Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant
|
|
Ford assembly plant, now TipTop Apartments; seen from the east
|
|
 Location in Nebraska
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Omaha, Nebraska |
|---|---|
| Built | 1916 |
| Architect | Albert Kahn |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals |
| NRHP reference No. | 04001412 |
| Added to NRHP | December 29, 2004 |
The Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant is a historic building in North Omaha, Nebraska. It is located at 1514-1524 Cuming Street. This plant was very important for Ford Motor Company.
For 16 years, about 1,200 people worked here. They built around 450,000 cars and trucks. In the 1920s, it was the second-biggest shipper in Omaha. This means it sent out a lot of products.
History of the Plant
Ford's Assembly Plant
The famous architect Albert Kahn designed this plant. It was built in 1916 to assemble the Model T car. The way it was designed was a big step forward for Ford's car-making process.
Before this, each part of building a car happened in a different building. This took a lot of time and effort to move things around. Albert Kahn started designing buildings where everything could happen "all under one roof."
Usually, Ford would start building cars on the top floor. Then, they would move the cars down to the ground floor as they were finished. But the Omaha plant was different. Assembly started on the lowest floor and moved upwards. Some people think the roof was used to store finished cars.
In 1917, Kahn designed an even newer type of plant. This one had a single floor with a moving assembly line. This new design was much better. The Model A car, which replaced the Model T, needed this new type of assembly line. The Omaha plant could not be changed to fit it. So, car assembly stopped at the Omaha plant in 1932. Ford still used the building for sales and service until 1955.
After Ford Left
After Ford moved out, the building was used as a warehouse. The Western Electric Company used it from 1956 to 1959. Then, it was empty for a few years until 1963.
In 1963, a company called Tip Top Products moved in. This Omaha company made things like liquid solder and hair accessories. Tip Top left the building in 1986. After that, it was empty again for several years. For a while, it was a tire warehouse and store. But then, it became empty once more.
In 2005, the building got a new life. It was opened as TipTop Apartments. Now, it is a mixed-use building. The first floor has office spaces. The upper floors have 96 loft-style apartments. There is also a building next to it that has a banquet and conference center.
