Misplaced Pages

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42-606: The name Cranbrook may have been taken from a city in British Columbia, but it may also have been taken from Cranbrook Drive in Detroit; this small street intersected with Cambridge Avenue. Both streets are between 7 Mile Road West and 8 Mile Road West, near the Dodge Main plant. Concord Street ran by the plant. This indicates that the cars may have been named after streets near Chrysler Corporation facilities. Plymouth, Massachusetts ,

84-544: A cafeteria for office and plant employees, complete with a fully equipped kitchen; a smaller facility in Plant 4 prepared hot food for distribution directly to the factory areas via small trolleys. The factory was approximately two miles south of Lynch Road Assembly , which built Plymouth products exclusively until 1962. When the Chrysler C platform was introduced in 1965, the factory manufactured Dodge and Plymouth products that shared

126-686: A complete medical facility, with doctors and nurses on duty at all times, an efficient plant security department, and a well-equipped firefighting department with direct contact with the local Hamtramck Fire Department. The plant included a "welfare department" that looked after workers’ social needs and, reflecting the innovative nature of the Dodge brothers, a machine shop they called "the Playpen," where employees who wanted to fix or invent things could indulge in their ideas after hours. The facility had an executive dining room for senior plant and corporate officials and

168-496: A distance, the cars were essentially similar. The Plymouth Cambridge and Plymouth Cranbrook models shared the P-23 Series Number in both 1951 and 1952. The six-cylinder flathead engine produced 97 hp (72 kW). For 1953, the boxy shape was changed for straighter lines, with sleeker and more modern styling. The windshield went to a modern one-piece unit; and the door handles pulled out instead of twisting. The glove box

210-525: A new automobile plant. The boundaries of Poletown East as defined by the city's planning and development department include the city of Hamtramck, St. Aubin Street and I-94 to the north, I-75 to the east, Warren Avenue to the south, and Mt. Elliot Street to the east. West of St. Aubin and south of I-94, as well as well as the area north of I-94 between St. Aubin and Mt. Elliott, are industrial in nature. The area bound by St. Aubin, I-94, Mt. Elliott and Warren

252-459: Is a General Motors (GM) automobile assembly plant straddling the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan . It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters. The site was originally a factory for Dodge , known alternately as Dodge Main or simply the Dodge Factory . It opened in 1911 and operated continually until the 1970s when diminishing demand led to

294-562: Is a neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan , bordering the enclave city of Hamtramck . The area was named after the Polish immigrants who originally lived in the area. A portion of residential area known as Poletown became the General Motors Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant in 1981 with those residents relocated by General Motors and the cities of Detroit and Hamtramck which claimed eminent domain in order to make way for

336-549: Is largely residential. The boundaries of historical Poletown included the Hamtramck city line, Gratiot Avenue, and a line from Mt. Elliott to the intersection of Canfield and St. Antoine, the location of the Detroit Medical Center . Poletown was settled in the 1870s when the first waves of Polish and Kashubian immigrants came to Detroit, and served as the heart of Detroit's Polish community for many years. The nucleus of

378-694: The Chevrolet Volt ) began, followed two years later by production of the Cadillac CT6 and then the third-generation Buick LaCrosse . In December 2016, GM announced they would soon eliminate the second shift and 1,300 jobs at the plant, less than twelve months after the second shift was added. Then in October 2017, GM indicated there would be an additional reduction in production at the plant, citing falling sales and excess inventory of sedans (which were made there), resulting in about 200 additional jobs lost. In 2018

420-426: The 4,200 people who lived in the area, along with their 1,300 homes, 140 businesses, six churches and one hospital. The plant was built at the boundary of Hamtramck and Detroit as a BOC factory ( Buick - Oldsmobile - Cadillac ) and became known as the "Poletown Plant". Coleman Young , Mayor of Detroit , used eminent domain to seize the portion of Poletown. Critics stated that Young could have chosen other areas for

