  Wash_man Member Username: Wash_man Post Number: 1000 Registered: 05-2006 |
I was just scanning my freep "Detroit Almanac" and noticed that today (10/24) is the 10th anniversary of the Hudson's building implosion. I was never lucky enough to visit the store in my youth like so many people here did. I remember watching the event on TV. What a remarkable transformation the area has made since. Wow! I just noticed this is my 1000th post. | ||
Lowell Moderator Username: Lowell Post Number: 5110 Registered: 07-2008 |
Here it is on this site: https://www.detroityes.com/downtown/01hudsonAnim.mov Full tour at: https://www.detroityes.com/downtown/01implode.htm  | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 3835 Registered: 09-2007 |
quote: Sarcasm alert.  | ||
Eric Member Username: Eric Post Number: 1201 Registered: 11-2004 |
Are you saying is that it hasn't? Lower Woodward looks hell of a lot better than it did 10 years ago. | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 2198 Registered: 03-2006 |
it does but lately it's been looking kind of rough. There is shit everywhere, literally. Dog shit on the sidewalk and in the abandoned doorways there's people shit. It's a damn shame. | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 3836 Registered: 09-2007 |
^Not to mention the there's nothing on the Hudson's block, unlike 10 years ago. | ||
Hans57 Member Username: Hans57 Post Number: 345 Registered: 05-2006 |
Can someone tell me why they imploded it in the first place, did it become hazardous? | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 2199 Registered: 03-2006 |
progress | ||
Luckycar Member Username: Luckycar Post Number: 109 Registered: 02-2007 |
The only good that came out of that day was that our local anchor people were too close to the implosion.Remember the dust cloud burying them?Looked like a scene out of 9/11.They were almost giddy in their commentaries about progress and how this was a sad day,but Detroit will be better in the future,from destroying its past.Blah,blah....10 years later and no major retailer downtown. | ||
Royaloakian Member Username: Royaloakian Post Number: 103 Registered: 05-2004 |
Here's the video from that day http://www.controlled-demoliti on.com/default.asp?reqLocId=7& reqItemId=20030225133807 | ||
Eastsideal Member Username: Eastsideal Post Number: 12 Registered: 10-2007 |
"What a remarkable transformation the area has made since." From a big empty lot to, ummmmmm, a big empty lot? Yeah, that's certainly remarkable. But you really don't want to hear my remark about it... | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1522 Registered: 11-2003 |
Hans57-- It was imploded because the mayor's office and the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. wanted it gone. The building was structurally sound, and there were proposals from legitimate developers, but the size (2.2 million sq. feet) made it difficult. Also, a renovation would have drained away all the tax credits and other money that would have otherwise been spread among several projects, according to the (former?) poster Skulker. But given the overall tone of the administration and power structure, and the secretive way the demolition was approved, the building probably would have been torn down no matter what proposals or how much money a developer had. The city wanted it gone, and that was that. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 3355 Registered: 01-2004 |
"Looked like a scene out of 9/11" pyroclastic density current. both scenes look so much alike for a reason. ;) | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 2503 Registered: 12-2005 |
Archer wanted that building down in the worst way, and was absolutely giddy while pushing the button to start the ignition sequence. Preservationists tried to save the building and demolition equipment began tearing soffit awnings off against court ordered stays of demolition, which apparently mean nothing (Little Harry's/Chene house, Hudson’s) under cover of night. Archer wanted it gone, and as a pure reality check all previous attempts to reuse the building had failed to secure real financing. Archer said that the hulk of that dark building in the CBD was an impediment to progress. If the building were still there today what do you think would be going on? What state would it be in? I'm thinking Packard plant in the CBD, scrapping heaven, fire-of-the-month. | ||
Kathinozarks Member Username: Kathinozarks Post Number: 1560 Registered: 11-2006 |
10th year anniversary, 1000th post.....hmmmmm. Not much of a coincidence, but it's all I could pull together with only one cup of coffee. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 2378 Registered: 05-2005 |
wow, that means i've lived here, except for one summer, for a decade. hudsons was imploded during my first semester at ccs | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 3567 Registered: 04-2006 |
Proof positive that tearing down buildings for the sake of it won't save Detroit. Meanwhile, a couple blocks over, the renovation of one abandoned building is sparking more interest in the city than has been seen in years. Yet, the Book Cadillac almost met the same fate as the Hudson's building at one point... (Ironically, Hudson's and the BC were abandoned within two years of each other.) | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 371 Registered: 02-2008 |
I never had the chance to go shop at downtown Hudson's. I'm amazed that people would let it go that quickly. I would rather have gone to this on than the one at Oakland Mall any day. Why would go to a bland Hudson's, when you can go to the grandest of them all? | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1523 Registered: 11-2003 |
Iheartthed-- Actually, Hudson's wasn't *abandoned* until Dec. 1989. That's when Dayton Hudson sold the building. In Oct. 1986 the last 100 or so office workers vacated the downtown store. From that time until when the building was sold, Hudson's provided security, kept the utilities on, and did skeleton maintenance work. Demolition work started on Hudson's in Oct. '97, just shy of 8 years after abandonment. In contrast, the Book-Cadillac's utilities and maintenance completely ended in 1986 (when the Library Bar closed after its power was turned off) and the security guard was removed in 1997. It went through many more years of rotting than Hudson's did! | ||
