Every time someone comes to visit me in Detroit, I take them to the old Packard factory. I took Sarah. And Tom. And Ben, who brought a whole van-load of art students from Boston. It's pretty irresponsible, I guess. The place is full of asbestos, and other dangers, too. The occasional wild dog. The occasional crackhead with a gun. But where else should I take people? The Packard plant is Detroit's Roman forum. Its Machu Picchu. Its Angkor Wat. It's the huge empty box that the industrial economy came packed in.