Henry Ford's Piquette Avenue Factory Celebrates its 100th Anniversary with Weekend Events - Plus Video Sidebar
A Steve Ford Video
Piquette Avenue Birthplace Of The Model T
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DETROIT, Sept. 30 -- One of the most hallowed places in automotive history, the Piquette Avenue factory, where Henry Ford conceptualized and built the first Model T's, will celebrate its 100th anniversary this weekend. The centennial will be marked by a commemorative strolling supper and period entertainment on Friday, October 1st at 6:30 p.m. featuring a new exhibit, "The Making of the Model T," as well as other displays and artifacts from the era. Edsel B. Ford II, Dr. Jerald A. Mitchell, CEO of the Model T Automotive Heritage Complex (T-Plex), and Mark Pischea, executive director of MotorCities National Heritage Area will speak, and Ford will officially dedicate a state historic site marker.
Tickets for the event, which is co-sponsored by T-Plex and MotorCities National Heritage Area, are $100 and can be reserved by contacting Nancy Burnett at 313-259-3425. The Piquette building is located at 411 Piquette Avenue, on the corner of Beaubien, in Detroit.
The plant will be open for public tours on Saturday, October 2nd and Sunday, October 3rd from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and children under 12 are free, with proceeds going to the continued restoration of the facility.
"The Piquette plant is a critical piece of the Ford Motor Company story," said Edsel B. Ford II. "It's where the Model T was envisioned, designed, and first built. By producing a 'car for the multitudes,' autoworkers at Piquette put the world on wheels, giving people the ability to travel and explore the world as never before. The rest, as they say, is history."
Built in 1904, the Piquette plant was the birthplace of the Model T. It was in the back corner of the 3rd floor in a 12-by-15-foot room with only two blackboards and a drafting table that Ford sat in his mother's rocking chair and created the design for a revolutionary automobile, the Model T.
The first Model T was built on September 27, 1908 and became the first mass produced automobile, making it affordable to the public. It was in the Piquette plant that Ford began producing 100 Model T's in a single day. Ford built the first 12,000 Model T's at Piquette during the plant's operation from 1904 to 1910. Between 1904 and 1908, models B, C, F, K, N, R, and S were also built in the Piquette facility.
"Standing on the same floors as Henry Ford and pioneer automakers, you can imagine what the building was like 100 years ago," said Jerald Mitchell, T- Plex CEO. "Hundreds of workers busily perfecting their craft, dedicating their lives because they believed in Ford's vision. Dreams were made. Success was looming. It was the beginning of an automobile empire. And it all happened right here."
Not only was the Piquette plant the birthplace of the Model T, it was where Ford first began to experiment with the moving assembly line in 1908. Until then, cars were built by "station assembly" where a team worked on one car and then it was moved to different station for continued work. This process was both time consuming and costly. By the time Ford was finished perfecting the moving assembly line, the production time for the Model T was reduced from 14 hours to just 1 hour and 33 minutes. This, in turn, reduced the price of the Model T from $850 to only $290.
Ford and his Model T, or Tin Lizzies and Flivvers as they were nicknamed, were so successful that they outgrew the Piquette plant by 1910. By 1907, Ford became the largest producer of automobiles in the U.S. The Highland Park Plant was soon built and Ford moved the production of his rapidly growing company there. In all, 15 million Model T's were built before production ended on May 25, 1927.
Today, the 66,000 sq. ft. mill-style Piquette Avenue assembly factory is on national and state registers of historic places. Since April 2000, the Piquette structure has been owned and maintained by T-Plex, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and restoring the structure.
About T-Plex
The Model T Automotive Heritage Complex, Inc. is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant and the interpretation and celebration of Detroit's automotive heritage and the automobile in American culture.
About MotorCities
Designated by the U.S. Congress in 1998 as an affiliate of the National Park Service, MotorCities helps citizens appreciate how the automobile changed Michigan, the nation and the world. MotorCities strives to make Michigan's rich automotive heritage a source of pride for communities and a positive influence on the region's future. In addition to promoting tourist attractions like the Dream Cruise, MotorCities also provides educational material and funds revitalization projects, helping residents and visitors alike Experience Everything Automotive.
Heritage Area
