This year found us driving for deco to our chosen destination – Detroit. Why Detroit? Why not!  We never explored this area and there are several sights we wanted to see. As well as go antiquing!

…

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Novi, Michigan. And by sheer luck, it was centrally located, being about 30 – 40 minutes from the points of interest we visited. We can recommend it if you are out that way.

 

…

We settled in and had a good night’s sleep. Our first day took us to The Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village.

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, has long been on my list of must see places. I don’t know how high this was on Chris’ list, but somehow I convinced him to go along and trust me on this one.

…

There are several tours available once you get there: the Museum of Innovation, the Ford Rouge Factory, and Greenfield Village. To do justice to the entire complex would take at least two full days.

With limited time, we chose the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Henry Ford founded the museum based on his efforts to preserve items of the Industrial Revolution as well as common memorabilia that captured life of early America. This huge collection (one of the largest of its kind in the USA), is housed in an equally large building. Architect Robert O. Derrick, designed the 523,000 square foot museum as a facsimile of three Philadelphia buildings, Independence Hall, Old City Hall and Congress Hall.

Originally named The Edison Institute, Ford chose to open the museum to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Thomas Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb. A number of dignitaries attended the opening ceremony on October 21, 1929 (Light’s Golden Jubilee), that included President Herbert Hoover, Thomas Edison, George Eastman, John D. Rockefeller, Orville Wright and Will Rogers.

Unfortunately no photographs were taken at the Light’s Golden Jubilee banquet, so Ford commissioned staff artist Irving Bacon to create a panoramic painting of it. Starting in 1935, it took Bacon 10 years to complete the painting.

Originally, the Edison Institute was a private collection open only to researchers, but after numerous inquiries it opened to the public on June 22, 1933.

…

Upon entering, the main gallery of the museum, you get a sense of the building’s size and scale before entering the exhibit hall.

Depending on where you go in will determine your initial experience. We entered near the transport displays.

…

Trains

…

Walking in, this behemoth greeted us. And the sheer scale was overwhelming.

And the next was more intriguing.  We never knew stage coaches were used as passenger cars on the railroads!

And the engineer’s glamorous life.

Refrigerated cars enabled transportation of all kinds of perishables goods throughout the United States and Canada.

And soon, passengers rode in relative luxury.

But don’t worry! If you get stuck in a snow drift, help is on its way,

Automobiles and More

This section of the museum exhibits cars from the very early – and dangerous – days to more current examples. Also included are auto accessories for the family on the go!

…

I say this falls into the dangerous category.

And on the other end of the spectrum; just as dangerous. But it sure looks pretty!

FYI: the following are not presented in the order of production. But rather in the order seen. Also, we cannot possibly show you every exhibit. So, here are some of our favorites.

…

Almost everyone remembers the ubiquitous school bus. Unless you walked through 3 feet of snow, up-hill going and coming!

One of Anthony’s favorites.

Look at this cutie.

The hottest new trend of 1936? Streamlining!

I promise, this section is almost done!

The Tucker was unique in that the center light turned with the front wheels. Therefore, making visibility better.  And common today, tail lights were visible from the side for safety. Reconfigured doors made entry and exit easier. Also, grills on the rear fenders facilitated airflow in to cool the rear-mounted engine.

Unfortunately, poor financial planning and pre-selling car features that didn’t exist as yet doomed the Tucker Corporation company.

…

And finally, an icon of American culture.

…

On the Go!

…

With new, comfortable cars came new roads. And these roads allowed travelers the freedom to explore the country. If you could afford it, bringing your own home with you was the way to go.

Newly mobile but not into camping? Because of this, there came a demand for somewhere to stay. And so, enter simple, and affordable, over-night lodging.

With sightseeing on the rise, better accommodations came into demand.

Of course all this freedom creates a need for gas, repairs, and “comfort” breaks. Therefore, service stations became a necessity.

A by-product of this new mobility was a rise in traffic deaths; 35,000 by the 50s, Safety came to the forefront.  And various, if not dubious, methods were proposed.

And let us not forget child safety! No more sitting on Mom’s lap while Dad drove!

Now we have a nice over-night room, and a safe, well gassed and tuned car.  Its time to take care of our other physical need. Food!

Our one disappointment at the Henry Ford Museum was not being able to eat at Lamy’s.  Lamy’s is a fully functioning period diner.  Unfortunately, it was closed the day we went.

Don’t despair, we had a delicious lunch in the Plum Market Kitchen.

Bellies full, we headed over to the next exhibit. And briefly, some of the presidential cars.

…

Innovations

…

It wasn’t just cars that evolved. Homes did as well!

And a really interesting exhibit celebrating Julia Child.

…

The Dymaxion House

…

Touted as the affordable house of the future. It used the most cutting edge material of the time.

It didn’t catch on, and very few were manufactured. However, one family lived in one for twenty years. But, they found it to be space limited. Also, the natural air circulation under performed. Their solution was to built a brick house directly to it. The result looked like a traditional house giving birth to an alien.

And another view.

More work and living spaces.

We stopped next at the American gallery. And for those who like Art Deco…

Also on display are examples of classic furniture. Some are still being produced today!

…

Planes

…

And finally, the aviation area.  It is hard to believe that flight as we know it – including space travel – started like this.

You can even take a short (simulated) flight right in the museum!

In case you are wondering, yes those are essentially wicker chairs barely bolted to the floor in the Ford Trimotor Airplane.

Anthony found the Douglas DC-3 accommodations more to his liking.

It was a favored plane for travel.  Fast for the time, it had good flying range, and reliability. Also, it was comfortable for passengers. But its popularity waned after the war. It couldn’t compete with the new larger, and faster planes being built.

……

Charles Lindbergh became a hero for the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Here is a replica of his airship, the Spirit of St. Louis.  It is a highly modified version of a Ryan M-2 strut-braced monoplane. The original is in the collection at the Smithsonian Museum.

If your heading out to explore Antarctica, go in style!

Explorer Richard Byrd with pilot Floyd Bennett are generally credited with reaching the pole, However, controversy remains. And this display highlights certain incongruities in the flight records.

What is it? It is a 1931 Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro. Unlike the helicopter, it could not take off vertically. Though, It had the ability to land vertically. The Detroit News purchased and used this example as an eye-in-the-sky to gather news.

It may be hard to believe, but this only is a small sampling of the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. If you are out near Detroit, it is well worth you time.

…

We hope you enjoyed going along with us on our outing. Look out for Part 2: Tabernacle, Tables and Trays. (Oh, my!)

…

Chris and Anthony                                                                                                                                    The Freakin’ ‘tiquen Guys