Christmas at the Ford Rotunda

[CassTechGrad]

I remember going to the Ford Rotunda with my family every Christmas:
“The inside of the Ford Rotunda was filled with a spectacular Christmas display called Christmas Fantasy. New attractions were brought in each year. Thousands and thousands of colored lights and ornaments made the Rotunda simply sparkle and was dazzling to both children ... and adults. Starting in 1953, the Rotunda displayed a 37-foot-tall Christmas tree. This tradition continued for the next nine years. There was also a life-size Nativity set
It was destroyed in a massive fire in 1961. Some 1.5 million people visited the Rotunda each year, making it the fifth most popular tourist attraction in the U.S. The Rotunda received more visits in the 1950s than did the Statue of Liberty”

[9936Sussex]

CassTechGrad: Nice photos! Went there every year and loved it! It was often the place that I would see Santa. There was always a huge display of Goodfellow Dolls too. My father worked at the Lincoln Building across the street and I remember one year walking over to the Rotunda in the tunnel that connected the two buildings.

[birwood]

I too remember going to the Rotunda as child. My Grandfather, was a foreman in charge of the grounds crews that maintained both the Rotunda and old World Headquarters/Lincoln Mercury Building across Schaefer.

[Trumpeteer]

Here's a good video of the Ford Rotunda.
https://vimeo.com/46364168

[Hypestyles]

perhaps some form of this can be revived at the train station.