Fordnatics List Archive

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: (email redacted)

FROM: Cole Reif
SUBJECT: Henry Ford Museum,(long) Greenfield Village

Someone asked about Henry Ford Museum a bit ago, I apologize but I have
lost the post.

I used to visit this regularly a few years ago. Last visit was 4/92, so
that is the basis of comments.

The place consists of a huge indoor musuem, open year round, called Henry
Ford Museum, and very large grounds with more to see, called Greenfield
Villiage. This is all in Dearborn, 20 minutes from the Detroit airport.
It is well signed from all the local freeways and is pretty much off by
itself - ie. no bad-part-of-town problems.

The museum is best described as a history of the industrial revolution
to present. Henry had his curators go out and collect stuff, like some
of the first stationary steam engines ever built, to show how machinery
was developed. There are exhibit areas, and I don't mean a 10x12 foot
area, the smallest are more like 100x50, on steam engines, radio,
telephone, telegraph, kitchen appliances, wood stove (Detroit was the
center of Wood stove production before cars), a huge area on farm machinery,
avaition including a DC3, a Ford trimotor, Lindberg's plane, a large
display of Railroad trains including one equal to the UP3585 Challenger,
metal working machinery, and froth froth ......

And then the cars, a mocked up production line from about '36, all kinds
of cars, US presendential limos, a Bugatti Royale, all kinds, all brands,
but the best is the ORIGINAL proto Mustang - of course I have a photo of
my son standing next to it!!

There is also a changing section that is revamped every 1-2 years. In spring
'92 it was a facinating Popular Mechanics exhibit.

Allow at least 1 day to view this part. Oh and I almost forgot, an extensive
exhibit of clocks, jewelry, dishes (porcelain, gold plated,.....) for someone
not interested in machines.

Greenfield Villiage includes a Steam Train that runs around the perimeter
(recommended as a start, but only runs May to Sept, or so) and buildings
such as: The house Henry was born in, the first Ford mfg shops - with
cars and partial cars, the Wright Bros bike shop, one of Edison's first
electric plants, an operating 1900 sawmill, an operting glass plant cica
1920, an operting blacksmith shop circa 1890, and so much more....

Contacts: 313-271-1620, located at Oakwood Blvd and Village rd, off Southfield
freeway, M-39 and Michigan Ave, US12.
I recommend buying a membership, about $40, ahead of your visit. They will
send you a bi-monthly newsletter and calendar of events, and with the member-
ship you get free admission for a year (about $12/day). And allow about 3 days
for a complete visit.

Final goody for reading this far, the old plantation house overlooks the
Ford test track, suggest binoculars. We saw pick-ups, probes and Mustang
convertibles.

Cheers,
Cole Reif
(email redacted)

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: (email redacted) (Mike Wesley)

>FROM: Cole Reif
>SUBJECT: Henry Ford Museum,(long) Greenfield Village
>
>Someone asked about Henry Ford Museum a bit ago, I apologize but I have
>lost the post.
>

>Contacts: 313-271-1620, located at Oakwood Blvd and Village rd, off Southfield
>freeway, M-39 and Michigan Ave, US12.
>I recommend buying a membership, about $40, ahead of your visit. They will
>send you a bi-monthly newsletter and calendar of events, and with the member-
>ship you get free admission for a year (about $12/day). And allow about 3 days
>for a complete visit.
>
>Final goody for reading this far, the old plantation house overlooks the
>Ford test track, suggest binoculars. We saw pick-ups, probes and Mustang
>convertibles.
>
>Cheers,
>Cole Reif
>(email redacted)
>
The building right next to Henry Ford Museum is Ford Powertrain Engineering.
You can atually touch Ford prototypes through the fench from HFM's parking
lot! They park'em out in plain view, you just got to look.

Mike....