Highland Park Ford Plant

Last updated

Highland Park Ford Plant
Farm Mechanics 1922 Ford Highland Park cropped.png
The Highland Park plant in 1922
USA Michigan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location91 Manchester Street at Woodward
Highland Park, Michigan
Built1910
Architect Albert Kahn; Edward Gray
NRHP reference No. 73000961
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 6, 1973 [1]
Designated NHLJune 2, 1978 [2]
Designated MSHSApril 17, 1956

The Highland Park Ford Plant is a former Ford Motor Company factory located at 91 Manchester Street (at Woodward Avenue) in Highland Park, Michigan. It was the second American production facility for the Model T automobile and the first factory in history to assemble cars on a moving assembly line. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1978. [1]

Contents

History

The Highland Park Ford Plant was designed by Albert Kahn Associates in 1908 and was opened in 1910. Ford automotive production had previously taken place at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, where the first Model Ts were built. The Highland Park Ford Plant was approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of the original Dodge Brothers factory who were subcontractors for Ford, producing precision engine and chassis components for the Model T. It was also approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the former Brush-Maxwell plant, which later became Highland Park Chrysler Plant the headquarters for the Chrysler Corporation.[ citation needed ]

The complex included offices, factories, a power plant and a foundry [3] as part of Ford's strategy of integrating the supply chain. [4] About 102 acres in size the Highland Park Plant was the largest manufacturing facility in the world at the time of its opening. Because of its spacious design,[ citation needed ] it set the precedent for many factories and production plants built thereafter.

External images
Searchtool.svg Ford Model T price/volume curve, 1909-1923
Searchtool.svg Ford statistics, 1910-1931

Using division of labor, relentless cost-cutting and process optimization, the factory went through an experience curve to reduce price and increase volume. [4] On October 7, 1913, the Highland Park Ford Plant became the first automobile production facility in the world to implement the moving assembly line. [5] [6] The new assembly line improved production time of the Model T from 728 to 93 minutes. [7] The Highland Park assembly line lowered the price of the Model T from $700 (equivalent to $21,985in 2022) in 1910 to $350 (equivalent to $7,995in 2022) in 1917, making it an affordable automobile for most Americans. [8] On January 5, 1914, Ford announced that factory wages would be raised from a daily rate of $2.34 (equivalent to $68in 2022) to $5.00 (equivalent to $146in 2022), and that daily shifts would be reduced from nine hours to eight. [9] After the increase in pay, Ford claimed that the turnover rate of 31.9 percent in 1913 decreased to 1.4 percent in 1915. [10] Ford offered nearly three times the wages paid at other unskilled manufacturing plants. [11] [4]

In the late 1920s, the open Model T went out of fashion and Ford moved automobile assembly to the River Rouge Plant complex in nearby Dearborn to focus on improving quality with the Model A. [4] Automotive trim manufacturing and Fordson tractor assembly continued at the Highland Park plant. The 1,690 M4A3 Sherman tanks built by Ford from June, 1942 to September, 1943 were assembled in this factory, as well.[ citation needed ]

During the 1940s through 1960s, the Highland Park plant was a principal location for Ford U.S. tractor manufacture. In the 1970s, the Romeo, Michigan, plant increasingly displaced it for that role.

Ford sold their building and began leasing the space in 1981. [12] Throughout the 1980s parts of the factory were dismantled and torn down, including a large factory building, the boiler building and the administrative building.

By the mid-1990s neither plant was producing tractors or tractor parts, as Ford had sold off its tractor and implement interests in stages during the 1990-1993 period.[ citation needed ]

During the 2010s large portions of steel-framed warehouse buildings were scrapped in favor of a stock yard for tenants. Other companies occupying this property included a scrap yard and a cement plant.

By 2011 it was being used by Ford Motor Company to store documents and for artifact storage for the Henry Ford Museum. A portion is also occupied by a Forman Mills clothing warehouse that opened in 2006. [13]

Current status

The Woodward Avenue Action Association has a purchase agreement with the complex's owner, National Equity Corp., to pay $550,000 for two of eight buildings at the historic Ford manufacturing complex: a four-floor, 40,000-square-foot sales office and the 8,000-square-foot executive garage near it. The center would include a theater with continuous videos, informational kiosks, interpretive displays on automotive history and a gift/coffee/snack shop. It could also be a place where visitors could pick up historical automotive tours, such as the current tour offered by the Woodward group, "In the Steps of Henry". [14]

The former factory is now a mall, named Model-T-Plaza; the mall features architectural similarities, hinting to the location's origin.

The remaining buildings W, X, Y, and Z at Highland Industrial Center occupy about 1.3 million square feet, and 10 parcels of land go to this site, which was formerly owned by the Woodland-Manchester Corp, and is now currently leased by a security company. No more businesses occupy the lot behind the factory building as of 2021.

