Demolishing the Oldsmobile Plant, Lansing: 2006-2007
It was a sad day when the bulldozers and steam shovels moved in and ripped down the Oldsmobile Plant in 2006. The demolishing of the Olds Plant was felt by many to be the end of America's manufacturing era.....and now in the 2020s, we can understand a little more clearly what they meant.
The plant was built by R.E. Olds in 1901 on the former Grand River fairgrounds. By the time the plant closed its doors for good on May 6, 2005, it had been “the longest-operating automobile factory in the country.”
Watching the old video of the steam shovels doing the demolition, they remind me of hungry dinosaurs scavenging for food and competing with the others. One even goes through a “jaws-like” movement in front of the screen.
Demolition began during the Spring of 2006, and finished up in 2007.
The gallery below shows some screen shots from the video, followed by the video itself, thanks to Bonnie Bucqueroux.
Tearing Down the Olds Plant
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