Ford buys old Big Four building

[Joetrain59]

I believe Michigan Central was called the Big Four?
 Very cool plans,
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/20/17483696/ford-detroit-train-station

 Joe D

[Doug G.]

When I first became interested in this building and story several years ago, I thought it was one of the saddest progressions I had ever heard of, seeing the absolute destruction from neglect and vandalism.

Then, when all the windows were replaced, I wondered if there really was hope or if it was destined to be a half-hearted approach.

And now, this is a miracle. To restore this magnificent structure to it's former glory is nothing short of astonishing.

Doug

[C855B]

I believe Michigan Central was called the Big Four? ...

I had to look this one up. Apparently close, and an NYC subsidiary, too, but no cigar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland,_Cincinnati,_Chicago_and_St._Louis_Railway

Big Four was HQ'ed in Indianapolis, evidently.

[Joetrain59]

Mike, thanks for the correction.
 Joe D

[C855B]

Sure! I learned something, too. The Big Four has fascinated me since running across their former ROW in Indiana during road trips. They built a lot of rather massive grade-separated infrastructure which is still extant, or at least was still there in most towns on our last trip. If I understand correctly it was taken out of service when Conrail started paring redundancies. Would have like to have seen it in use, but that was well before my time in the Midwest.

[Lemosteam]

As a Ford employee, I am ecstatic, but i was unable to attend any of the open houses where folks were admitted to the main lobby.  Ford has committed to making the lobby open to the public after the upper floors are converted to Ford spaces.

Here is a link to the future plans:

Here is a great image history of the station:

https://www.historicdetroit.org/galleries/michigan-central-station-old-photos/


Great aerial shot:

[peteski]

That is a great looking building.  I love the architectural style, and all its ornamentation!  They sure don't build them like that anymore.  It is great to see it preserved instead of being razed.

Um, thinking about it, that station would make a great Lunde Studios kit!  Or one of those CMR buildings. It might actually have to be scaled down a bit.

[GhengisKong]

As a Ford employee, I am ecstatic, but i was unable to attend any of the open houses where folks were admitted to the main lobby.  Ford has committed to making the lobby open to the public after the upper floors are converted to Ford spaces.

What department are you in?

[Cajonpassfan]

Ford deserves a big thumbs up for this! So much of our history is getting swept away to oblivion, so it's heartwarming to see a big corporate entity like Ford take initiative and give back to the community that has given so much to make it a success. Kudos!
Otto K.

[Doug G.]

Do you guys think it would overwhelm on a 4X8 layout?



Doug

[TLOC]

Doug, not sure if overwhelming would be an issue on a 4x8. I think the picture and my search on google earth indicates it overwhelms in real life. Modeling it dictates it should overwhelm.

What a beautiful building though. Why our country allows buildings like this to be wasted is IMOO such a shame. It is wonderful that Ford has the ability to save and use this building. Too bad other large companies don’t do so and that Ford didn’t do it sooner.

TomO

[C855B]

... Why our country allows buildings like this to be wasted is IMOO such a shame. ...

Agreed. I'm on our city commission for architectural preservation. However, there's a sad downside to preserving large, old structures: evolution of construction techniques. For instance, locally we have a "mason crisis". It's bad enough we don't have nearly enough skilled construction craftsmen in our area to keep up with the work in general, but niche specialties peculiar to old buildings such as large masonry have become impossible. One or two "artisans" are not going to make a dent in a building like this one in Detroit.

And it takes money... LOTS of money. In nearly all cases if we're talking about functionality vs. architecture, tearing it down and building a modern structure is far less expensive. It takes a FOMOCO or somebody else that big with a sense of community - a rare commodity - to even consider the idea of restoration.

My wife and I also had our own hard decision about restoring an interesting old building (you might recall from the layout thread). The two-story wood frame apartment building next to our studio was the last of its kind in the area, beginning life as a mom-and-pop grocery where the owner and his family lived upstairs. Classic early-1900s Americana. We bought the property, started the restoration hoping to restore a little of its original form, ran into structural issues also discovering the original construction was poor, and had to tear it down. Heartbreaking.