Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant (Atlanta)

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Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant
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Location Atlanta, Georgia
Coordinates 33°46′22″N84°21′52″W / 33.77278°N 84.36444°W / 33.77278; -84.36444 Coordinates: 33°46′22″N84°21′52″W / 33.77278°N 84.36444°W / 33.77278; -84.36444
Built 1914
Architect John Graham
NRHP reference # 84001080 [1]
Added to NRHP May 10, 1984

The Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant at 699 Ponce de Leon Avenue [2] 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.

Ponce de Leon Avenue

Ponce de Leon Avenue, often simply called Ponce, provides a link between Atlanta, Decatur, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was named for Ponce de Leon Springs, in turn from explorer Juan Ponce de León, but is not pronounced as in Spanish. Several grand and historic buildings are located on the avenue.

Headquarters Location where an organizations key leadership and coordination functions take place

Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility for managing all business activities. In the United Kingdom, the term head office is most commonly used for the HQs of large corporations. The term is also used regarding military organizations.

Ford Motor Company automotive brand manufacturer

Ford Motor Company is a multinational automaker that has its main headquarter in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand and most luxury cars under the Lincoln brand. Ford also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer Troller, an 8% stake in Aston Martin of the United Kingdom and a 32% stake in Jiangling Motors. It also has joint-ventures in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Russia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power.

Contents

The 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) building was designed by Ford's in-house architect, John Graham. An office block in the front was backed by a multi-story loft-style assembly plant. [3]

Factory facility where goods are made, or processed

A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial site, usually consisting of buildings and machinery, or more commonly a complex having several buildings, where workers manufacture goods or operate machines processing one product into another.

The War Department used the building as a storage depot and as administrative offices. Sold for development in 1979, the building is now known as Ford Factory Square or the Ford Factory Lofts and is occupied by apartments and retail shops. Architects for the adaptive reuse project were Bradfield Associates. [4]

Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the operational and commercial performance of built assets. Adaptive reuse of buildings can be an attractive alternative to new construction in terms of sustainability and a circular economy. Not every old building can qualify for adaptive reuse. Architects, developers, builders and entrepreneurs who wish to become involved in rejuvenating and reconstructing a building must first make sure that the finished product will serve the need of the market, that it will be completely useful for its new purpose, and that it will be competitively priced.

The Kroger supermarket at the Ford Factory is inspiration for the meme Murder Kroger.

Murder Kroger supermarket in Atlanta, Georgia

Murder Kroger was the name by which the Kroger supermarket at 725 Ponce de Leon Avenue in Poncey-Highland, Atlanta was popularly known for two decades. On January 15, 2016, Kroger announced that the location would be demolished to make way for 725 Ponce, a mixed-use development incorporating office space, a new urban prototype Kroger store, and expanded parking.

Ponce City Market historic building in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a historic building in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located where the BeltLine crosses Ponce de Leon Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward where that neighborhood touches the Virginia Highland, Poncey-Highland and Midtown neighborhoods. The 2,100,000-square-foot (200,000 m2) building, one of the largest by volume in the Southeast United States, was used by Sears, Roebuck and Co. from 1926–1987 and later by the City of Atlanta as "City Hall East". The building's lot covers 16 acres (65,000 m2). It officially opened on August 25, 2014. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

The BeltLine is a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia, under development in stages as a multi-use trail. Some portions are already complete, while others are still in a rough state but hikeable. Using existing rail track easements, the BeltLine is designed to improve transportation, add green space, and promote redevelopment. There are longer-term visions for streetcar or light-rail lines along all or part of the corridor.


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Highland Park Ford Plant place in Michigan listed on National Register of Historic Places

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

Ford Piquette Avenue Plant 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.

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Poncey–Highland Neighborhoods of Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia, United States

Poncey–Highland is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, located south of Virginia–Highland. It is so named because it is near the intersection of east/west Ponce de Leon Avenue and north/southwest North Highland Avenue. This Atlanta neighborhood was established between 1905 and 1930, and is bordered by Druid Hills and Candler Park across Moreland Avenue to the east, the Old Fourth Ward across the BeltLine Eastside Trail to the west, Inman Park across the eastern branch of Freedom Parkway to the south, and Virginia Highland to the north across Ponce de Leon Avenue. The Little Five Points area sits on the border of Poncey–Highland, Inman Park, and Candler Park.