462-513: The CT6 and Impala in 2020, the factory began a retooling to build electric vehicles, starting with the GMC Hummer EV . The first GMC Hummer EV Pickup rolled off the assembly line at the rebranded Factory Zero on December 17, 2021. 42°22′52.0278″N 83°2′49.3002″W  /  42.381118833°N 83.047027833°W  / 42.381118833; -83.047027833 Poletown Poletown East

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504-554: The Cranbrook a "shorter" look.) Power increased marginally, to 100 hp (75 kW). The 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook was designated Series P-24-2 and the lower trim level Cambridge was the P-24-1. In 1954, the Cranbrook name was replaced by the Belvedere , which had been the top trim level of the Cranbrook; all Plymouth names were switched to those of upscale hotels. The Plymouth P-23 series

546-524: The area. However, Joseph Karasiewicz, the priest at one of the parishes, defied his local Cardinal and fought to keep his building from being sold. The Archdiocese stood firm in its support of the sale. A 29-day sit-in at the Immaculate Conception Church came to an end on July 14, 1981, when police forcibly evicted 20 people from the church. Twelve people were arrested; only three of the twelve arrested were from Poletown. Shortly afterward,

588-557: The case went to the Michigan Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of General Motors, stating that economic development is a legitimate use of eminent domain. Detroit Mayor Coleman Young sided with GM, seeking new jobs and investments for the struggling area. The site is near (south) of another GM facility at the time, called Chevrolet Gear & Axle Division, which itself was the combination of two former factories, called Detroit Gear and Axle and Detroit Forge, which had occupied

630-523: The church. Twelve people were arrested, only three of the twelve arrested were from Poletown. Poletown Neighborhood Council v. Detroit became a landmark case for "public use" eminent domain matters. Twenty-three years later, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the precedent that it had set in the earlier case. In their 2004 decision, County of Wayne v. Hathcock a property owner near Detroit's Metropolitan Airport successfully fought against

672-506: The community was the St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church , which opened in 1871 and closed in 1990. Poletown experienced its greatest period of growth during the 1920s and 1930s as thousands of Polish immigrants came to Detroit in search of jobs in auto plants, like the nearby Packard Plant , and the Chrysler Plant to the east on Jefferson Ave, and the slaughterhouses that were in the area. Poletown

714-548: The development of a new suburban office/industrial park. The case was argued by Michigan eminent domain attorney Alan T. Ackerman. In a later 2005 United States Supreme Court decision, the case of Kelo v. City of New London ruled that the use of eminent domain to promote economic development is constitutional, but the opinion in Kelo cites the Hathcock decision as an example of how states may choose to impose their own restrictions on

756-489: The efforts to build the new plant. Gary Campbell, a Poletown resident and bar owner, accused those opposing the new plant of presenting opinions of a small minority as if they represented the entire neighborhood. The controversy led to national news attention and the involvement of Ralph Nader and the Gray Panthers . Protests centered on Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church. The regional Catholic Archdiocese supported

798-445: The location at Holbrook Avenue to the south, Lumpkin Street to the east, Poland Avenue to the north and I-75 to the west. (That factory was demolished in 2014, having occupied its location since 1917.) While some residents protested the GM's sweeping development plans, others supported the efforts to build the new plant. Gary Campbell, a Poletown resident and bar owner, accused those opposing

840-486: The low and sleek look. Differences between the 1950 Special Deluxe and the 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook are relatively few in number and scope, with interchangeable glass and doors, but different rubber seals; lack of woodgrain on the instrument panel; plastic brake handle instead of chrome; and other similar changes. More substantial was having what had been the hood release handle function as the overdrive control. Fender lettering and other badging necessarily changed as well. From

882-501: The new plant of presenting the opinions of a small minority as if they represented the entire neighborhood. The controversy led to national news attention and the involvement of Ralph Nader and the Gray Panthers . Protests centered around the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church. The Detroit Archdiocese supported the relocations and had already agreed to sell the two Catholic churches that were in

