A DETROIT wound

Packard’s plant It definitely closed in 1958 When their cars stopped being competitive with those of Ford and General Motors. In 1954, Packard merged with Studebaker, an operation that did not revitalize the brand. During World War II, the Roosevelt administration used the factory to manufacture the engines of Mustang aircraft, boats and diverse war material.

Until a few months ago, it was possible to enter and tour the huge abandoned buildings. There were yellow posters with the indication “Not three Passing/Do not enter”, which did not dissuade the curious to access their interior. The plant was located in the East Grand Boulevardless than two kilometers from the center of Detroit.

The factory began its activity in 1903but in less than a decade the successive extensions multiplied its size by ten. It was the first industrial complex built with reinforced concrete in the United States. And a symbol of the city’s modernity for the design of its assembly chains, with a rectangular structure with large windows, with an aesthetic similar to that of ‘Metropolis’, the Fritz Lang film.

Until the beginning of his definitive demolition, the visitor could walk through his immense empty ships, whose walls were full of Painted local artists. The vegetation grew on its walls and in its courtyards, full of planks and old tires. It was not difficult to imagine the workers in the production chains of the Packard, who competed in the luxury segment. The Japanese imperial family was one of its customers. In its time of splendor, the factory It produced more than 130,000 cars a yearof which a quarter were exported.

“A widow with a hat”

Packard’s decline began in 1946 when, despite its solid financial position, its cars began to be technologically left behind. Its competitors launched new models, but Packard took six years to react. The critics made fun of their designs, pointing out that they looked “a widow with a hat.” Cadillac stayed with a good part of the market that packard had led.

The buildings served in the 60s as warehouses and were even used for parties, concerts and filming of films. A company called Chemical Processing acquired a complex wing. But In 2010 the old factory was an empty skeleton in which homeless people spent the night.

Fernando Palazuelo, a Peruvian businessman, bought the entire complex in 2013 at the balance price. In return, he promised to create a mall, offices and artistic spaces. The project slept the dream of the righteous and was never materialized, so local authorities recovered the property on which there were numerous debts.

In 2019, the bridge over the Grand Boulevard collapsed and the City Council decreed the beginning of the complex demolition. Less than a year ago, the tasks resumed in order to take advantage of the property for new projects. There are only a few remains of this exponent of the United States industrial architecture. Detroit’s oldest have begun to miss that factoryIncarnation of the American dream, which many consider that it should have been rehabilitated instead of demolished.