Ford Motor Company - Columbus Assembly Plant

Last updated
Ford Motor Company - Columbus Assembly Plant
Ford Motor Company - Columbus Assembly Plant.JPG
The building in 1915
Ford Motor Company - Columbus Assembly Plant
Location427 Cleveland Avenue, Columbus, Ohio
Coordinates 39°58′22″N82°59′28″W / 39.972726°N 82.991061°W / 39.972726; -82.991061 Coordinates: 39°58′22″N82°59′28″W / 39.972726°N 82.991061°W / 39.972726; -82.991061
Built1914
Architect John Graham
Architectural styleCommercial
NRHP reference No. 100006229
CRHP No.CR-80
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 15, 2021
Designated CRHPMarch 11, 2021

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.

Contents

The former Ford plant sits on a 9.5-acre (3.8 ha) site along with 457 Cleveland Avenue to its north, built in 1927 as a Kroger bakery. Together the buildings total 375,000 sq ft (34,800 m2). [1]

History

Background

The building c. 1916 Ford Motor Company postcard.jpg
The building c. 1916
The building (foreground) and former bakery (background) before planned renovation, 2021 Ford Plant and Kroger Bakery, Columbus 01.jpg
The building (foreground) and former bakery (background) before planned renovation, 2021

Ford Motor Company relied on a network of sales agencies-dealers which agreed to sell Model T cars, stock parts, and provide mechanics' services. Ford initially manufactured fully assembled cars in Detroit and then "knocked them down" (took off the wheels and otherwise prepared them for shipment) and shipped them to dealers. The agents in distant cities reassembled the knocked-down cars before sale. To better serve the network of sales dealerships. Ford took direct control of agencies in New York and Philadelphia in 1905 and the following year established company-owned branches in Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City, initially in leased buildings. Ford branches also sold Ford cars in addition to assembling vehicles for delivery to dealerships. Ford sold over 200,000 autos in 1914, with 80 percent of sales originating from the company's twenty-nine branches. As Ford sales continued to increase, the company built additional branch assembly plants in company-owned buildings, most of which were designed by Architect Albert Kahn. [2]

The Ford system of branch plants was so successful that the company's competitors soon adopted the practice. Chevrolet, for example, established four branch assembly plants in 1915-1916 throughout the United States. [3] Ford Branch Assembly Plants were located in Atlanta, Buffalo, Cambridge, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fargo, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Long Island City, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Ore., San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis. [4]

Building history

The structure was built in 1914 and designed by John Graham & Company. John Graham was a Seattle architect working in the Ford architecture department in Highland Park, Michigan. Graham was the designer of several branch plants, including plants in Seattle, Cambridge, Houston, Dallas, Columbus, Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh. Architect Albert Kahn was responsible for nearly all of the remaining 1920s generation of branch assembly plants. [5] As a branch assembly plant of the Ford Motor Company, beginning in 1914 the Columbus plant assembled the Ford Model T automobile. [6] The plant processed components that arrived by train. The automobiles were assembled at the plant for delivery to local dealers. The shipping boxes were sized so that the wood from the empty boxes could be used as floorboards for the automobiles. The plant was closed in 1939. [7]

The building housed the Kroger Co. Columbus Bakery until 2019. It was purchased by developers in March 2020 for $8.15 million. In April 2021, plans were unveiled for a 448-unit residential complex on the site, renovating the two existing buildings while adding three more. The development would be primarily residential, though a portion is set to hold restaurant space. Parking is predominantly set for within residential buildings; 420 of 599 proposed spaces. [8] Large portions of the site will be landscaped into park space, a pool, dog park, and athletic courts. [1]

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 2021.

See also

Related Research Articles

<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 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. It was mainly designed by an American and two Hungarian engineers. The Model T was colloquially known as the "Tin Lizzie", "Leaping Lena" or "flivver".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hupmobile</span> Former American car manufacturer

Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908.

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

Albert Kahn was an American industrial architect. He was accredited the architect of Detroit and 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">Highland Park Ford Plant</span> United States historic place

The Highland Park Ford Plant is a former Ford Motor Company factory located at 91 Manchester Street 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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durant Motors</span> Former automobile manufacturer

Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers who financed GM.

