Ultra "SAD" news here locally

[nelsb01]

I feel your sadness.
I was part of a 'committee' that tried to save the front office of the Twin Cities Ford Assembly Plant in Saint Paul. Our hopes were big and the price was bigger.
The good news was that I became friends with the Ford Motor Company controller that was in charge of the demolition. He allowed me to be around during the tear down and get some photos. I made a historical slide show program that I showed to car clubs in the area.
The land is now single home, moderate income and low income housing with retail business--- and limited parking area. Most is set aside for bicycle traffic that is available here in Minnesota year around.

[alchemy]

My little home town in the middle of Iowa has a building on the town square that used to be a Ford assembly plant in the Model T era. Pretty sure they never manufactured any parts there, just assembly. It still stands and outwardly looks much the same as it originally did, with offices inside.

[richard crow]

rockfla i live on long island cost. i have seen piles removed that were over a hundred years old. below the water line they look like they were put in yesterday.

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by richard crow

rockfla i live on long island cost. i have seen piles removed that were over a hundred years old. below the water line they look like they were put in yesterday.

Pretty much the same thing happens here (and with metals and Stainless Steel fasteners) what it "below" the surface OR not part of the "tidal" fluctuations, stays pretty structurally sound. It's when it gets exposed to both wet and drying conditions as well as the atmosphere, every 12 hour cycle, it raises hell with ALL materials. PLUS because of the "warm" waters here in the south, we are exposed to different micro organisms as you in the much cooler waters of the north and Vice Versa!!!



To tubmans post.....I "hope" that what is reported, as far as comparing/competing cost of keeping Vs. tearing down is in fact true? I have a hard time getting fed "fried chicken only!!" and Colonel Sanders is the one telling me its healthy and everything is Okay!!!!!

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by rockfla

I have a hard time getting fed "fried chicken only!!" and Colonel Sanders is the one telling me its healthy and everything is Okay!!!!!

NOT everything is OK at The COLONEL'S Cock-a-doodle, for sure! If you ever try Popeye's, you'll never go back. And it looks like "J'ville" has at least eight Popeye's locations.

Coop

.

[5851a]

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Originally Posted by richard crow

rockfla i live on long island cost. i have seen piles removed that were over a hundred years old. below the water line they look like they were put in yesterday.

A friend that has past worked construction. The crew was sent to demolish and clean up a bridge site before new could began. He thought the old bridge was the 3rd bridge constructed there. One bridge over another. He brought home some cedar pilings. They were basically trees with limbs chopped off with axes and the piling was sharp and pointed by axe on the end driven in. He cut a little of the end off, and the cedar looked and smelled like new. They sure knew how to build then but didn't account for throwaway society.

[rockfla]

5851A
I had a customer,several years back, that was in an old railroad siding warehouse over just north of town picking some materials up and he over heard the fellow there say they were going out of business and tearing the warehouse down to build a new big modern warehouse. He found out the new owners and asked IF he could salvage some of the lumber out of it before the wrecking co got to it, they said take what you want. The flooring was ""BLACK" from all the years of forklifts and traffic, he pulled it up and ran it through his surface planer to see what it was. IT was the 6" thick X 12" wide Hard Rock Maple. He said his planer shook and chattered when it ran through BUT it was THE most beautiful maple you had ever seen, and he got a load of it!!!!

[ronn]

Americans obsession with " new-new-new" has always amazed me. Those old buildings were built to last a long time when compared to the ugly junk they build today

couldnt agree more, but suppose the costs involved with retrofitting an old building and bringing it up to code is more expensive then building new.
so much for America trying to stay ahead of the curve regarding environment and health...... we seem to be one of the few who cares.

[Pech33]

The old Atlanta Ford Factory is on Ponce deLeon Avenue. The front portion has been remodeled to original look. The rear was torn down and a grocery store and ?office? is there. I will try to post two pictures I took in 2019 on a visit. I worked in the old building after my return from Vietnam in 1968. The government bought the building to house offices for the war effort around 1940 (not sure of the date).

[deuce_roadster]

V8ER, When I was doing medical research at the UW, I set up clinics all over the US for NIH funded studies we coordinated. One was in Pittsburgh for UPitt in the Oakland part of PGH near the hospital. I wish I had known about the plant you spoke of when I was making my yearly site visits to check on all the hardware and software, network maintenance etc. The clinic I set up in 1990 was almost directly across the street from the Carnagie Museum. I loved being in PGH except when the Gingko trees were dropping their stinky fruit on the sidewalks! I have many fond memories of the area.
I also had a clinic in Hagerestown MD and Baltimore at Johns Hopkins. I just had to be in Hagerstown the first week of October every year for 20 years so I could take in Hershey!

[39portlander]

This is a really good thread, and you Train guys also know the heartache.

We had the beautiful Union station in Portland ripped down for some damn junk strip mall, actually 1/3 of those spaces are vacant. Payback for a real dumb idea.

Thankfully we have Ripley & Fletcher Ford in So Paris on that same location since 1909...I have a big grin every time I drive by

[FLTHDCPE]

Ford Smoke Stacks

Taken recently in K.C. MO. The Old Ford Plant. The "Kansas City Automotive Museum" expressed an interest in these and was told by the present owner that "You can have them if you can find someone to take them down" Someone needs to save these.!!

[GaryU.]

Growing up had many days of heading into Hartford, Wisconsin and seeing the last remaining building of the Kissel Motor Car Company emblazoned at the top with the words "Home of the Kissel Car". Company had folded in the Great Depression but the last building survived til the late 1980's. Their motto was "Every inch a car". Here's a link to the museum in Hartford housed in an old Libby's canning factory a few blocks away. A must see for the auto enthusiast in the Badger state.

[GaryU.]

https://wisconsinautomuseum.com