Ford Piquette Avenue Plant facts for kids
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Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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Exterior of the Piquette Avenue Plant
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | 461 Piquette Avenue Detroit, Michigan |
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| Built | 1904 |
| Architect | Field, Hinchman & Smith |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| Visitation | 31,018 (2018) |
| Part of | Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District (ID04000601) |
| NRHP reference No. | 02000041 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | 2002 |
| Designated CP | 2004 |
| Designated NHL | 2006 |
The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is an old factory in Detroit, Michigan. It was built in 1904 and was the second factory for the Ford Motor Company. This is where Ford designed and first built the famous Ford Model T. The Model T helped many people start owning cars.
Before the Model T, other Ford cars were made here too. They even tried out early ideas for a moving assembly line here. This factory was also the first place where more than 100 cars were made in one day. While Ford was based at this plant, it became the biggest car maker in the U.S. The company used the factory until 1910. Then, car production moved to a new, bigger factory called the Highland Park Ford Plant.
Studebaker bought the factory in 1911 and used it to build cars until 1933. The building was sold again in 1936 and had several owners. In 2001, it became a museum. The Piquette Avenue Plant is the oldest car factory building that you can visit. The museum shows how the U.S. car industry began. In 2018, over 31,000 people visited it. The building is now a special historic place. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It became a Michigan State Historic Site in 2003 and a National Historic Landmark in 2006.
Contents
History of the Piquette Avenue Plant
Ford's Early Years at the Plant
Henry Ford and some investors started the Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903. They began building their first car, the original Ford Model A, in a rented shop. The company quickly needed more space. So, on April 10, 1904, they bought land on Piquette Avenue in Detroit. This area was called Milwaukee Junction because of a nearby railroad junction.
Construction of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant began on May 10, 1904. Ford Motor Company moved into its new factory in October of that year.
Building Design and Features
The factory was designed by Field, Hinchman & Smith. It looks like a late Victorian building, similar to old textile mills in New England. The building has three stories. It is 56 feet (17.1 m) wide and 402 feet (122.5 m) long. Its brick walls have 355 windows. The floors are made of maple wood and cover 67,000 square feet (6,224.5 m2) of space.
Henry Ford and the architects added a fire sprinkler system. This was very unusual for factories back then. Other safety features like firewalls and fire escapes are still there today. A large wooden water tank on the roof supplied water for the sprinklers. A brick powerhouse provided electricity. These two parts of the building are no longer there.
Car Production at Piquette
From October 1904 to the end of 1909, Ford made many car models at this plant. These included models B, C, F, K, N, R, S, and T. The first cars made here were the Ford models B and C in late 1904.
Most of the work was done by men. However, women assembled the car's magneto. Workers used hand tools at fixed stations. Completed parts were brought by hand to the car's chassis for final assembly. Finished cars were sent to dealers by train using a special track behind the building. The number of workers changed often, from 300 to 700.
In 1905, Ford Motor Company was the fourth-largest car producer in the U.S. At first, many car parts were made by other companies. But by 1908, almost all major parts were made at the Piquette Avenue Plant.
The Rise of the Model T
In January 1907, the design for the Ford Model T began on the third floor of the plant. This car would change how people traveled. Henry Ford, along with draftsman Joseph Galamb, engineer Childe Harold Wills, and machinist C.J. Smith, worked on the design. They used Vanadium steel, which was lighter and stronger than regular steel. Ford showed the plans for the Model T to its dealers on March 19, 1908.
In July 1908, before the Model T came out, some workers tried a new idea. They experimented with a moving assembly line. This meant the car's chassis would move to the workers, who would then add parts. Charles E. Sorensen led these experiments. He thought a moving line would make building cars faster and easier. They tied a rope to a Model N car frame and pulled it across the floor. Even though Henry Ford liked these ideas, he didn't fully use a moving assembly line at Piquette. He was focused on getting the Model T ready.
Still, the Piquette Avenue Plant was very efficient. On June 4, 1908, they built 101 cars in one day. This was a record for the car industry at the time.