Detourdetroit Member Username: Detourdetroit Post Number: 414 Registered: 10-2003 |
There have been a ton of posts with deep insight both pro and con. IMHO, one of the worst decisions Detroit's made... "A building is a terrible thing to waste..." | ||
Sg9018 Member Username: Sg9018 Post Number: 280 Registered: 10-2006 |
Does anyone has news reports (From the newspapers) and/or news videos (From the tv news stations.) from that day? I sure the implosion was on the 5pm news that day. I will really like to see the TV news reports on that day and the days before. | ||
Mortgageking Member Username: Mortgageking Post Number: 244 Registered: 12-2006 |
You guys do recall that Compuware would not be here if not for the Hudsons implosion right? | ||
Leannam1989 Member Username: Leannam1989 Post Number: 79 Registered: 06-2008 |
This may not be any better, but since it was built in stages could they not have demolished part of it and at least renovated the tower? Though I guess imploding the rest would've made the tower structurally unsound. What a shame. | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1565 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote:have anything to back that claim up? quote:they could've demo'd part of the building, but it would've been cost prohibitive. the selective demo while preserving the foundations for the portion that was remaining would've taken 4 times as long and skyrocketed the cost. [the city footed the demo cost.] it also would've made for an awkward site to redevelop. the main difference between hudson's and the book cadillac is that hudson's sold the building to a firm that was only interested in salvaging materials for scrap. so they were actively scrapping the building and leaving a much more worthless hulk. in the meantime they left it wide open for anyone and everyone who wanted to go in and vandalize, strip, live, explore, etc. the building. i saw several studies at the time that put renovation costs well below demo and resulting reconstruction and lost revenue costs. the main problem was that there was no one around who could do anything with the building or come up with the money to do it. the sheer size of the building was also it's detriment. i'll agree that this is the CBD's most significant loss and mistake. if the city had gone thru the pains that it went thru with tiger stadium we might be looking at a whole different downtown. but archer wanted it gone and made sure that it went. however, at the time, there was no other subsidies available other than city money. if that was used, then we would not see merchant's row, the kales, fort shelby, book cadillac, etc. being completed today. i don't have all the answers, but i still think it was a mistake. | ||
Detroitbill Member Username: Detroitbill Post Number: 673 Registered: 09-2006 |
I have to agree the area is better now than 10 years ago, I have lived downtown at both times..The area was totally decimated.. There were no loft apartments,, no bars, no compuware, no restaurants to the east of it, no Campus Martius,, the area was VERY shoddy. The road itself was crumbling in 1998. I agree with Chitaku that it needs to be cleaner, again,,the clean Detroit people dont like to clean up dog leavings..Its kinda feeling in a stale way lately. If i remember I do see this in other cities downtown also, unfortunately. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1524 Registered: 11-2003 |
RSA wrote, "...actively scrapping the building...left it wide open for anyone and everyone who wanted to go in and vandalize, strip, live, explore, etc. the building." The same exact conditions prevailed at the Book-Cadillac, and for a longer period than Hudson's. Everything but the walls and floors had to be removed at the BC for its renovation. But the difference with the BC is that it's much smaller than Hudson's was, and less expensive to renovate. | ||
Danindc Member Username: Danindc Post Number: 5068 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thanks for your comments, RSA. I've always suspected as much. Burnsie--the major problem with Hudsons was that 2 million sf is a LOT of space (more than 2-1/2 Penobscot Buildings), and the downtown office market at the time was probably as soft as it is now, if not softer. Of course, none of this means that the building HAD to be demolished. Archer just liked the idea, because he could boil the complexities of urban redevelopment to incredibly simple concepts. Or so he thought. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 7422 Registered: 08-2004 |
Ever since CAY was mayor DTE Energy and Ameritech were arm twisted to pre-lease several floors of a future Hudson's redevelopment, but no one else was interested in any leasing of the building, so that went nowhere. And down it came... I'm glad that I was not on site at the implosion to breath in all of the fine particles of "lord knows what"... | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1525 Registered: 11-2003 |
Excerpt from Freep article: "OFFICE PLAN CALLED A BOOST TO DETROIT October 4, 1985 •• 672 words •• ID: 8502100119 By leasing nearly a third of the office space projected for the downtown Hudson's building, three of Michigan's largest corporations said Thursday, they aim to assure the old store's renovation and show their oft-stated commitment to the city. At a press conference Thursday, Mayor Young revealed that last summer he encouraged Detroit Edison Co., Michigan Bell Telephone Co. and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan to take space in the renovated..." -------------- Loss of a UDAG grant also helped kill this project. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 3569 Registered: 04-2006 |
I wouldn't be sore about the Hudson's building being demo'd if there had been some viable project to replace it on the table. But 10 years later and Compuware was the only thing to come downtown. Forgive me if I sound a little underwhelmed, because I'm happy that Compuware is downtown, but... That's it? Detroit is a poorer city now than it was 10 years ago. And I say all of this with the recent discussion of what Detroit should do with the old Cass Tech still in my mind... |