<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">Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant</span> United States historic place

The Ford Richmond Plant, formally the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, in Richmond, California, was the largest assembly plant to be built on the West Coast and its conversion to wartime production during World War II aided the United States' war effort. The plant is part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It currently houses the National Park Service visitor center, several private businesses and the Craneway Pavilion, an event venue.

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

The Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant is located at 1514-1524 Cuming Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. In its 16 years of operation, the plant employed 1,200 people and built approximately 450,000 cars and trucks. In the 1920s, it was Omaha's second-biggest shipper.

<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">Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant (Atlanta)</span> United States historic place

The Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant at 699 Ponce de Leon Avenue in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia was the headquarters of the Ford Motor Company's southeastern US operations from 1915 to 1942. As a result of good sales in Atlanta, and a desire to decentralize production, Ford established a combined assembly, sales, service and administration facility on Ponce de Leon Avenue, selling a peak of 22,000 vehicles per year. The assembly plant produced Model Ts, Model As and V-8s until 1942, when the plant was sold to the War Department and a new plant was opened in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville.

<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 Australia</span> Car making industry in Australia

A substantial car industry was created in Australia in the 20th century through the opening of Australian plants by international manufacturers. The first major carmaker was Ford Australia and the first Australian-designed mass production car was manufactured by Holden in 1948. Australian manufacture of cars rose to a maximum of almost half a million in the 1970s and still exceeded 400,000 in 2004. Australia was best known for the design and production of 'large' sized passenger vehicles. By 2009 total production had fallen to around 175,000 and the Australian market was dominated by cars imported from Asia and Europe.

Automobile Row was a commercial district in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Early reports place the location of the strip as extending Eighteenth to Twenty-first Street along Farnam, while contemporary accounts place it from 20th to roughly 26th Street. The row featured dealers, garages, and parts stores.

Long Beach Assembly is a former Ford Motor Company assembly plant located at the Cerritos Channel on Terminal Island, at 700 Henry Ford Avenue in Long Beach, Southern California. It operated from 1930 through 1958.

The automotive industry in Ireland has had a varied history, the punitive tax on imported cars encouraged a wide range of companies to assemble their cars locally including Fiat, Ford and Renault. From Ireland's entry to the European Union in 1973, the need for locally produced cars to avoid import taxes reduced and since the 1980s, production ended and all cars are now imported.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baker Motor Vehicle Company Building</span> United States historic place

The Baker Motor Vehicle Company Building, also known as the Baker Electric Building, is a historic commercial building in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. Built in 1910, it was the first showroom of the Baker Electric Motor Car Co., a pioneer in Brass Era electric automobiles. Baker Electric merged with Rauch and Lang in 1914, and the building was sold in 1920. It served as an auto dealership, machine shop, and print shop for the next 86 years. The structure underwent a two-year renovation and historic preservation from 2006 and 2008, and now serves as a startup business incubator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)</span> United States historic place

The Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant is a historic former automobile assembly plant in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Located along a stretch of Baum Boulevard nicknamed "Automobile Row" due to its high concentration of auto-related businesses, the plant was built in 1915 by Ford Motor Company to assemble Ford Model T cars using the company's pioneering mass production processes. It was designed by Ford's corporate architect John H. Graham, Sr. and constructed from reinforced concrete. The plant consists of an eight-story main building which contained the assembly areas and a vehicle showroom, and a six-story crane shed which was used to hoist parts unloaded from the adjacent Pennsylvania Railroad tracks to the appropriate level for assembly. Due to the steeply sloping site, the building has only five stories above grade along the street elevations.

References

  1. 1 2 "448 new apartments, commercial spaces pitched for Kroger Bakery site downtown". 7 April 2021.
  2. "Ford's System of Branch Assembly Plants", fordmotorhistory.com
  3. "Ford's System of Branch Assembly Plants", fordmotorhistory.com
  4. "Ford Factory Facts", Ford Motor Company (1915), Model T Ford Club of America
  5. "Ford Richmond Assembly Plant - Architect Albert Kahn", fordmotorhistory.com
  6. "Box".
  7. "Columbus, Ohio: 1898-1950 in Vintage Postcards", Barrett, Richard E., Page 123
  8. "Plan Calls for 448 Apartments at Kroger Bakery Site". 7 April 2021.