The end of a Detroit landmark as Packard bridge collapses

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It looked all so promising some five years ago when a real estate developer with the name of Arte Express bought the derelict Packard plant in Detroit with the plan to renovate it for business uses. ‘The revitalization of Detroit has begun’ wrote the press.

The first thing the developer did was to drape the landmark Packard pedestrian bridge over East Grand Boulevard in a printed cover to make it look as it did in 1930. The bridge connected the two Packard plant buildings at the time and did until last Wednesday, January 23, when the bridge collapsed in the afternoon. The plan, which “could take decades and total $300 million” seems to be up in smoke by that time.

The Packard plant was built in 1903 under architect Albert Kahn and was in use until 1956 when the motoring manufacturer stopped producing cars. The bridge, wasn’t built until 1939, but had in recent years become a symbol of urban ruin in Detroit. Joe Kopietz, a spokesman for Arte Express told The Detroit News that bricks had fallen earlier in the day. He also indicated that the abrupt changes in temperature might have exacerbated a "preexisting structural issue."

(Words editor, pictures Detroit News)

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