Photos Inside the Abandoned AMC Headquarters, Detroit

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

Detroit does have a wealth of abandoned businesses and factories, many of them still standing tall against the sky like proud royal palaces.

One such structure is the former American Motors Headquarters on Plymouth Road.

According to Architectural Afterlife, it was built from 1926-1927 as an appliance factory for Kelvinator. They excelled in refrigerators for the average homemaker (which probably helped lead to the downfall of horse-drawn ice wagons) and this Detroit location was just what they needed to expand.

In the mid-1930s, they expanded further by merging with Nash Motors, changing their name to Nash-Kelvinator. In 1940, an addition was added on, making the plant a whoppin' 57-acres.

After successfully producing helicopters during World War 2, it was time to expand once again. This time, it was with Hudson Motors, and the combination of Kelvinator, Nash, and Hudson became known as the American Motors Corporation.

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After a shaky start, AMC got rolling and cranked out cars through the 1970s, like the Ambassador, AMX, Gremlin, Hornet, Javelin, Metropolitan, and Rambler.

Kelvinator bowed out in 1968, and by 1973, AMC had moved out of Detroit. The old factory remained engineering headquarters until 1987 when it was sold to Chrysler. The plant mainly cranked out Jeeps and designed the Jeep Cherokee and Dodge Ram.

More changes in the 1990s.
The building became leased by Borman Food Stores and Farmer Jack.
In 2007, Chrysler filed bankruptcy and the plant was closed for good in 2009.

Looking at the photos below, it's a shame the building couldn't have been saved. It sits, looming over most everything around it, splattered with graffiti - inside and out. But it remains majestic – at least on the outside – and maybe someday life will return.

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