The man that lives in the abandoned Packard plant.

[perry 82]

wheel horse tractor at 2:13 in the video - http://autos.yahoo.com/news/meet-allan-hill--the-man-who-lives-in-detroit%E2%80%99s-abandoned-packard-auto-plant.html

[JimD 3,345]

Great video Perry. Interesting story about the decline in a major manufacturing hub in America. I wonder if he uses that old Horse now and then.

[varosd 1,185]

78 or 79, 8 speed but better eagle eyes will be able to tell if it's a B or C. looks real clean with the ST on it.

[rmaynard 14,945]

Interesting video. I pulled a still from it to isolate the tractor.

[smoreau 658]

Looks like a huge indoor junk yard, Think on how nice it would be to have every think you own under one roof. I could think of a million things a place like that could be turned into. But if the guys happy to be there then godspeed to him! He is keeping the thugs out and making sure the place is secure. Not any one could do what he is doing.

[COMMANDO6 20]

I saw that video this morning. figured I'd post it here on RedSquare. Too late! But it is an interesting thing to live in a plant like that.

[Wheel-N-It 2,967]

Boy, I'd sure like to have that old Wheel Horse. I would keep it in the garage right beside my Grandfathers 1954 Packard.

[Kelly 1,028]

I'm going to say it's a C-111 look at the air cleaner, it looks to be a briggs.

[KC9KAS 4,741]

I bet there were some more treasurers in all the junk!

[TT-(Moderator) 1,129]

I'm going to say it's a C-111 look at the air cleaner, it looks to be a briggs.

I think it might actually be an 1100 Special, but it's definitely one or the other. :handgestures-thumbup:

[Shuboxlover 474]

I'd LOVE to go pickin there!!!!!!!!!!!

[ericj 1,576]

did any body see the 42 rear discharge mower deck behind the man wile they were interviewing him ? i'd bet on the motor being a b&s motor

eric

[Pollack Pete 2,273]

I'll bet American Pickers would like to go see that guy.Strange that he has internet service and no running water.Must get kinda cold in the Winter too.

[Martin 2,130]

watched this video quite a few times.

sad to see factories like this one, that were once producing, ending up in this condition.

dont know much about this city, but i know my boss, has travelled quite a few times to this area in general, looking for good deals on blasting and finishing equipment.......

[Kelly 1,028]

I'm going to say it's a C-111 look at the air cleaner, it looks to be a briggs.

I think it might actually be an 1100 Special, but it's definitely one or the other.

I see the narrow front rims I think your right TT.

[JamesBe1 80]

Lol. I watched that video yesterday, and noticed that tractor right away!

Never thought to post it here. Good thinking Perry.

[roscoemi 245]

Is that a red crew cab pickup in the distant background at about 2:08?

[546cowboy 301]

If you stop to think about it, just how many people were working there during WWII and how much war material would leave there every day. Some of these manufacturing plants were really unbelievable in size. When I was a kid they were still selling Packard's, Studebaker's, Henry J's, Hudson's and the future isn't looking too good either with other 100 year old brands going out of production. No more Oldsmobile or Pontiac for example. And everyone knows what the big three did to Tucker. As I recall his plant was one of these converted WWII plants. Where do you suppose the auto industry would be if Tucker would have kept up the innovations? We would probably not be driving gas engine cars today.

If anyone knows of a place like that looking for a caretaker, tell them to give me a call.

[JamesBe1 80]

If you stop to think about it, just how many people were working there during WWII and how much war material would leave there every day. Some of these manufacturing plants were really unbelievable in size. When I was a kid they were still selling Packard's, Studebaker's, Henry J's, Hudson's and the future isn't looking too good either with other 100 year old brands going out of production. No more Oldsmobile or Pontiac for example. And everyone knows what the big three did to Tucker. As I recall his plant was one of these converted WWII plants. Where do you suppose the auto industry would be if Tucker would have kept up the innovations? We would probably not be driving gas engine cars today.

If anyone knows of a place like that looking for a caretaker, tell them to give me a call.

Yeah, it's a shame what they did to Tucker. What's even worse is what they did to Stanley Myers. I don't want to hijack this thread, but if any is interested, research the name.

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

Looks like a huge indoor junk yard, Think on how nice it would be to have every think you own under one roof. I could think of a million things a place like that could be turned into. But if the guys happy to be there then godspeed to him! He is keeping the thugs out and making sure the place is secure. Not any one could do what he is doing.

I agree with you 100%!

[grnlark 479]

A pretty sad video actually. Seeing places like that in such disarray that once were bustling with people, activity and the heart of our American culture is a shame. I was in Detroit back in 2008 and we drove around the old plants. It's like a war zone down there. There's so much history in that city that will inevitably die in the next 20 years just like Hill mentioned. Just think about how many hours of so many peoples lives were spent in those now deteriorating buildings. Thats where men (and women) went to every single day to make a pay check to raise a family, to buy their first TV, telephone, fridge and/or to hopefully one day retire and enjoy their golden years. Think of how many family generations were so directly defined by what those buildings stand for. It's crazy really.

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 136]

I hope someone checks on him regularly because if he dies there his dogs aren't going to leave much when they run out of food.

[Pollack Pete 2,273]

Yup,my guess that every USA factory will suffer the same fate one day.BTW,I'm probably gonna start a war here,but,how many on this forum own strictly American cars and trucks? And don't give me that bull about your Honda or Suzuki being built here.We all know where their corporate headquarters are located and where most of their profits go,don't we??God bless America.Nobody else will.

[Keith 21]

watched this video quite a few times.

sad to see factories like this one, that were once producing, ending up in this condition.

The Packard plant was absolete when it closed in 1956. Built in about 1905 or a few years later this was one of the first factory building complexes designed by Albert Kahn that used reinforced structural concrete instead of brick and pier construction. In its day Kahn's buildings revolutionized industrial buildings but they have proven very difficult to knock down such that many of the buildings still stand decades after they became obsolete. Some of these buildings might endure as long as the Roman Colusium if not for explosives used in demolitions. They were repurposed as warehouses and storage, but did not function so well in that role. Gradually they filled with junk and abandoned equipment, until leaky roofs and structural problems finally made maintenance too costly.

The reinforced concrete allowed for large spans of windows, important at an era when electric lights were not as efficient as now. There were panels of glass on the ceilings to admit natural light. Constrast this to the often dark and narrow brick factory buildings that required many support beams. As with older brick construction, many of these concrete factory buildings were oriented vertically as real estate was constrained as inadequate transit required most workers to walk to their jobs. You don't see expansive parking lots for workers automobiles at these old plants. These plants required costly to maintain elevators and lifts to allow the assembly line to flow from floor to floor. This vertical orientation proved to be a major weakness as reconfiguration was difficult, if not impossible.

Dodge Main in nearby Hamtramck was also built by Kahn in the same era, but continued in use through the 1970s. In the 1980s demo teams moved in with conventional wrecking balls with little effect. Explosive teams had to be called in to knock down the Dodge plant. Even today Kahn's firm builds the majority of the automobile plants in the world, but now such plants are horizontal, with no windows, depending upon modern lighting and climate control.

Tim

[Stigian 1,234]

I stumbled across this while perusing the interweb (as you do) and thought you guys and girls would like to see it..

It's a short but fascinating film about a man who lives "off the grid" in part of the abandoned plant, doing the odd bit of car and fabricating work to top up his pension.

He even has a Wheel Horse