The Ford Rotunda was built for the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair as an exhibit to promote the Ford Motor Company. It was the largest exhibit at the fair and covered eleven acres, and was 12 stories high. The display featured the drama of transportation, an 1850’s machine shop, an industrial exhibit, a soybean exhibit and sample roads of the world.After the world’s Fair, Henry Ford made the decision to move the main building back to Dearborn. His son Edsel convinced him to place it across from the world headquarters building adjacent to the Rouge complex on Schaefer road one mile south of Michigan Avenue. In the concourse of the building Ford displayed their automobiles and products. A new south wing was built with 388 blue leather chairs for movies, radio broadcasts and public events.
Above each doorway of the main entrance was a decorative panel with figures representing speed, power, beauty, thrift and safety. The roads of the world were recreated around the exterior for demonstration rides. Total cost of the landscaping and exterior road construction was $176,000. The total cost of construction was $2,500,000. The reconstructed Rotunda display was opened to the public on May 14, 1936. On opening day, 22,000 people visited the building. Building hours were from 830am to 10 pm daily.
The building quickly became one of the top ten tourist attractions in the country, and was used as the starting point for the Rouge plant tours. Because of World War two the Rotunda was closed on February 9, 1942 and pressed into service as office space for the Army air Corp. The theatre was used for the entertainment of troops.
After the war the building was not used until the 50th anniversary of Ford Motor Company in 1953. The building was renovated with 5 huge letters spelling FORD above the entrance with a Mercury and Lincoln shield. The interior of the building was divided into four main sections depicting Ford’s research in chemistry, manufacturing, quality control and a city of the future display. The inner court which had been open air was enclosed with a Geodesic dome which had been recently developed which was 93 feet in diameter
On June 16th, 1953 the Rotunda was reopened to celebrate the anniversary of the company. In the years that followed, major displays were built and changed each year. Looking at photographs, my favorite of course was the Alaskan display complete with a fifty foot mountain and a twenty foot high waterfall that used 45,000 gallons of water hourly. More importantly, the stars of the display were a 1959 Edsel two tone wagon hauling a boat up the mountain, and a two door 1959 Ford station wagon in a camping setting with a tent set up on the roof. As the number one producer of station wagons, Ford was publishing a “Station wagon living” book each year at this time which highlighted many of the camping items seen in this display.
To the people of Detroit where I grew up, the annual Christmas fantasy held at the Rotunda combined two of our favorite things; cars and Christmas. It was held every year from December 1st through Christmas. Inside the entrance was a 37 foot tree and Santa’s wonderland, including visits with the man in red.
I was in anticipation of my annual visit when I climbed into our family Falcon and my mother announced” The Ford Rotunda burned down today.” Workers repairing the dome on November 9,1962 ignited flammable vapors. The fire was reported at 1pm. At 1:55 pm the building collapsed, a total loss. In March of 1963, company officials announced the building would not be rebuilt citing upcoming commitments to introduce the Mustang at the New York World’s Fair in 1964.
Today, there is nothing like the Ford Rotunda, and with the current financial condition of the company there will not be anything like it ever again. The land sat empty until 2002 when it was developed as a business park. The world headquarters across street moved out in 1956 and the Lincoln Mercury headquarters were moved in, only to move to the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, then to California, and now back again to Dearborn. The old headquarter building with the side driveway to Henry’s office has now been razed. On a bright note, the tours of the Rouge plant have begun again showing the state of the art F150 plant.
The original building showed the wealth and success and personal interest of the founder of Ford Motor Company. It also showed the tremendous part the auto industry played in our economy. We can only hope the American consumer remembers where “The arsenal of democracy” was located when they are looking for a new automobile today.
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