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924-538: The plant and yet he chose one of the final remaining working class White areas of Detroit. Young had criticized the destruction of the Black Bottom through eminent domain. Some of the displaced residents sued the cities and General Motors, but the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that economic development was a legitimate use of eminent domain. Another Poletown group, the Citizens District Council, supported

966-403: The plant would be closing. The plant subsequently closed on January 4, 1980. The facility remained dormant until 1981, when General Motors moved to purchase the plant for $ 1 to build a new factory. The 362 acres (1.46 km ) acquired also was home to a large Polish community that was part of an area that is sometimes referred to as Poletown . The proposed GM facility included land that

1008-435: The plant. As of May 2020, the plant is being retooled to produce electric vehicles , and took the name Factory Zero as part of this rebuilding. The first vehicle rolled off the new line on 17 December 2021, a GMC Hummer EV . The Dodge Factory, or "Dodge Main" as it became known, occupied 67 acres (0.27 km ) on the edge of the village of Hamtramck, which is surrounded by the city of Detroit. Plant 4, on Conant Avenue,

1050-449: The platform. By the 1970s, manufacturing and assembly needs began to diminish. A few small buildings around the facility were demolished, and others were repurposed to uses like research and record storage. By 1979, only 5,200 hourly employees remained at the plant, a sliver of the 36,000 employees that worked there during the peak in the 1940s. Dodge was struggling financially, and in an effort to cut costs it announced in spring 1979 that

1092-531: The primary facility for all Cadillacs starting in 1921. The new factory officially produced its first vehicle on 4 February 1985, a Cadillac Eldorado . Over the next 35 years it built vehicles for GM's Chevrolet , GMC and Cadillac divisions, originally known as "BOC" for Buick/Oldsmobile/Cadillac, but two of those nameplates have since been discontinued. In early 2017 it had approximately 1,800 hourly and salaried employees, and 924 in late 2022. Since opening in 1985, more than 4 million vehicles have been built at

1134-654: The production of Chevrolet Volt , which uses the Delta II/Voltec body. On April 21, 2010, GM announced it would invest $ 121 million into the Detroit/Hamtramck factory to ensure GM could keep up with the demand for the next generation Chevrolet Malibu . In May 2011, GM announced it would invest $ 69 million in the plant for the Chevrolet Impala . In 2013, production of the Cadillac ELR (a Cadillac equivalent of

1176-419: The relocations and had already agreed to sell the two Catholic churches that were in the area. However, Joseph Karasiewicz, the priest at one of the parishes, defied his archbishop and fought to keep his building from being sold. The Archdiocese stood firm in its support of the sale. A 29-day sit-in at the Immaculate Conception Church came to an end on July 14, 1981, when police forcibly evicted 20 people from

1218-601: The site increasingly being used for secondary roles. In 1979 it was announced it would be closed, which occurred early in 1980. The site was dormant until 1981, when GM purchased it for $ 1 with plans for a large factory complex covering the original Dodge site and a number of surrounding parcels of land. These included Detroit's Poletown neighbourhood, which had been a location for immigration from Poland and other countries. Attempts to stop these neighbourhoods from being demolished led to several court cases, which GM won. The new plant replaced GM's Detroit Assembly , which had been

1260-464: The site targeted for the plant was razed and construction began on the new $ 500 million auto assembly plant. The controversy inspired at least one short film: "Poletown Lives!" A small Jewish cemetery, Beth Olem, occupies part of the grounds of the GM Assembly at the extreme northwest corner of the property, next to the water treatment facility. The older pre-existing auto plant parking lot engulfed

1302-501: The small cemetery long before General Motors built the new assembly plant. Visitation is currently limited to twice a year on the Sundays preceding Rosh Hashana and Passover . The plans went forward and GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant was opened in February 1985. Cadillac K-body production was consolidated there in the 1990s. The Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly later received the contract for

