  Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1965 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
Yes RSA, San Jose 1964-1970 and 1978-1981. Edison, NJ 1965-1971. Dearborn 1964 to 2004. Flat Rock 2004 - A 1925 city directory I have shows Holley Carburetor Co at the corner of Vancouver and the Pere Marquette RR. Nothing there now except foundations. Looking north from Vancouver, Lincoln is just of the left edge and the buildings on the right are on Epworth:  In a 1925 city directory, I have Daniel Kennelly on E Jefferson, battery repair. I also show Andrew C Sisman Co, at 1159-1169 Beaufait, general auto body manufacturers. Do you think they partnered? (Message edited by MikeM on October 06, 2005) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1966 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
For those interested in the connection between the auto industry and the marine engine and boating industry in the area, there will soon be a new book available by Michael Dixon of GP Farms, author of "When DetroitRode the Waves" and "Life at the Flats", titled "Motormen & Yachting": http://www.mervuepublications. com/index.htm http://www.mervuepublications. com/motormen.htm He will hold a reception and book signing from 7-11 PM, Friday, October 14th, at 2944 Woodward. If you are interested in attending, send an email to MervuePublications@comcast.net | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 191 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.8.222 |
The Liberty photos went way quicker than I thought they would, so while we're on the subject, I give you a tour of the 1916 Liberty Motor Car Company facilities on Lycaste.        DPL/NAHC The Liberty Motor Car Company was a United States automobile maker in Detroit, Michigan from 1916 to 1924. Only one model named Liberty Six was offered, propelled by a monobloc 3394cc 6-cylinder engine. Late in 1923, the company was acquired by Columbia Motors.  I looked at the sat photos, and tried some stuff with the colors, but couldn't get anything decent to show up. I suspect that there be foundations lurking in the weeds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 2492 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 24.22.82.162 |
The car may be named Liberty but there's not much sunlight in the workshops. What kind of liberty did the workers have for fresh air and light? jjaba, compared to the Kahn factories. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 192 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.8.222 |
What about working in un-insulated, corrugated metal buildings in a Detroit winter, I'm sure there was plenty of cold fresh air in them. From those pics is looks like they were still prototyping their car when these were taken. I can't find much more info about Liberty, or any current pictures of a restored auto. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bob_cosgrove Member Username: Bob_cosgrove Post Number: 271 Registered: 03-2005 Posted From: 207.74.111.52 |
Early auto pioneer Percy Owen founded Liberty Motors. After the Lycaste plant, they were located on Charlevoix at Conner in what is now the Thyssen-Budd plant with the Independence Hall replica admininstration building. My understanding is that Henry Ford got George and Earl Holley to come to Detroit to make carbeurators for the Ford Motor Company. Bob Cosgrove | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 194 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.8.222 |
I finally found a pic of a Liberty, 1922 10-C touring car Volo Auto Museum.  I always like to see what was made in these old factories. This one must have been made in their Charlevoix and Conner plant. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1968 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
Most of this history I take from Szudarek's "How Detroit Became the Automobile Capital". The Hupp brothers and their companies seem to have a complex history. After forming the Hupp Motor Car Company, maker of the Hupmobile, Robert C. Hupp teamed with R.T. Yeats to form the Hupp-Yeats Electric Car Company in 1910, to produce battery powered cars. Hupp had also invested in several supply industries in the Fairview area of the east side, and consolidated them along with Hupp-Yeats into the Hupp Corporation in 1911. In August 1911, a new gasoline car was introduced by the Hupp Corporation in a plant on 115-185 Lycaste Street. It was named "R.C.H." to avoid any confusion with the Hupmobile manufactured by the Hupp Motor Car Company. However, the officers of the Hupp Motor Car Company sued, and in 1912 the company was forced to change their name to the R.C.H. Corporation (RobertCHupp). By Novemeber 1913, R.C.H. was bankrupt but the VP led a group of investors to purchase its assets including a portion of the factory. They continued production until 1915. The assets of the Hupp-Yeats Electric Car Company were purchased by investors and production barely continued until 1919. Now, the Liberty Motor Car Company is formed in February 1916. The former R.C.H. factory at 101 Lycaste was taken over and completely remodeled. Cement floors were laid throughout and equipment for progressive assembly was installed. The first year, 733 Liberty's were produced, and by 1921 production reached 11,000. A new factory waas built on a 12 acre site at Charlevoix & Connor's Lane. By 1923 the company was in receivership and in September, the assets were acquired by the Columbia Motor Car Company. Columbia, in business since 1916, had been producing cars at the former B.F. Everitt factory at Beaufait at Mack. Unfortunately, Columbia over extended itself and was liquidated in November 1924. