New York
The Empire State
New York City
District of Columbia
Washington D.C.
Illinois
Land of Lincoln
Chicago
Michigan
The Great Lakes State
Detroit
Packard Automotive Plant
Opened in 1903, the Packard Automotive Plant was once the ultimate symbol of Detroit’s American dream.
The state-of-the-art facility was considered the most modern of it’s kind and produced luxury Packard cars and even manufactured aircraft engines for the US military during WWII. Over 30,000 people, skilled craftsmen from 80 different trades, came to work here every day.
Sadly, the Packard Motor company could not keep up with their competition and were forced to close their doors in 1958. Long afterwards, buildings continued to be used by various companies until the early 2000’s. Since that time, the entire plant has remained empty and unused, making it the largest abandoned building in the entire world and one of the most recognizable symbols of the decline of the city's once vibrant auto industry.
Fisher Body Plant 21
Designed by noted architect Albert Kahn, Fisher Body Plant 21 was built for The Fisher Body Company in 1919 to manufacture Buick and Cadillac bodies. General Motors and Fisher Body merged in 1926, and General Motors eventually closed Plant 21 in 1984.
The plant did see some use beyond 1984 as several paint companies set up shop, but this didn't last long. The plant was completely vacated in 1994, and has sat empty since then.
Despite it's appealing location and over a million dollars in cleanup, the site is still considered contaminated by the EPA and while available for purchase and renovation has not found a buyer.
East Grand Boulevard Methodist Church
The building was completed in 1910 as Aaron C. Fisher Memorial Methodist-Episcopal Church. Sometime around 1920 the church was renamed East Grand Boulevard Methodist, and the parish house which held classrooms, a basketball court, and a stage was completed in 1926.
The church was finally dissolved in 1985 and was replaced by the Second Unity Full Gospel Baptist Church, which finally called it quits at that location in 2000. It has sat vacant since.
Thomas M. Cooley High School
Opened in 1928 the school was an architectural masterpiece, designed in the Spanish Baroque style with orange Flemish-bond brick and ornamental terracotta features including a 1,000-seat auditorium. Enrollment quickly grew to over 3,400 students, making it one of the biggest high schools in the city.
Due to budget constraints and declining enrollment, Cooley High School was closed in 2010. Without any maintenance the building declined significantly. Vandalism became a serious problem, with graffiti appearing on the walls inside and out. Scrappers began to gut the classrooms.
In 2017 much of the auditorium had been destroyed by a fire, which had burned all of the seats down to their metal frames. Firefighters kept the fire from spreading to other parts of the building, limiting it to just the auditorium.
