Detroit

We had some time in the morning until our return flights, so checked out things I had not been able to see the few times I was here for client work early in my career. We hit the lobbies of three wonderful buildings built near the end of the 1920’s – the Guardian Building, the Book Building and the Fisher Building. All three were commercial office buildings with elaborate where some light retail and dining would have rested.

The Guardian Building, opened in 1929 as the headquarters for the Guardian Detroit Union Group, was all brick, with ornate tile decoration both on the outside and in. Nicknamed “The Cathedral of Finance”, it originally housed 40% of the banking resources in the Detroit area and claimed to represent 25% of the city’s depositors. Apparently the tangerine colored brick was specially developed just for this building, and the over 2 million orange tinged bricks used in its construction still catch your eye, even from afar just looking at the Detroit skyline. While we really enjoyed the lobby, which was all we could get to as the office floors are controlled.

The Book Building was built in 1926. It was named for the locally famous Book Brothers, and is a very gothic traditional design. It looked like something you might see in London or the governmental quarters in Quebec City.

The Fisher Building was named for the famed designers of all GM automobile bodies. This massive structure, completed in 1929, is often referred to as the physically largest piece of art in Detroit – or perhaps the world for that matter. The marble walls and floors coupled with the mosaic ceilings made this building a literal treat for the eye – even if, again, we only were able to explore the ground level.

Next we found the old Fox Theater. Opened in 1928 as a flagship venue for the Fox theater chain, it is noted to be the first theater that had built in speaker systems for “talkie” films. With nearly 5,200 seats, this was truly a sign of the times in the film industry.

Referred to as Fox Town, this entertainment district looks like it would be a fun place to visit when events are going on. Not only are their two theaters with live stage capabilities, across the street is Comerica Field where the Detroit Tigers play. We were there quite early in the morning, and some tailgaters were already gathering for the 4 PM Tigers game. Dedicated fans I guess!

Behind Comerica Field is Ford Field where the Lions play. We had hoped to tour the facility just to get a look as Ford Field was the last roofed stadium to be built in the NFL – other stadiums with retractable roofs have been built, but Ford Field’s roof is fixed. The new Vikings stadium scheduled to be completed in 2016 will take that claim to fame away from Detroit!

Since we were so close, we decided to visit Canada. Windsor Ontario is directly across the Detroit River from the central business district of Detroit. Our plan was to visit the River Walk, stroll the water’s edge and then grab some lunch in the historic Waterville warehouse district. The River walk was great, including the Dieppe Gardens which commemorate one of the European beach landings during WWII in which 80% of the forces were comprised of Canadian military forces. While the views of the Detroit skyline, the gardens and the stroll on the River Walk were special, the historic Waterville district was not so much – so we decided to grab our meal later.

Our last stop would be The Henry Ford. Apparently the inventor of the Model T and more importantly, the modern concept of the mass production manufacturing line, was the consummate collector. His wealth allowed him to amass a collection of very interesting things over time – not just really cool autos like pristine Edsels, Thunderbirds and Mustangs, but things you wouldn’t necessarily expect. Historic massive locomotive engines and vintage cars, entire buildings (gathered in the historic Greenfield Village display), vintage aircraft and all kinds of interesting stuff.

We specifically searched out three of items in the collection that most stimulated our imagination. The first was the Dymaxian House. Beechcraft Aircraft Corp was the largest manufacturer of small aircraft both for private flyers and the military back in the 1940’s. In 1946, the Company launched an innovative plan – to take what they learned in designing and manufacturing self-contained people environments (like the inside of an aircraft fuselage) using essentially space age materials (aluminum exteriors) and design what would essentially be a pre-fabricated home. The homes were circular – look a little like a donut – they are 1,000 square feet including two bedrooms, large living room with fireplace, and full kitchen and laundry. They are suspended above the ground tethered to a center pole, and are surrounded by brushed aluminum just like their planes looked. The whole idea was to utilize their excess manufacturing capability while providing very affordable, maintenance free housing. While the idea seemed promising, they only sold two of these homes before they discontinued the idea – one to Henry Ford apparently.

The second attraction that captured our imagination was the Rosa Parks bus. The exhibit was really cool – you got on the bus, there was an audio track that talked about the times and also some personal interviews with Rosa Parks herself. When Rosa was speaking, the light came on over the seat in which she was sitting when she refused to give it up for a white businessman. But what was most fun was that this was the actual bus on which Rosa had made her stand – not a recreation or a similar bus – the actual bus!

The third attraction was the actual upholstered chair in which President Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theater. In

our visiting the Springfield area last year we had seen quite a bit of real Lincoln artifacts, some of which linked back to this tragic event – like the hospital bed in which he died. But to see the actual chair out of the private box where he and Mary Todd were sitting was eerie – yet cool.

The final event of the day turned out to be the best. Around 1915, with the huge popularity of the Model T, Henry Ford decided he would create the perfect manufacturing plant. On the Rouge River about 6 miles from the business district, he began constructing the Rouge River manufacturing facility. When completed, the plant took all the needed raw materials in one door – coal, steel, etc. – and created all the needed parts necessary for a Model T to roll out the other door. At the time, it was the single most ambitious manufacturing facility in the world, and still may be.

Although it is nearly a century old, it is still a state of the art manufacturing plant. The plant is dedicated to the F 150 truck model. We got to stroll along a catwalk over the entire assembly floor, seeing all the amazing automation. After the complete body of each truck is painted, the cab, bed and doors are coded as they are taken apart and sent down separate lines for assembly – electronics, insulation, latches, windows, etc. are all installed in the individual pieces. Then, then matching doors, bed and cab are reunited – the purpose is to make sure they match in both fit and finish perfectly, so minor changes in tint cannot be detected – and placed onto the chassis, which has also been assembled in a similar line. Once happily together again, each completed truck is started and run through a series of tests to make sure they come off the line in pristine condition.

We enjoyed this tour a great deal – it reminded us of our tours of the Harley manufacturing facility in York Pennsylvania as well as our many RV factory tours – but the automation here is on steroids. As the assembled truck bodies travel down the line, they are sitting atop an accordion platform – as the body moves from space to space, it raises and lowers with a travel of maybe 6 feet up and down. That way, folk on the line working in the engine well can work at eye level, and then the next station working under the bumper has the whole vehicle raised 6 feet so they are working at eye level as well – very impressive!

The other reason that we enjoyed it is that Karen’s squeeze, Albert, drives an F 150. So we toured the plant where the truck he drives was originally manufactured.

Talk to you soon!