In the media

The plant was used as a location for director Shawn Levy's 2011 Disney/Touchstone Pictures film Real Steel . [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assembly line</span> Manufacturing process

An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in sequence until the final assembly is produced. By mechanically moving the parts to the assembly work and moving the semi-finished assembly from work station to work station, a finished product can be assembled faster and with less labor than by having workers carry parts to a stationary piece for assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Model T</span> American car (1908–1927)

The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relatively low price was partly the result of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual handcrafting. The savings from mass production allowed the price to decline from $780 in 1910 to $290 in 1924. It was mainly designed by three engineers, Joseph A. Galamb, Eugene Farkas, and Childe Harold Wills. The Model T was colloquially known as the "Tin Lizzie".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Kahn (architect)</span> American architect

Albert Kahn was an American industrial architect who designed industrial plant complexes such as the Ford River Rouge automobile complex. He designed the construction of Detroit skyscrapers and office buildings as well as mansions in the city suburbs. He led an organization of hundreds of architect associates and in 1937, designed 19% of all architect-designed industrial factories in the United States. Under a unique contract in 1929, Kahn established a design and training office in Moscow, sending twenty-five staff there to train Soviet architects and engineers, and to design hundreds of industrial buildings under their first five-year plan. They trained more than 4,000 architects and engineers using Kahn's concepts. In 1943, the Franklin Institute posthumously awarded Kahn the Frank P. Brown Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M-1 (Michigan highway)</span> State highway in Michigan, United States

M-1, also known as Woodward Avenue, is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan. The highway, called "Detroit's Main Street", runs from Detroit north-northwesterly to Pontiac. It is one of the five principal avenues of Detroit, along with Michigan, Grand River, Gratiot, and Jefferson avenues. These streets were platted in 1805 by Judge Augustus B. Woodward, namesake to Woodward Avenue. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has listed the highway as the Automotive Heritage Trail, an All-American Road in the National Scenic Byways Program. It has also been designated a Pure Michigan Byway by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and was also included in the MotorCities National Heritage Area designated by the US Congress in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow Run</span> Manufacturing complex in Michigan, US

Willow Run, also known as Air Force Plant 31, was a manufacturing complex in Michigan, United States, located between Ypsilanti Township and Belleville, built by the Ford Motor Company to manufacture aircraft, especially the Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. Construction of the Willow Run Bomber Plant began in 1940 and was completed in 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Piquette Avenue Plant</span> Former car factory and National Historic Landmark in Detroit, Michigan

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a former factory located within the Milwaukee Junction area of Detroit, Michigan, in the United States. Built in 1904, it was the second center of automobile production for the Ford Motor Company, after the Ford Mack Avenue Plant. At the Piquette Avenue Plant, the company created and first produced the Ford Model T, the car credited with initiating the mass use of automobiles in the United States. Prior to the Model T, several other car models were assembled at the factory. Early experiments using a moving assembly line to make cars were also conducted there. It was also the first factory where more than 100 cars were assembled in one day. While it was headquartered at the Piquette Avenue Plant, Ford Motor Company became the biggest U.S.-based automaker, and it would remain so until the mid-1920s. The factory was used by the company until 1910, when its car production activity was relocated to the new, bigger Highland Park Ford Plant.

Buick City was a massive, vertically-integrated automobile manufacturing complex in northeast Flint, Michigan, which served the Buick home plant between 1904 and 1999. In the early 1980s, after major renovations were completed to better compete with Japanese producers, the plant was renamed to Buick City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford River Rouge complex</span> Historic automobile manufacturing complex in Dearborn, Michigan, USA

The Ford River Rouge complex is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex located in Dearborn, Michigan, along the River Rouge, upstream from its confluence with the Detroit River at Zug Island. Construction began in 1917, and when it was completed in 1928, it was the largest integrated factory in the world, surpassing Buick City, built in 1904.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Michigan</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Amsterdam Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The New Amsterdam Historic District is a historic district located in Detroit, Michigan. Buildings in this district are on or near three sequential east-west streets on the two blocks between Woodward Avenue and Second Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District is a historic district located along Piquette Street in Detroit, Michigan, from Woodward Avenue on the west to Hastings Street on the east. The district extends approximately one block south of Piquette to Harper, and one block north to the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Line. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroit</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroit, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Motor Company Plant</span> United States historic place

The Lincoln Motor Company Plant was an automotive plant at 6200 West Warren Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, later known as the Detroit Edison Warren Service Center. The complex was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, due to its historic association with World War I Liberty engines and the Lincoln Motor Company. However, the main structures were demolished in 2003 and NHL designation was withdrawn in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive industry in Pakistan</span> Overview of the automotive industry in Pakistan

