A shot of the Ford of Canada complex along the riverfront about 1940. It’s hard to imagine today, driving past the area that that massive complex once stood there.
I hope everyone had a great weekend, and survived the heat ok.
737
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I recently came across a newspaper from 1958 that listed that riverfront building for sale. It was “priced to sell”
But sadly no one ever bought it.
I’m a little upset that Ford still owns this land and hasn’t opened it up to the public as (what could be) a beautiful park.
Are you sure of the date? I don’t see the foundry.
Maybe Ford has not opened the land to be a park is liability. In todays world it seems that a lot of good ideas are killed by the threat of lawsuits. For any business to open up access to their land you need liability insurance which probably would not be cheap.
If you recall Hiram Walkers gave the land to the city when they removed the railroad tracks by the grain silos. Beside being a good gesture it passed liability to the city parks department.
In a sue happy world you have to protect yourself.
This was an immense collection of Albert Kahn-designed buildings so familiar in the Detroit-Windsor area. The powerhouse still had its two stacks. The area across the street from the powerhouse had a large gantry crane for lifting coal and foundry sand from ships that were docked alongside. The railroad track along the concrete wall that normally housed hopper cars was used to store the royal trains when British royalty came to town (1939, 1951, 1959). Behind the powerhouse was the renowned Ford Trade School.
I remember reading somewhere that the factory foundation, which is still there, was built on a pier(pillars) and that structure is not surprisingly deteriorating. If you look on a satellite view there appear to be holes where is has collapsed. To turn this area into say, a park, the foundation would most likely have to be removed at great expense no doubt.