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pikturewerk Member Username: Pikturewerk Post Number: 7 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 71.65.14.139 |
Prior to 1980 the Metuchen, NJ plant made Pinto. Then for 1981 model year Escort up until my family moved from NJ in 1983. At that time they were still making Escort. Mahwah is another NJ Ford plant, I'm not sure what they made there. There is also Edgewater NJ, which is a much older plant built in 1929. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bob_cosgrove Member Username: Bob_cosgrove Post Number: 272 Registered: 03-2005 Posted From: 207.74.111.52 |
Robert Szudarek did a fantastic book on Detroit's automobile companies. That said, it's a faulted work with some inaccuracies, for example such saying the 1820's Michigan Territorial Governor of Michigan was John Cass, it was Lewis Cass. The book is convenient to use as a reference, even though it lacks and index. But, due to the inaccuracies, I always check other sources before using it in anything I write. Szudarek should have had someone with a knowledge of local history proof read his book before publication. Bob Cosgrove | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1969 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
Yes Bob, I find a few inconsistencies too, and I find the lack of an index disappointing. There are two factories at the corner of Beaufait & Mack. On the north side of Mack is the former Aerocar/Hudson/Everitt/Columbia factory. On the south side, at 6500 Mack, is this old brick building with a cornerstone date of 1903: http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=8&Z=17&X=6675&Y=93838&W=3    I can't make out the lettering that remains on the building. 1903 seems too early to be built for auto production. Any ideas? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1970 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
Pikturewerk, Ford's first plant in the NYC area was built in 1912 at Long Island City, NY. In 1918 they relocated to a new plant in Kearney, NJ. By the end of 1930, they moved again to the Edgewater, NJ factory which remained in use until 1955. Mahwah was a Ford plant, built to replace Edgewater for the production of full size Fords. Construction started on the Mawah, NJ factory in 1953 and it closed in 1980 when Ford was retreating from coastal production: http://news.tradingcharts.com/ futures/7/8/70991787.html Metuchen (Edison after 1980) was built in 1948 for Mercury but eventually turned into a plant for the production of subcompact Fords. By 1965 it was producing Mustangs until 1971. That must have been when they started the Pinto line. Some time in the 1980s it was converted to truck production and it closed last year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 197 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.8.224 |
I wonder if infra-red film would be able to pick up the lettering of those faded signs? I have nary a clue. Still trying to sort out the Hupp/RCH/Liberty, and now throwing in the Mack & Beaufait thing. I wonder if old nautical charts would have any inland details. The NOAA site has an archive of maps of the Detroit River going back quite a way. I found a link to a site about coach building with histories of old builders. I'm not sure if it was posted before, but it can't hurt to post it again. http://www.coachbuilt.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 4714 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 209.216.150.127 |
This monster has been going since Feb. 21st. It doesn't hurt to post anything twice, who has time to seach through a year long thread  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 2494 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 24.22.82.162 |
