AutoWorld (theme park) facts for kids
 |
|
| Location | Flint, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°01′15″N 83°41′29″W / 43.02083°N 83.69139°W |
| Status | Removed |
| Opened | July 4, 1984 |
| Closed | 1994 |
AutoWorld was a special indoor theme park located in Flint, Michigan, in the United States. It was created to attract tourists to the city. The park first opened its doors as Six Flags AutoWorld on July 4, 1984.
Sadly, it closed for the first time just six months later. AutoWorld closed permanently in 1994 and was taken down three years after that. When it first opened, the Governor of Michigan, James J. Blanchard, hoped it would help the city of Flint become great again.
Contents
How AutoWorld Began
The idea for AutoWorld started a long time ago, around 1969. A retired manager named Joseph Anderson remembered that Harding Mott, who led the Mott Foundation, was upset. Students in California had buried a Chevrolet car to show they didn't like cars. Mott wanted to show everyone how important cars were to society.
Another story says Harding Mott wanted to help the city of Flint feel proud again. Flint was, after all, a very important place in the history of making cars.
Planning the Park
AutoWorld was part of a bigger plan to make downtown Flint better in the 1960s and 1970s. At first, people thought about building a hall of fame just for cars in Flint. In 1970, important leaders from Flint met to talk about improving the city center. This meeting led to a new group called the Flint Area Conference, Inc. (FACI). This group worked to help the community's needs.
After this meeting, a committee led by Joseph Anderson studied the idea of a car hall of fame. They hired a company to design a plan for this hall of fame. It was planned to be built on an island in the Flint River. This was the very first design for AutoWorld.
Over the next ten years, many other plans and designs were made. In 1978, a company called C. W. Shaver & Company, Inc., suggested creating a "National Institute" to show how much cars affected the world. They also wanted a fun attraction in downtown Flint focused on cars. They called this project "A National Institute of Automotive Science and History (AutoWorld)."
By 1980, the plans for AutoWorld changed to include many elements of a theme park. It would have rides, shows, and interactive displays. There would also be shops and restaurants. This new plan predicted that many people from Flint would visit the park.
The final design for AutoWorld came from Randall Duell Associates. They predicted that 750,000 people would visit in the first year. They thought about one million people would visit the next year.
Getting Money for AutoWorld
The AutoWorld project received money from many different places. The Mott Foundation gave $11 million. Public funds added $36.5 million. Local people donated $4 million. Other companies like Capital Income Properties and GM also gave money.
How AutoWorld Operated
After fifteen years of planning, AutoWorld finally opened on July 4, 1984. There was a big parade and lots of excitement. For $8.95 a ticket, visitors could enter what was called "the largest enclosed theme park in the world."
In its first month, AutoWorld met its goal, with nearly 140,000 visitors. Experts had thought the park would attract one million visitors each year. However, it soon became clear that these numbers were too high. By the fall of 1984, fewer people were visiting.
The park was busy on holidays and weekends, but often empty during the week. When it was clear AutoWorld wasn't getting enough visitors, the people who invested money decided to close it.
Fun Attractions Inside
Inside AutoWorld's big dome, there were many interesting things to see and do. One popular area was a copy of historic downtown Flint. It looked like Saginaw Street did in 1900. This area had a flowing river, comfy benches, and many tropical plants and trees.
The first thing visitors saw was a small cabin. Inside, a mannequin looked like Jacob Smith, who founded Flint. If you pushed a red button, a film played on the mannequin's face. It would welcome you and talk about Flint's beginnings.
Other fun attractions included a ferris wheel and a carousel. There was also a carnival ride called "The Humorous History of Automobility." Many shops and restaurants were available too.
In another section, located in the IMA Auditorium, there was a giant car engine. A wall showed old car brand shields that rotated. An attraction showed how cars were made in the past, present, and future. It even had a pretend assembly line run by robots. AutoWorld also had an IMAX theater. A two-story ramp showed how cars influenced popular culture over time.
One special film, The Car of Your Dreams, was made by BRC Imagination Arts. This film celebrated car advertisements from the early days of TV up to the 1980s. It showed how car companies were good at creating exciting images to sell their products.
Why AutoWorld Closed
In December 1984, AutoWorld announced it would only open on weekends for the rest of the winter. Then, in January 1985, investors closed the park completely. People tried to keep AutoWorld open. There were plans in 1987 to open it again on weekends as a theme park and festival center.
AutoWorld did open for a few short times in the following years. But Michigan's struggling economy kept tourists and investors away. AutoWorld closed for good in 1994. After it closed, there were ideas to use the land for other things, like a casino, but that plan was not approved.
The land was given to the University of Michigan-Flint. The park was torn down in early 1997. Today, the University of Michigan-Flint's William S. White Building stands on the land where AutoWorld once was. This building houses the nursing program and College of Health Sciences.
