Huge fire

[ironchapman]

So, when's the clean-up begin?

What caused the fire?

[SNWEB]

Its still not known how it started

but my guess is arson

[Allan]

Cleanup? Haha. They're still trying to make sure the fire's all out. Judging by the speed of the cleanup after the fire at the Scovel Presbyterian Church that burned back in Febrary, they might start cleaning up the Studebaker mess in a few years. If they determine that the Studebaker fire is arson, they will likely do a much deeper investigation. So who knows.

[wolverine]

I agree, although, depending on the structural conditions of the plant, it may be cleaned up a bit earlier than a year. Demolition, even after property has been severly damaged is very expensive. Some of the structures still left standing could be there forever until they fall, or someone decides to redevelop the site. The smokestack will likely stick around for years to come though since it would be expensive to remove.

[SNWEB]

Not to mention the smokestack is in mint conidition so-to-speak and will remain standing until someone does something to it

[wolverine]

I'm not too concerned about the difficulties dealing with the smokestack. I've seen redevelopment projects in different cities where the smokestacks were left standing, simply because they are too difficult to demolish, and if they are to be removed, it would cost a ton of money, since they can only be removed with explosive demolition which is very very expensive.. if the Studebaker site is to be redeveloped. The rest of the plant should be removed, and developers can build around what is left standing.

[ironchapman]

Not to mention the smokestack is in mint conidition so-to-speak and will remain standing until someone does something to it

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Could use that in a museum or something.

[wolverine]

My hometown did that with an old smokestack. It looked cool until they painted "SAGINAW" on it in gaudy colors.

[Fletch]

I'm beginning to think that there's a magnetic field or something around smokestacks. It's as if a fire or demolition can level everything else, but those darn smokestacks survive it all. We have an area just south of downtown here that's completely deindustrialized with only a casino replacing part of the blighted area. Other than a high-rise bridge, there are about ten or so old, brick smokestacks rising from nothing. There has to be a reason why everything else can be leveled and carted off but not these silly anachronisms.

[ironchapman]

^ That's usually what happens in a fire of that scale, now, had there been a city fire, it may not have been so lucky.

Bricks and concrete, etc. are usually very fire and weather hardy materials. For example, in some parts of South and North GA (outside of the Atlanta metro), you can see old stone/brock chimneys that might be 100+ years old just standing a few feet off the road with no cabin connecting to them.

[Allan]

Dfunk has some great photos of the Studebaker Plant & the aftermath on his site. There are also three videos: one before the fire, one during the fire, and one showing the aftermath. It's worth a look.

http://www.detroitfunk.com/

[ironchapman]

Impressive pics he took.

For some reason, ruins like this fascinate me, especially when I see pics of them.

[Allan]

Detroit has plenty of ruins, that's for sure. I explore urban ruins every weekend, and am in no danger of running out of locations anytime soon. The city's history is disappearing fast though, which is why it is all the more important that I take the time to photograph the buildings before they are gone forever.

When seeing photos of the smoldering pile of rubble, I am reminded of the motto that appears on the city seal. "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus" is the city's motto, which is Latin for "We hope for better things; It shall again rise from the ashes." It is just as true today as it was when it was adopted after the fire that burned the city to the ground 200 years ago this month.

[WBG4]

I think this might be a good hint that maybe packard needs to be secured. That'd be a mess if it caught i bet (parts of it are wood framed too right?)

[Allan]

Try securing a building like the Packard Plant. It's easier said than done, that's for sure! Still, they should at least try. Scavengers are all over in there. Portions of the Packard probably are wood-framed. The majority is steel and concrete though.

Scavengers have already decended upon the ruins of the Studebaker Plant. I've seen people pull away with pickup trucks full of bricks, and even more people trying to cart off the heavy steel beams. The whole neighborhood smells awful. There was a 30 ton shipment of meat to the market on Monday, and millions of flies have decended upon the remains.

[SNWEB]

Try securing a building like the Packard Plant.  It's easier said than done, that's for sure!  Still, they should at least try.  Scavengers are all over in there. Portions of the Packard probably are wood-framed.  The majority is steel and concrete though. 

Scavengers have already decended upon the ruins of the Studebaker Plant.  I've seen people pull away with pickup trucks full of bricks, and even more people trying to cart off the heavy steel beams.  The whole neighborhood smells awful.  There was a 30 ton shipment of meat to the market on Monday, and millions of flies have decended upon the remains.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nothing like grilled meat!

[Allan]

Grilled or not, it's rotting away and stinking up the whole neighborhood. It smells like a pile of rotting corpses. The stench at the corner of Brush & Piquette is nearly unbearable.

[Fletch]

I'm curious who owns that site. Was the entire site or just the developed part owned by Piquette Market? I wonder what the owner will do now, other than collect casualty insurance claims. I seriously doubt he'll rebuild, so will this site just sit abandoned like so many others until tax foreclosure by the city? If the owner can't ditch this on to the city, who would buy it? All rhetorical questions I'm sure, but there are many parking and empty lots in that neighborhood...

[Allan]

The city's online tax database (which has not been updated in a couple years) shows that the site occupied by the Studebaker Plant is owned by two separate individuals and is addressed as two separate properties.

The western half of the site (the abandoned half) is addressed as 6230 John R, and is owned by an individual who lives in Detroit. The eastern half (the Piquette Market) is addressed as 285 Piquette, and is owned by someone from Farmington Hills.

The city had plans to demolish the eastern half of the structure, most likely due to the danger of the building, which was near collapse in many places.

[Fletch]

Thanks Allan. I should've checked the site myself first. D'oh! At this early date, it's probably too much to hope for - expecting any plans for redevelopment or demolition. I read in the FREEP that the city considers that neighborhood to have been "burgeoning" before the fire. There seems to me way too many abandoned lots to warrant that label. Maybe city officials know something I don't.

[wolverine]

I think a more effective label would have been "showing promise" There is a lot of factories around that area that are actually occupied. In fact, I the only building I found within close proximity to the Studebaker that was abandoned was the Fisher 21 plant. I'm really not sure what's going on with that building, if it's been bought or what, but anyway, that area has really held on well.

Nearby, is a bunch of new apartment buildings. That's probably why the FREEP mentioned it was burgeoning. ... Not quite, but almost.

[SNWEB]

The guy who owns the abandoned portion of the Studebaker is an attorney

[Fletch]

Well, fortunately, neither the Packard Plant nor Fisher Body 21 will suffer the same fate as the Studebaker facility. From what I understand, the Fisher site is a 3-D grid of reinforced concrete - all of the interior wood was just flooring and has long since rotted away. If the Packard Plant somehow went up in flames, though, it would probably take most of the metro area's FDs to surpress it. But, again, it's another example of a structure that was really made to last. So an attorney sat on an abandoned automobile factory and watched it slowly deteriorate over the years. He/she probably prayed it would one day end up like this for the insurance payment. Sounds like something an attorney would do.

[wolverine]

Man, Detroit really is Shadytown USA

[WBG4]

Word. Who owns fisher anyway?