Highland Park Ford Plant in 1914

[LDoolan]

Anyone interested in the old Highland Park Ford Plant, I uploaded a set of photo postcards from 1914, showing the plant in it's heyday. Neat thing about these is the fact they are colorized. By hand I'm sure.

Ironically I picked this postcard folder up in a Highland Park Thrift Store many years back.

I also did a 'then & now' on various Ford sites throughout the area and plan to do more the next couple days.

Click on the link.
www.vintagefordfacts.blogspot.com

[rid0617]

Love the wage scales. Interesting article

[ja!mz]

Nice..thanks for posting

[DetroitZack]

Thanks, LDoolan. I have a huge collection of Detroit/HP postcards myself but none of the Model T Plant.

[mpf]

Excellent, love the old machine shops and their belting. Efficiency!

[canuck]

Great little video clips too! Thanks!

[xdet]

Late to 'the game' but here's the Highland Park Ford Plant in 1912, from the first edition of 'Ford Factory Facts'. This was during the time my grandfather worked for Henry Ford's Chief Engineer, Edward Gray. Gray sold Ford his first power plant for the building, a gas only engine of 1500hp, then designed the 5000hp one before nine 6000hp ones were built and filled the Power Plant Building on Woodward, which was torn down some 50 or more years ago. That first engine was built in Oil City, PA at Riverside Engine Company, where both my grandfather and Gray worked before coming to Highland Park. Gray was co-owner and general manager there and gained Mr. Ford's attention with his high quality engines.

Gray designed both the Power House and the new 'gas-steam' engines [[one of which is in the museum- number six of nine)

Although this stated there would be six, nine were built. Gray left Ford Motor in August of 1914 so the building and the engines were completed from his plans after he left.
Mr. Ford was so proud of his factory that he made sure the Power Plant Building was right there on Woodward and that the public could drop in at any time and visit. The place was kept spotless, oil cans, etc. were set on copper trays. The machines were cleaned all the time.

That image is the 'centerfold' of the 1920 version of the 'Ford Factory Facts' and is the same image as in the 1917 version, which would mean it was 'illustrated' right after completion. That's the same image as on the wall at the Ford Museum right across from that giant engine.
My grandfather, having worked for Edward Gray, may have the only photo from right after completion of the old craneway. This has to be around 1914-15 as they enclosed the platforms. I'm sure parts were raining down if any crate broke open!

And talk about keeping the place clean- there's a pile of new brooms ready to go to work on the right side of the image.

There are many interesting and even some humorous stories about the early days of the Ford Motor Company that were recorded in the early 1950s as the Ford historians had the 'old hands' come by and tell their stories. You can even search in the articles there. Unfortunately, some are pretty hard to read- all typed up and some are pretty faded but there are thousands of pages of history.
There's one interesting oral story about the time Henry Ford destroyed a prototype. While he was gone on a trip, the engineers decided to surprise him with a fancy new red model. Mr. Ford got so mad he tore the thing apart with his bare hands! Mr. George Brown tells the story.

[Lowell]

Great post and observations xdet!

[Bigb23]

I've always been the canary in the mine, but has any body known that the five dollor a day equals the modern 17/hour . So in 90 years no new improvement?

[RaumVogel]

I've always been the canary in the mine, but has any body known that the five dollor a day equals the modern 17/hour . So in 90 years no new improvement?

Yea,just think,100 years from now,after world war 3 and 4,there will be so many people,the scenes from Soylent Green will look like Fantasy Island.