Inside My Visit To The Cemetery Inside GM's Poletown Plant

The Autopian asked me to write about Beth Olem, and it was a fascinating day

Last week, my friend Matt Hardigree, the editor of The Autopian, asked me if I’d be willing to take on an assignment.

On Sunday, Beth Olem Cemetery, which is deep inside General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Complex, held one of the two days each year that it is open to the public.

He suggested I visit, talk to some visitors, take some photos, and write about what I saw.

You can read that story here, and be sure to check out the many interesting comments.

It tells the history of the small Jewish cemetery, which has existed since the 1860s. Beth Olem pre-dates GM by more than 40 years, and was on the site that GM purchased from Chrysler in 1980 to begin assembling the complex.

You might know it better as Poletown, which is the name for the working class neighborhood that was largely torn down so GM could put the plant site together.

I wanted to share additional impressions with you, in appreciation of your support for Intersection.