The Ruined Factories and Industrial Buildings of Motor City

Motor City Detroit is famous for its decaying but fascinating industrial buildings. To me the ruined grant halls and caved-in factory ceilings that create a dark atmosphere of desertion are captivating but it is the desks, chairs, and no parking signs that speak of the human aspects of the buildings’ past. Those can evoke strange images in your imagination when you are wandering through the ruins. For example, many of the chairs that are placed in the middle of some dark hall, especially the one shown in the first image, are to me like a place where some poor soul has been interrogated, or beaten?
The graffiti on the interior walls are equally fascinating, as they speak of the present lifespan of these abandoned buildings. One such site is the graffiti-covered building interior near the Eastern Market shown in slides two and five.
If you want to see for yourself, better do it soon. The city’s striving for renewal and clean-up continuously demolishes these sites. Monica Davey of the New York Times reported in May 2014 that Detroit has been urged to tear down 40,000 buildings, which was a result of a study of Detroit’s blight from a task force convened by the Obama administration.
Another large site possibly soon gone is the Packard Automotive Plant, a place where once luxury cars were made, see slide four. According to the Packard Plant Project page, the former Packard Automotive Plant is one of the most recognizable symbols of the decline of the city’s once vibrant auto industry and its planned renovation is planned to bring back opportunity, jobs and commerce. Well, currently, you have approximately 10 minutes before security shows up and kicks you out.