monsoon 1 Report post Posted May 20, 2009 I was not aware that Ford Motor company built an automobile assembly plant in Charlotte. Pictured below, it was finished in 1924 and handled 400 vehicles/day. It was built for a cost of $253M in 2008 dollars. It was located on Statesville Rd. though I am not sure if it survives today. They used to make tires here too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windsurfer 756 Report post Posted May 20, 2009 Yep, still here. I'll try to snag a photo on the way home today. Pretty interesting brickwork too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eastman 1 Report post Posted May 20, 2009 I believe during WW2 they built missiles there also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rockhilljames 245 Report post Posted May 20, 2009 Sweet. What do they use if for now, or is it vacant? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayGee 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2009 Yep, still here. I'll try to snag a photo on the way home today. Pretty interesting brickwork too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Charlotte_native 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2009 Its been written about in an article last year in Uptown Magazine. The plant had many lives, including Model T's, cold war missles, and WWII supply hub. Skip past the 'North End' part to get to the Ford part. The buildings are still very much there -- brick work is fantastic. The business park built around it is still called Hercules for one of the missles built there. http://www.uptownclt.com/content/view/156/ Sweet. What do they use if for now, or is it vacant? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windsurfer 756 Report post Posted May 21, 2009 Man, you shouldn't have said anything. Now somebody will want to tear it down! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eastman 1 Report post Posted May 21, 2009 No kidding. Here're a couple of shots from Statesville Ave. looking towards the complex. There are so many buildings I'm not sure which one was the one Monsoon posted. At any rate, pretty nice brickwork on this one. At second glance, I see in Monsoon's photo some of the intricate brickwork, so it is the same buildling. Looks like they bricked up the porticos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Charlotte_native 0 Report post Posted May 21, 2009 Just realized the part of the article that talked about the Ford plant wasn't in the link -- info cut and pasted below: Located across from the North End Square site, between Statesville Avenue and North Graham Street, sits a huge complex of buildings on a total of about 60 acres. The two sites were once part of a single industrial complex and have since been divided into what is now the Hercules Business Park and the Rite-Aid Distribution Center. Of the many industrial uses and buildings in the area, this is one of the largest and arguably the one with the most colorful history. As a native to the city, I Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norm21499 782 Report post Posted May 21, 2009 Wasn't Greif Bros. Corp in that building, or one of the buildings in that complex at one point? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites