Detroit, Michigan, has a rich and fascinating history within the automotive industry. The city offers several engrossing attractions and museums that focus on the history of vehicle manufacture. Here are four locations that will capture the imagination of the whole family.
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The Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford Museum covers 9 acres and celebrates the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and innovation of everyday people as they sought to shape a better future. The Driving America exhibit traces the influence of American cars on our culture over the past 100 years. It features cars from the oldest surviving U.S.-made car from 1865 to GM’s 2016 self-driving test vehicle.
Other exhibits include Driven to Win, the story of American auto racing; a collection of presidential vehicles; and the Rosa Parks Bus. You can also explore the history of the railroads, aircraft, agricultural machinery, and general manufacturing. The museum is next to the 80-acre Greenfield village where you can step back in time, take a ride in a model T Ford, and explore farms and workshops.
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Ford Rouge Factory Tour
During the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, you will learn about the factory’s significant history and the development of the production line. The first products from the factory were Eagle Boats for the U.S. Navy, and it has subsequently produced tractors, cars, military vehicles, tank engines, and amphibious vehicles. In later years, the legendary Ford Thunderbird and Mustang, among others, were built at the plant.
It is now the home of America’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150 truck. Highlights of the tour include the Legacy Gallery with some of the most famous Ford vehicles on display; the Assembly Plant Walking Tour where you get a bird’s eye view of the F-150 final assembly line; and the Manufacturing Innovation Theater, which shows you the manufacturing process of the F-150 from concept to the highway.
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Detroit Historical Museum
The Detroit Historical Museum celebrates the city’s past from being a rural frontier town to becoming an industrial giant. Included in the exhibits is America’s Motor City with its collection of classic cars, which details not only how Detroit built cars, but also how cars built Detroit and why Detroit became the Motor City.
You can discover the part that the city and people played in freeing slaves and shaping the outcome of World War II. Explore the Streets of Old Detroit exhibit to experience how the city’s streets developed from the 1840s and 1870s to the 1900s. Motor City Music is an interactive exhibit exploring the legacy of Detroit’s music from Gospel to Motown.
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Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
Constructed in 1904, the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant was the Ford Motor Company’s first purpose-built factory. It’s also the birthplace of the Model T, once the world’s most popular car. The first 12,000 “Tin Lizzies” were assembled here. You can now walk the worn floorboards and admire the collection of beautifully preserved cars from the era.
Whether you are a visitor or a resident in Detroit, these four locations provide a unique insight into the history of the city and the importance of the automotive industry in its development.
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