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It may really be the end

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DC327 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DC327 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: It may really be the end
    Posted: Aug/05/2016 at 10:42am
Check out this article from Detroit Free Press:

Old AMC HQ in Detroit could face wrecking ball

http://on.freep.com/2aHPcB9
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1analguy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1analguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/06/2016 at 9:40am
Yes, I saw that too. Just heart rending. It was bad enough that both plant sites in Kenosha are long gone (Main Plant is now only an empty field...right in the middle of town!), but now this...it's just too much for me. To think of all the history that is already forgotten, all of the lost capability, potential, opportunity...all the great, bright people who worked there, pulling together to accomplish something that was really special...it just seems such a needless waste. I can't even drive by that empty space in Kenosha any more. It's too upsetting...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 6768rogues Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/06/2016 at 11:18am
As much as I like AMC cars, the company is gone. The former headquarters is described as derelict and run down with all valuable contents removed. There was an auction of the property, one bidder showed interest and then later backed out. The city of Detroit does not want it. It would likely continue to deteriorate and plague the neighborhood as a large abandoned building where all sorts of unsavory activities happen. I would rather see it demolished and removed, making room for something desirable, than see it suffer a slow deterioration while dragging the neighborhood downhill.
The building obviously does not meet the needs of anyone looking for a building today. I have no direct knowledge, but having involvement with many buildings of the same era it is reasonably expected that it probably has plenty of asbestos, PCBs, lead paint and all the other nasty things that are present in old buildings. I say demolish it, clean up the site, and then try to find a use for it.
 

Edited by 6768rogues - Aug/06/2016 at 11:23am
Content intended for mature audiences. If you experience nausea or diarrhea, stop reading and seek medical attention.

Located usually near Rochester, NY and sometimes central FL.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote DaemonForce Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/06/2016 at 2:47pm
I like the center piece of the building and how it resembles a university but when you go anywhere else in the world, you see buildings of significantly greater age that have been around for centuries. For whatever reason, we always seem to get architecture and structural integrity wrong here in the states until recent years. It may be time to tear it down and clean it up, especially with the vandalism and dumping going on. Nobody respects it or wants it so it's clear something else must be desired.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 6PakBee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/10/2016 at 7:29am
Originally posted by 1analguy 1analguy wrote:

.....It was bad enough that both plant sites in Kenosha are long gone ...


I thought the engine plant was still there, or at least the building.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote bcsideshow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/10/2016 at 8:13am
The engine plant was torn down in the last few years.  A warehouse is all that is still here.  Not sure what all was in Detroit.  Quick pic from google:
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 304-dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/10/2016 at 8:49am
Originally posted by DaemonForce DaemonForce wrote:

I like the center piece of the building and how it resembles a university but when you go anywhere else in the world, you see buildings of significantly greater age that have been around for centuries. For whatever reason, we always seem to get architecture and structural integrity wrong here in the states until recent years. It may be time to tear it down and clean it up, especially with the vandalism and dumping going on. Nobody respects it or wants it so it's clear something else must be desired.


Yeah, most US buildings are not for longevity. Most Euro and UK places don't have the ease of rebuilding, let alone know it will always cost more to replace. Though for the most part they make do with what they got as space is limited. Once you rebuild after a great war or two, you get tired of doing such again.

My uncle was a big contractor back in the 60s to 80s. He would always get POed at how buildings were being made, even when big money was being laid down. I once commissioned his team to build a hous for his mom. Nothing spectacular but still fairly big and modern. I was furious about the entry way, and redid the whole thing himself. Probably the best built house in the county. Yet was not flashy or a property area upgrade.

While others made money at skimping on materials and short cuts, he made money doing quality work and worked hard for it.

No matter which state you go to here in the US, building codes change but the way contractors are just shows how throw away our society is. We don't reuse we rebuild.

To show how shoddy work can be done, I worked at in a large fairly new buisness complex. It had a large reinforcing beam installed near the back loading area. It was a wood 6x9. It split like a tooth pick when the rain feel too fast to drain from the roof. it was the only section on the building that failed. So, I wonder a knotted pine beam was installed? My uncle would inspect and toss any supporting structure if it had a knot.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeepman1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/18/2016 at 6:35pm
Gun violence!, Gun violence! Funny I own 10 and in 30+ years of owning them none have ever jumped up and done anything violent! Whats this got to do with this subject? Everything guys!
C"mon man, it AINT the building thats becoming a sore spot, it's the scum bags who go in there and trash the place. It's the lazy, sorry, useless city gov'ment thats letting this happen, it's the "new America" in general that has failed to create any interest in our history! ( As a matter of fact, they want to wipe it out completely)
We need to collectively grow a set and save this AMC building.. may I say Harley-Davidson?
In Europe there are buildings from the 1400's, 1500's, 1600's, 1700's, 1800's and even bombed out relics from WWI and WWII that meant something to a person or group that are still there. they weren't free or easy to keep , but what good is?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PlazinJavelin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/10/2016 at 8:32pm
I always really liked the look of the main building. The rest of the lot can get leveled, but I wish the main building could be saved. "If I won the lottery tomorrow"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote amcglass Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec/04/2016 at 2:54pm
hard telling what will happen.   if it is torn down it would be nice to get pieces like they did with the assembly plant bricks.   
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