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  #1  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2006, 8:36 PM
canucklehead2 canucklehead2 is offline
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Abandoned auto assembly plants...

I was wondering if anyone knew of any abandoned auto assembly plants across North America, or if they had photos of them...

I am especially curious about the following three...
1-Volvo Assembly Plant at Halifax
2-Strudebaker Assembly Plant at Hamilton aka Hamilton Film Studios (another unrealized mega project)
3-Hyunday Assembly Plant at Bromont, Quebec

Are there any others, besides those ruins of old Detroit?

To me these are really cool buildings because not only of their size, but of their history as well...
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  #2  
Old Posted Dec 5, 2006, 2:07 AM
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Where's the abandoned Volvo assembly plant? I know they used to build them in Dartmouth, but do you know the address? I think it'd be a cool place to go check out, if they haven't found a use for it yet.
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Old Posted Dec 5, 2006, 6:13 AM
canucklehead2 canucklehead2 is offline
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Yeah, it was in Dartmouth. I have no idea where in the city it was, but I don't think it was as massive as some other facilities.. I'd love to know what they are using it for now..
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Old Posted Dec 6, 2006, 4:14 AM
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There will be many more of them in the US soon, the GM plant in Midwest City, Oklahoma (near OKC) was just closed, it was opened in the mid 70's. The firm that I worked for in OKC did a brand new paint shop around 2001 at that plant, it was around 150,000 sf remodel/addition. In an auto related industry, the Bridgestone/Firestone tire plant in OKC is or will soon be closing.
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Old Posted Dec 6, 2006, 11:45 PM
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Hey, look at this:

http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/h...ibit.asp?ID=36

It doesn't have an address, though. Burnside Industrial Park wasn't around then, so I think the plant would probably have been located in the Woodside area of Dartmouth. You have me curious about it now .

Last edited by alps; Dec 6, 2006 at 11:58 PM.
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  #6  
Old Posted Dec 7, 2006, 12:53 AM
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Most American auto companies tear down their old structures within 2-3 years of closing. Thus while detroit suffered several plant closings in the last 20 years, most of them are long gone. The only one that I can think of is Packard Auto, a plant that closed nearly 50 years ago, but remains abandoned.

Of course Ford's Model T / A plant is still around in Highland Park.
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Old Posted Dec 7, 2006, 4:59 AM
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find the web site "The Ruins of Detroit." there's a couple (maybe more) in ruins in there.

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Old Posted Dec 7, 2006, 12:17 PM
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We have the old GM Lakewood plant. It produced from 1928 till it's closure in 1990, and it's just rotting away.

We also have an old Model T plant that was one one of our first loft conversions - Ford Factory Square.

Sorry, but I don't have pics.
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Old Posted Dec 8, 2006, 2:36 AM
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Well, this probably doesn't count, technically, but the Lansing Grand River Assembly in downtown Lansing built in 1901 (and expanded MANY times over), recently set empty for only a few months before it began demo this year:

Here, you can see part of it to the left of the new Lansing Grand River Assembly which replaced it a few years ago



Here it can be seen as the gray buildings (GR Assembly in white):



And, here are demolition photos:


MichSt - http://www.flickr.com/photos/12299238@N00/


Churl - http://www.flickr.com/photos/churl/


8ran - http://www.flickr.com/photos/8ran/

http://static.flickr.com/60/178509338_0b3e7f5375_b.jpg[/img]
8ran - http://www.flickr.com/photos/8ran/

On the westend of the city just a mile away is the Lansing Car Assembly Verlinden Plant (blt. 1920) also under demolition:




gustavosal - http://www.flickr.com/photos/75462316@N00/


gustavosal - http://www.flickr.com/photos/75462316@N00/


gustavosal - http://www.flickr.com/photos/75462316@N00/

Aerials of the site to show how large they are:

Lansing Car Assembly Plant #1 and Lansing Grand River Assembly



Lansing Car Assembly Plant #4 (Verliden Westside) and Lansing Craft Centre and Lansing Metal Fabrication Stamping Plant (all shuttered):

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Old Posted Dec 8, 2006, 2:56 AM
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Some from Detroit:

Fisher Body #21


Allan M. - http://www.flickr.com/photos/allanm/


BuildingsOfDetroit - http://www.flickr.com/photos/snweb/


elsuperbob - http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsuperbob/


Toybreaker - http://www.flickr.com/photos/toybreaker/

Model T Factory - Piquette Avenue


Allan M. - http://www.flickr.com/photos/allanm/

Packard Plant


Gregory Lee - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregorylee/


Gregory Lee - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregorylee/


Gregory Lee - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregorylee/

The recently burned down historic Studebaker Plant


DetroitYes.com


UrbanTiki - http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbantiki/


Vanessamiller - http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessamiller/


BuildingsOfDetroit - http://www.flickr.com/photos/snweb/

Yeah, stereotypical Detroit. Too bad people aren't able to see everything beyond these type of scenes, though. They are a significant part of the city, but not everything or even most.
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  #11  
Old Posted Dec 8, 2006, 3:10 PM
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LMich, i really like that shot of Detroit through the broken window.
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  #12  
Old Posted Dec 8, 2006, 4:31 PM
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thanks for posting those LMich. that's sad the Studebaker plant burned down.

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  #13  
Old Posted Dec 8, 2006, 5:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paintballer1708 View Post
LMich, i really like that shot of Detroit through the broken window.
yea thats a sick photo
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  #14  
Old Posted Dec 8, 2006, 11:53 PM
LyndaleHoosier LyndaleHoosier is offline
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Soon to be moth-balled by Ford (home of the Ford Ranger). This facility is located right on the Mississippi in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood and has it's own power plant on the river:




This is a very sizeable piece of land in a mostly residential and small commercial/retail area, so it will be interesting to see what is developed on this parcel:
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  #15  
Old Posted Dec 9, 2006, 1:34 AM
bobjgumby bobjgumby is offline
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Lmichigan,

I have a brick from that Studebaker factory at home. It was used to break into my car while it was broken down a few blocks away at a nearby dealership. I remember the stench of rotting meat from the market that was in part of the building that encircled the area for months after the fire because they took forever to clear the site.
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  #16  
Old Posted Dec 9, 2006, 1:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LSyd View Post
find the web site "The Ruins of Detroit." there's a couple (maybe more) in ruins in there.

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I'm a member of DetroitYES.

Most of the abandoned plants there had other uses after the automakers left or are from automakers defunct for 50 years. Even Piquette, that LMich posted, housed some ghetto meat market long after Ford left the facility. If within a few years the automakers didn't find a buyer it usually tore down the facility. In fact off the top of my head I can think of several plants once operated in Detroit, that have been torn down in my lifetime (I'm only 23).

Chrysler World Headquaters torn down in the mid 1990s
Dodge (located near the same area where LMich posted his pics) torn down in the mid 80s
Fisher/Cadillac plant on Fort St torn down mid 1990s
Connor Ave Stamping torn down late 80s early 90s
Some other Chrysler plant off of Connor in the early 90s (rebuilt as Jefferson North Assembly - i.e. where they assemble the Jeep Grand Cherokee)
Mound Engine torn down in the last few years
Ford Rouge - old parts torn down in the last few years and Replaced with a new plant

Toledo
Old Wily's plant where Chrysler made the Jeep Wrangler (demolished in the last few years and new plant in a new location where they also make the Jeep Liberty)

Flint
See left-wing nut Michael Moores Roger & Me for all of the old plants GM tore down
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  #17  
Old Posted Dec 9, 2006, 2:31 AM
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Yeah, it was really rare, particularly for GM, to waste much time tearing down their plants. I mean, they've closed down all of the plants in Lansing within the last few years (3 huge plants, total), and they've already started tearing down two of them as you can tell in the photos I posted above. And, the massive Olds Motor Works which was just across the river and the the east of Lansing Car Assembly was torn down soon after it went out of operation, as well. It's really out of the ordinary to leave them up.
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