New! Episode 17: Birthplace of the Model T – The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

In 1904, Henry Ford purchased three acres beside a railroad line off Woodward and moved his new car company from Mack to Piquette Avenue. Join Digging Detroit with special guest Tom Genova and come explore the historic Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, rescued from demolition and transformed into an amazing collection of priceless cars and fascinating stories about six revolutionary years for Detroit and America.  (See some stills from the shoot below!)

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant re-opens to the public on April 1st.

For more information, call 313-872-8759 or visit them at www.FordPiquetteAvenuePlant.org

Credits

  • Guest:  Tom Genova
  • Hosts: Pete Kalinski and Thomas J. Reed, Jr.
  • Director/Camera/Editor:  Kevin Walsh, MMD Productions, LLC
  • Producers:  Pete Kalinski, Thomas J. Reed, Jr. and Kevin Walsh
  • Photos Courtesy of:  Benson Ford Research Center and the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library
  • Special Thanks:  Marion Christiansen and Brian Wilson

EpisodeIndex

Check out our other 16 episodes!

Piquette Plant Photo Album

Building2

Cars

TomReed

Co-host Thomas J. Reed, Jr. spoke with guests from Washington, Baltimore and LA.

Elevator

Co-host Pete Kalinski with Tom Genova

Experimental Room

Henry Ford’s top secret experimental room.

FireDoor

Groundbreaking fire-preventative fire-doors

Model S

Model S cars at Piquette

ModelT_grill

One of 6,000 red Model T’s manufactured at Piquette

ModelT

PiquetteStills_

View from the third floor.

Plant1

Railroad

Tom explaining the importance of the nearby rail lines when Ford purchased the property.

Royal

Other classic cars on display, built in the neighborhood, including this 1914 Regal.

SpiderHuff

Meet Spider Huff (on Henry Ford’s running board)

Tom

Docent Tom Genova

 

Tractor

The flexible Ford cars

WindowShop

Retired Ford execs and engineers created an on-site shop to rescue the wooden windows.

Wedding

Booked 18 months in advance, the plant is host for many corporate events, weddings and bar mitzvahs.

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