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| Picture property of Jason Moultrie Photography. No debri was injured in the making of this picture. |
Pulling into the Packard Plant in Detroit we saw an
instant reminder of how dangerous this exploration was going to be. A newer
blue car was parked in a lot we pulled into, its windows had been smashed and
the driver side door was wide open. At first we assumed that this was a stolen
car and that the thieves ditched it here once they were done with it. We were
wrong. We later found out that the car belonged to other explorers who were
inside the building when their car was broken into. This is one of the risks
you take going to these locations and venturing out into neighborhoods that
most people would lock their doors traveling thru. As horrible as it was for
that to happen to those people things could have been much worse than a stolen
radio and broken glass. If caught by the police you can be ticketed or arrested
for trespassing, you could be robbed or even shot, and walking thru abandoned
building always has a chance of being injured or being killed by the unsafe
conditions. In this blog I am not suggesting that anyone go into this building,
I am just sharing my experience, however if you do go please be careful and a
cautious as possible and never go at night or alone.
Unlike other abandoned buildings in the area you can just
walk right into the Packard Plant and as soon as I did I felt as if I had been
transported to a place far away from the city of Detroit. The destruction and
decay in this building is reminiscent of a scene from Saving Private Ryan, with
broken walls and debris everywhere as if a huge battle had just taken place
there. For as much broken glass, bricks and garbage that line the walkways
there is just as much graffiti that covers the walls. Some of it is just simple
tags of vulgarity left by random vandals
but some graffiti are nothing less that amazing works of art. You can
tell just by looking at these murals how much effort and pride was put into
painting them, and I can only imagine the time and dedication it took to do so.
These paintings could easily be displayed in the DIA, but instead that are
shown only in this urban gallery for just a select few of us who are lucky to
see.
Our group spent close to three hours inside exploring and
probably came close to covering only a quarter of the space. We traveled thru
abandoned offices, up and down crumbling stairs, and a cross a roof where trees
and other vegetation grow wild. I saw random furniture, burnt cars, tons of
tires, and even a couple boats. I am very thankful to have had the chance to
explore this building and see these things with my own eyes before it is torn
down and lost forever. Mostly I am grateful that my friends and I left with some
great pictures, a great story, and most importantly unharmed with our lives.