Druid Hills Historic District (Atlanta, Georgia)

Druid Hills Historic District is a historic district in Druid Hills, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and later by his sons, the Olmsted Brothers. Druid Hills was Atlanta's second major suburb, after Inman Park, and as one of Olmsted's major works, had a significant influence on future suburban development.

Atlanta City Hall

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Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant

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Atlanta Assembly

Atlanta Assembly was an automobile factory owned by Ford Motor Company in Hapeville, Georgia. The Atlanta Assembly plant was opened on December 1, 1947. Harbour Consulting rated it as the most efficient auto plant in North America in 2006. As part of The Way Forward plan, the plant was closed on October 27, 2006. Prior to the operation of this assembly plant, Ford operated another assembly plant and offices on Ponce de Leon Avenue near the old Sears headquarters building, in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood just northeast of Downtown Atlanta.

Castleberry Hill neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia

Castleberry Hill is a neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia, adjacent to and southwest of Downtown Atlanta. It is a federally recognized historic district since 1985 and became a City of Atlanta Landmark District in 2006. Since 2000, the area has experienced an influx of residents and new businesses. The area, which is made up predominantly of Walker, Nelson and Peters Streets is home to a growing number of small art galleries, restaurants, coffee shops, and loft residences. Less than a mile from the historically black colleges and universities that make up the Atlanta University Center Consortium and from the expansive downtown campus of Georgia State University, the area also offers local shopping as well as spa services, like iwi Fresh. Other notable area eateries include No Mas! Cantina, a spacious Mexican-themed restaurant, bar and fine home furnishings establishment, often used as a point of reference. Castleberry Hill residents gather at local watering holes, such as Elliott Street Pub and Bottle Rocket.

North Avenue (Atlanta) street in Atlanta, Georgia

North Avenue is a major avenue in Atlanta, Georgia that divides Downtown Atlanta from Midtown Atlanta. North Avenue stretches continuously in Atlanta from Candler Park in the east, across Interstate 75 & Interstate 85, along the southern boundary of the Georgia Institute of Technology, to Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard just southwest of Georgia Tech, where it ends. North Avenue passes through the neighborhoods of Poncey-Highland, Old Fourth Ward, and Midtown Atlanta.

Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant

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Edward C. Peters House Atlanta, GA, listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The Edward C. Peters House, also known as Ivy Hall, is a Queen Anne style house in Atlanta, Georgia. It occupies a lot covering an entire city block on the southeast corner of Piedmont Avenue and Ponce de Leon Avenue in Midtown Atlanta, just north of the SoNo neighborhood. Its current owner is the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Lincoln Motor Company Plant

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.

Ponce de Leon amusement park

The Ponce de Leon amusement park was built on the site of Ponce de Leon Springs. Omnibus service from Atlanta to the springs started in 1872, and in 1874 horsecar service started. It developed in the late 1880s and 1890s with the addition of attractions for children, a dance hall and theater, and picnic grounds. In 1903 construction of the full-fledged amusement park began. By then the park was served by the Nine-Mile Circle electric streetcar line.

Ponce de Leon Springs were natural springs located on the site of Ponce City Market in Atlanta, where Ponce de Leon Avenue crosses the BeltLine, and where the Old Fourth Ward, Virginia Highland, Midtown and Poncey-Highland neighborhoods of Atlanta meet.

Ford Motor Company - Columbus Assembly Plant

The Ford Motor Company - Columbus Assembly Plant was located at 427 Cleveland Avenue, Columbus, Ohio. As a branch assembly plant of the Ford Motor Company, beginning in 1914 it assembled the Ford Model T.automobile.

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Google Maps location
  3. ↑ Sams, Gerald W. (ed): "AIA Guide to the Architecture of Atlanta", page 199. University of Georgia Press, 1993.
  4. ↑ "Atlanta: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant. National Park Service. 2008-07-03.

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