Chevy Stovebolt six, and designed the Chevy assembly plant in Brazil. He was also an engineer for Gar Wood Industries (Wood became a multi-millionaire after designing the hydraulic lift for dump trucks) and worked on one of the first rear-engined city bus designed. See his house was the only bright spot as it was out in Rochester, near Meadowbrook - the old Dodge estate, and was still in a nice area. What was once a thriving, energetic city is a run-down mess, it's architecture, history and very life slowly fading away. All I could think of was the ruins of ancient Rome. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Hate to say it, but pretty much emblematic of Detroit, both the industry and the community. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 3 hours ago, On The Riviera said: As for this 'bridge' what they should do is rebuild it with a replica stone part that read P-A-C-K-A-R-D and restore that clock(s) and keep it open so people can walk back and forth. But that's is this person's idea and it would require $$ to do, so no, I don't see it happening. When you think of the Packard Plant you think of the now removed facade' into the admin building, this bridge, maybe the water tower and the expanse of it all. At this stage of the game, it would be 'a bridge to nowhere'. There appears to be little-to-zero industry in the immediate area, with none anticipated in the immediate future. It needs more than a footbridge to keep the Packard Motel, two blocks away in business. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Detroit has come a long way, but still has a long way to go. In the news today Detroit's top cop was arrested for "Super Drunk" DUI. what a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I reflect on the activity in those Detroit plants and there conversion to products geared to fight WWII. The fast and effective transition was impressive. If the nation needed a bunch of tanks in a hurry now...... well, maybe the shipping would be quicker. The only thing Mandarin on those 1940's tanks would have been orange peels someone dropped on the floor. New ones, well, they ain't coming from the Packard plant. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Skelly Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 7 hours ago, Brass is Best said: Detroit has come a long way, but still has a long way to go. In the news today Detroit's top cop was arrested for "Super Drunk" DUI. what a shame. Actually it wasn't the police chief, but a high ranking police official. The police chief, James Craig, is a great guy doing a fantastic job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 18 hours ago, 60FlatTop said: I reflect on the activity in those Detroit plants and there conversion to products geared to fight WWII. The fast and effective transition was impressive. If the nation needed a bunch of tanks in a hurry now...... well, maybe the shipping would be quicker. The only thing Mandarin on those 1940's tanks would have been orange peels someone dropped on the floor. New ones, well, they ain't coming from the Packard plant. I often think about that transition. The homefront activities were incredibly impressive. Perspective is too often lost on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 22 hours ago, 60FlatTop said: I reflect on the activity in those Detroit plants and there conversion to products geared to fight WWII. The fast and effective transition was impressive. If the nation needed a bunch of tanks in a hurry now...... well, maybe the shipping would be quicker. The only thing Mandarin on those 1940's tanks would have been orange peels someone dropped on the floor. New ones, well, they ain't coming from the Packard plant. Where were the fireworks made for July 4th and VJ day? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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