Plymouth Cranbrook - Misplaced Pages Continue

1344-545: The taking of property. Poletown is sometimes used inclusively as slang for Hamtramck, Michigan , probably due to Hamtramck's strong identification with Polish-Americans. "Poletown" proper is the section immediately south of Hamtramck within the city of Detroit, but at one time had a strong and vibrant Polish neighborhood. Hamtramck itself has become highly diverse and there is still a small Polish-speaking minority. Polish bakeries and restaurants there are particularly popular, especially around Fat Tuesday . Many people around

1386-413: The utilization rate at the plant was only 28 percent of the 230,000 unit production capability. Subsequently, on November 26, 2018, GM announced that the plant would be "unallocated" in 2019. In February, 2019, General Motors (GM) announced that production of the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac CT6 would continue at Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly until early 2020. Coincident with the discontinuation of

1428-701: Was also produced in Australia and was marketed under the Cranbrook name. 4,382 examples were built in the years 1951 to 1953. The Plymouth P-24 series, which was marketed in the U.S. as the 1953 Plymouth, was also assembled in Australia in that year by Chrysler Australia . As in the U.S., it was sold as the Plymouth Cambridge and Cranbrook. In 1954 assembly of the P-25 series commenced, with Plymouth Cambridge, Cranbrook, Savoy and Belvedere names used. Australian design input

1470-407: Was home to 4,200 residents, 1,400 homes, several churches (including Immaculate Conception Church) and 140 businesses, plus the old Dodge factory. The residential area had been north of the Dodge facility. GM's acquisition of part of the property through eminent domain , and the subsequent clearing of this section of the neighborhood, was the subject of various protests and court battles. Eventually,

1512-547: Was minimal, although major body panels were locally produced. From 1956 a coupe utility variant was offered in addition to the four door sedan and was available in Cranbrook, Savoy and Belvedere models. Australian production of the P-25 continued through to 1957. The closely related Australian produced Chrysler Royal was built as the replacement for the local market. Dodge Main Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly , also referred to as Factory Zero and GM Poletown ,

1554-540: Was moved to the center for easier access by the driver. The gas cap was moved to under the trunk lid, resulting in initial problems with gas spilling out of a full tank into the trunk; this problem was resolved with baffles in mid-1953. The three-window coupe and fastback sedan were dropped for 1953; the former long and short wheelbase models were consolidated with a common wheelbase of 114 inches (2,900 mm), only one inch shorter than those of Chevrolet and Ford (although considerably less overhang than those competitors gave

1596-420: Was not only home to Poles, but also to Italians and African Americans . During the 1950s and 1960s, freeway construction and urban renewal projects altered the neighborhood. In 1981, a portion of the neighborhood was demolished to make way for the construction of the General Motors Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant. General Motors and the cities of Detroit and Hamtramck relied on eminent domain to relocate

1638-550: Was one of the first European settlements in North America and is a major city in the state. Two of Plymouth's model lines in the 1950s were named after towns in Massachusetts: Cambridge and Concord . The Plymouth Cranbrook, as a car, was conservatively styled, designed to fit K.T. Keller's notion that cars be practical and allow drivers to sit upright while wearing a hat; it was sold at a time when competitors favored

1680-431: Was replaced in 1912 by the architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls , due to a disagreement with the Dodge brothers. Reflecting an engineering philosophy the brothers shared, the plant was vastly overbuilt. There were two railroads crossing the area, and plenty of open land at the time. One of the railroad lines went north to the nearby Highland Park Ford Plant which had just opened earlier. The original intent

1722-409: Was separated only from the main plant structures by a railroad right-of-way, which was also the boundary line between the two cities. The plant started off as just a few buildings but it grew rapidly as needed, where it ended up as 35 separate buildings, to include a foundry , before it was demolished. The original plant was designed by noted industrial designer and architect Albert Kahn Associates but

Plymouth Cranbrook - Misplaced Pages Continue

1764-437: Was to continue providing parts and subassemblies, and ship them to Ford. It also included the first time a car manufacturer used a vehicle test track, including a portion where newly manufactured cars would drive up a ramp, to test the powertrain durability and the brakes on the way down. John and Horace had grown up on factory floors and machine shops, and they made sure their employees were well cared for. The Dodge facility had

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