The automotive industry in Pakistan is one of the smallest but fastest-growing industries in the country, growing by 171% between 2014 and 2018. It accounts for 3% of Pakistan's GDP and employed a workforce of over 3.5 million people as of 2018. Pakistan is the 23rd largest producer of automobiles. Its contribution to the national exchequer is nearly Rs. 50-billion. Pakistan's auto market is among the smallest but fastest growing in Asia. 269,792 cars were sold in 2018, but this number declined to 186,716 in 2019 due to austerity measures. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Pakistan had many Japanese cars. With the launch of the first Auto Policy in 2005, Pakistan launched its first indigenous car, Adam Revo. However, after the 2008 elections, the dollar started depreciating, and due to bad governance, many automakers began to halt production, with some exiting Pakistan. Currently, the auto market is dominated by Honda, Toyota, and Suzuki. However, on 19 March 2016, Pakistan passed a second "Auto Policy 2016-21," which offers tax incentives to new automakers to establish manufacturing plants in the country. In response, Renault, Nissan, Proton Holdings, Kia, SsangYong, Volkswagen, FAW, and Hyundai have expressed interest in entering the Pakistani market. MG JW Automobile Pakistan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Morris Garages (MG) Motor UK Limited, owned by SAIC Motor, to bring electric vehicles to Pakistan. NLC signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz to manufacture Mercedes Actros trucks in Pakistan. Pakistan has not enforced any automotive safety standards or model upgrade policies. A few older vehicle models, including the Bolan and Ravi, continue to be sold by Suzuki. On 8 July 2021, Jolta Electric launched the production of electric motorcycles.

The Ford Valve Plant is a factory building located at 235 East Main Street in Northville, Michigan. The plant was built as part of Henry Ford's vision of decentralizing manufacturing and integrating it into rural communities. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Village industries</span> Former rural factories in Michigan, United States

Henry Ford's Village Industries were small factories located in rural areas of Michigan. Ford developed his Village Industries in part to provide farm workers a stable source of income during the winter months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown and Midtown Detroit</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown and Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Downtown and Midtown neighborhoods in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Latitude and longitude coordinates are provided for many National Register properties and districts; these locations may be seen together in online maps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Motor Company - Columbus Assembly Plant</span> Building in Columbus, Ohio

The Ford Motor Company - Columbus Assembly Plant is a historic building in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The Ford plant was constructed in 1914, to designs by John Graham. The plant operated until 1939. In later years, it became the Kroger Co. Columbus Bakery, operating until 2019. The building was sold in 2020, and is planned to be redeveloped into a large residential complex, announced in 2021. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive industry in Belarus</span>

Belarus had third by volume part of automotive industry of the Soviet Union with near 40,000 annual production. Since that times Belarus specializes on production of own designed superheavy, heavy and middle trucks mainly plus post-Soviet developed buses, trolleybuses and trams. Auto manufacturers in Belarus include MAZ, BelAZ and Neman.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "Highland Park Ford Plant". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2008.
  3. "Ford Motor Company Highland Park Plant". National Scenic Byways Program summary listing. National Scenic Byways Program. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Abernathy, William J.; Wayne, Kenneth (September 1, 1974). "Limits of the Learning Curve" . Harvard Business Review . Ford's objective was to reduce the price of the automobile and thereby increase volume and market share.
    Constant improvements in the production process made it more integrated, more mechanized, and increasingly paced by conveyors.
    The rate of capital investment showed substantial increases after 1913, rising from 11 cents per sales dollar that year to 22 cents by 1921. The new facilities that were built or acquired included blast furnaces, logging operations and saw mills, a railroad, weaving mills, coke ovens, a paper mill, a glass plant, and a cement plant .. coal mines, rubber plantations, and forestry operations
  5. "Ford's Assembly Line Turns 100: How It Changed Manufacturing and Society". New York Daily News . October 7, 2013. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  6. "Preserve Ford Highland Park". Woodward Avenue Action Association. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  7. "Highland Park Ford Plant". Archived from the original on October 16, 2007.
  8. William Wright. "Highland Park Ford Plant". Nps.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  9. Rosenthal, Phil (January 5, 2014). "Ford's Visionary Move to Raise Wages Has Lessons Today". Chicago Tribune . p. 1. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  10. Rosenthal, Phil (January 5, 2014). "Ford's Visionary Move to Raise Wages Has Lessons Today". Chicago Tribune . p. 2. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  11. "A Future for Ford Highland Park" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  12. "Highland Park - Ford Corporate".
  13. "Forman Mills discount clothing opens Highland Park warehouse store in former Model T factory". Model D. August 8, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  14. "Ford's historic Michigan plant moves closer to reopening as tourist attraction". Autonews.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  15. Hinds, Julie (October 1, 2011). "Michigan locations in 'Real Steel'". Detroit Free Press . Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2011.

42°24′38″N83°05′59″W / 42.4105°N 83.0996°W / 42.4105; -83.0996