Detroit - Saturday April 27th - Part Two - Hamtramck & The Packard Plant

Leaving the Russell complex, we immediately ignored the simple and straightforward directions that the Security Guard gave us, and improvised our own route to the Packard Plant.  Our way was more interesting and it took us through Hamtramck. 
Hamtramck for any of y'all not in the know, is a town of about two square miles, almost entirely surrounded by the city of Detroit.  It was the home of the Dodge Brothers auto plant, built in 1914, and has a strong Polish Heritage.

 That's about as Polish as it gets.

While driving, we could make out the spires of St. Florian church from a distance and decided to take a closer look.

I'm glad we did, because the church is absolutely amazing.  

It's an interesting insight into the cultural values of the times, that such an opulent building be situated in such an otherwise modest neighborhood.

As a side note about Hamtramck, I remember an article in Utne Reader from the late 1990's that talked about "trendy" and "up and coming" neighborhoods in the U.S. and Hamtramck was on that list....I might even still have the magazine in a box in the basement.
Anyway, that gives me some reason for concern.  It feels to me like Detroit and it's surrounding region (this includes Windsor on the Canadian side), is on the cusp of something great.  There is a palpable energy, especially in Detroit, despite what you hear in the national media, but this article is evidence of a previous false start, or failed attempt at renewal, or whatever.  And actually, now that I think about it, the Renaissance Center, Detroit's Iconic cluster of cylindrical glass skyscrapers, started construction in the early 70's, just a few years after the devastating riots of 1967.  This was not a minor project either.  I have no idea of the cost of the building, but a lot of people who believed in Detroit must have put their money where their mouth was.  Just the name of the building says it all - Renaissance Center - Misplaced optimism is not a new thing in Detroit.  

I don't know the history well enough to say exactly where things went off the rails, but despite these previous failed attempts, this current ....I'm so reluctant to say "Renaissance"....has a better chance at success.  Take the strong recent uptake of the New Urbanism movement, especially in Rust belt cities with nothing to lose, coupled with the fact that race relations in Detroit, have come a long way in the last forty years, and throw in the technological advances of Cameras on every Smart Phone and the Internet; particularly Social Media as a way of getting locals more engaged with their surroundings and giving them the opportunity to share that with such a broad audience, and I would suggest that there is a better chance for success this time around.
Here's a thought:  How should "success" in Detroit be defined?  Should it mean Fiscal Stability?  A reduction in crime?  Anecdotal feelings of civic pride, and that the city is "cool"?  Helping Michael Bloomberg feel better about himself?  Okay.  I've already gone on a tangent.  My tangent shouldn't have it's own tangent.  But I would love to hear people's thoughts on this.

Leaving Hamtramck, there is a short drive though a desolate post industrial void before coming to the Packard Plant.

 The Packard Plant, like the Russell Complex was designed by Albert Kahn and built in 1903.  The factory covers 40 acres and has floor space of 3.5 million square feet.  At its peak, Packard employed nearly 50,000 people who earned a decent wage and did a fair day's work for it.  These were members of the 'greatest generation' and the factories they worked in and the City they called home was the 'Arsenal of Democracy' without whose industrial output, the Second World War might have ended very differently.

 Anyhoo, for all of that physical size and historical significance, the factory sits empty....

 ....mostly

 and crumbling.

There is a lot that's been said about "Ruin Porn" and the mostly white, mostly suburban people that flock to the city to get a voyeuristic taste and then leave.  By strict definition, I am one of those people, so take anything I say with the appropriate dose of salt, but I think there are a lot of reasons for the curiosity; A peek into a 'simpler' bygone time; the impression that's left by the scale of human accomplishment, the amazement at how fleeting that accomplishment can be, and even the thrill of being somewhere that common sense and an instinct for self preservation tells you you shouldn't be.
This voyeurism will cause people to ask questions that don't have simple answers.  There is hope that  looking for those answers, or at least trying to make sense of what they are seeing, will cause those people to think differently - to understand or at least identify some of the inefficiencies and contradictions of Modern North American suburban life.  There are inevitable changes to our way of life on the horizon and if making and sharing "Ruin Porn" helps people understand this and make the necessary changes in the way they think, so be it.


Next - Trinity Cemetery, College for Creative Studies & Midtown