The first production Model T was finished at the Piquette Avenue Plant on September 27, 1908. People wanted the Model T so much that Ford had to stop taking orders for two months in 1909. To meet this huge demand, Ford moved most of its car production to the new, larger Highland Park Ford Plant by January 1910. The company completely left the Piquette Avenue Plant by October 1910. The moving assembly line idea was fully put into action at the Highland Park Ford Plant starting in 1913. More than 15 million Model T's were built in total. The first 14,000 made in the U.S. were assembled at the Piquette Avenue Plant.
| Car model | Image | Engine | Transmission | Wheelbase | Lowest sale price | Notes |
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| Model B | .jpg) |
24 brake horsepower (17.9 kW) inline 4-cylinder |
2-speed planetary |
92 inches (233.7 cm) |
$2,000 (equivalent to $65,141 in 2022) |
This was the first Ford car with the engine in the front. It is very rare today. |
| Model C | .jpg) |
10 brake horsepower (7.5 kW) opposed 2-cylinder |
2-speed planetary |
78 inches (198.1 cm) |
$800 (equivalent to $26,056 in 2022) |
The engine was under the seat, like the Model A. |
| Model F | .jpg) |
16 brake horsepower (11.9 kW) opposed 2-cylinder |
2-speed planetary |
84 inches (213.4 cm) |
$1,000 (equivalent to $32,570 in 2022) |
Like the Model A, this car model had its engine mounted under the seat. |
| Model K | .jpg) |
40 brake horsepower (29.8 kW) inline 6-cylinder |
2-speed planetary |
114–120 inches (289.6–304.8 cm) |
$2,500 (equivalent to $81,426 in 2022) |
The Wheelbase got longer by 1907. |
| Model N | .jpg) |
18 brake horsepower (13.4 kW) inline 4-cylinder |
2-speed planetary |
84 inches (213.4 cm) |
$600 (equivalent to $19,542 in 2022) |
This was the best-selling car in the U.S. at the time. It led to the Model T. |
| Model R | .jpg) |
18 brake horsepower (13.4 kW) inline 4-cylinder |
2-speed planetary |
84 inches (213.4 cm) |
$750 (equivalent to $23,555 in 2022) |
A fancier version of the Model N. |
| Model S | .jpg) |
18 brake horsepower (13.4 kW) inline 4-cylinder |
2-speed planetary |
84 inches (213.4 cm) |
$700 (equivalent to $21,985 in 2022) |
Another fancier version of the Model N. |
| Model T |  |
22 brake horsepower (16.4 kW) L-head 4-cylinder |
2-speed planetary |
100 inches (254.0 cm) |
$825 (equivalent to $26,871 in 2022) |
This car was named the Car of the Century in 1999. |
After Ford: The 20th Century
In January 1911, Studebaker bought the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant. Studebaker was a big company that made horse-drawn vehicles. They started putting their name on cars made at the factory in 1912. In 1913, the plant was part of the first big labor strike in the car industry.
In 1920, Studebaker built a new building next to the Piquette Avenue Plant. This new building was connected to the old factory on the second and third floors. Studebaker used the Piquette Avenue Plant to make cars until 1933.
In 1936, Studebaker sold the plant to the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M). This company made rubber car parts. Later, in 1968, the Cadillac Overall Company bought the building. The Heritage Investment Company owned it from 1989 to 2000. Today, a company called General Linen & Uniform Service uses part of the first floor. The building next door now stores medical records. Even with changes in Detroit, the Piquette Avenue Plant still stands.
Model T Automotive Heritage Complex
In April 2000, the Model T Automotive Heritage Complex bought the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant. This group is a nonprofit organization. They opened the building as a museum on July 27, 2001. It is the oldest car factory building built for that purpose that is open to the public.
The museum is located at 461 Piquette Avenue. In 2018, it had 31,018 visitors. It has over 40 old cars made by Ford and other car makers from the Detroit area. You can also see a recreated office of Henry Ford and the room where the Ford Model T was designed. One of the cars on display is Model T Serial No. 220. This car was built at the factory in December 1908 and is one of the oldest Model T's still around. The museum is usually open from Wednesdays through Sundays.
The Piquette Avenue Plant is a very important historic site. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It became a Michigan State Historic Site in 2003. In 2006, it was named a National Historic Landmark. The front of the factory was fully restored to how it looked in 1904. This was shown to the public on September 27, 2008. This date was 100 years after the first Model T was finished.
The Model T Automotive Heritage Complex has won awards for its work. In 2011, Tom Genova received a ROSE Award for his volunteer work. In 2012, the museum won a NAAMY Award for its films and videos. In 2015, the team that restored the windows at the plant received an award for their preservation efforts. Around 2016, the National Park Service thought about making the Piquette Avenue Plant a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, it was not added because it didn't have enough of its original factory equipment. Also, they suggested including other Ford sites in Detroit, like the Highland Park Ford Plant.
See also
In Spanish: Planta Ford de Piquette Avenue para niños
- Durant-Dort Carriage Company Office
- The Henry Ford
- List of Ford factories
- Michigan Central Station