MikeM, your photos are stunning, so pure Detroit! Tramping around the Eastside of Detroit for the people must be a real chore, yet a labor of love. jjaba knows there were 39 Ford branch assembly plants in the USA. Car parts were crated and delivered to various destinations by train. These Kahn bldgs. should be listed if we can find them. Some of the locations are Richmond, Calif., Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago & Portland, Oregon. Ford paid good wages and the workers bought Ford cars. So many of the other Detroit car guys didn't have Ford's vision nor deep pockets, thus they were small operators who failed. Ford's $250 million EDSEL mistake (1958,'59,'60) was not dedicating a single plant or set of plants to that name badge. It is important to understand that you can't run several cars on a single line. The workers got very confused, parts weren't in place, and vehicle quality suffered. With this thread, we see how a single plant deidcated to a Pinto or Escort, can crank out millions of cars successfully. The workers get good pay and are able to drive the products they make. A few years back, you knew by the cars on the streets, that Oldsmobile was made in Lansing. The workers and the town drove the local products. Never a foreign car, and few Fords. Those were the days, eh. "I own an Edsel, they're the best Drive a mile, walk the Rest." Burma Shave. jjaba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sven1977 Member Username: Sven1977 Post Number: 120 Registered: 04-2004 Posted From: 209.220.229.254 |
You guys are great! The Liberty pics are a huge find. We're creating a computerized Greenfield Village. It's easy to imagine standing in the Liberty plant as cars were being assembled. I must have spent an hour trying to anaylize that Mack/Beaufait building trying to figure out wat it says. Magnification doesn't help. When I was doing my Sandborn research, I tried three times to locate maps of that area in 1915 but they were either missing or the microfims had been updated and the old stuff covered over to reflect what was currently there. That two or three block area of Detroit was filled with car activity and a lot of the buildings that are still there are very old but I can't seem to go back before the 1940's. I did come across a map that pre-dated Hank the First's place though. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Detroit_stylin Member Username: Detroit_stylin Post Number: 1493 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 66.202.227.12 |
Damn has this thread really been going that long? I think that this must be a record for longevity! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 200 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.169 |
The Brush Runabout factory, 468 (?) Rhode Island Ave and Oakland Ave., Highland Park. 1911 photo DPL/NAHC  1907* Frank Briscoe (one of the Briscoe brothers) provides financial backing for a light car designed by Alanson P. Brush. The company is called the Brush Motor Car Co., Detroit, MI, and is noted for its one cylinder engine, chain drive, wooden frame and wooden axles. Another of Brush's designs is built by the former Pontiac Buggy Co. - the Oakland - which in 1926 introduces a companion car Pontiac. 1908 * Talks between the Briscoe brothers and William C. Durant to form one big automobile company collapse. The two groups go their separate ways, with Durant using his Buick as a nucleus for the General Motors Company and the Briscoe brothers using Maxwell-Briscoe and Brush to form the United States Motor Company. 1910 * The United States Motor Company is formed, taking control of Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Co., Brush Motor Co., Dayton Motor Car Co., Courier Car Co., Alden Sampson Mfg Co., and Columbia Motor Car Co. Of these firms, only Brush and Maxwell-Briscoe were profitable, well-run companies. Another asset is the Selden patent. http://www.allpar.com/history/chron.html A blowup of the pic showing a Runabout.  Brush (1906-12): Alanson Partridge Brush established the Brush Runabout Co. in November, 1906. The design of the Brush was very simple and stayed that way for the life of the marque. There was no transmission, but a variable speed clutch that gave eight forward speeds and one reverse. At high speed it became simply a friction clutch. http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/collection/groundvehicles/Brush%20Runabout.htm  That car, dubbed the Brush Two-Seat Runabout, finally appeared in 1906. It featured a revolutionary suspension system that incorporated two innovations never before assembled together: front coil springs and devices at each wheel that dampened spring bounce -- shock absorbers -- mounted on a flexible hickory axle. (previous link)  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1977 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
I can't find much on Briscoe but this plant must have become the Maxwell factory in HP which Chrysler eventually took possession of. Chrysler significantly added to the Maxwell factory around 1928 but I don't know if they kept the original building. If so, maybe it is this long saw-tooth roofed building which stands where the Maxwell factory is shown on my 1918 map:   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 203 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.8.174 |
  I'm not sure if the address is 468 or 466, close enough, I guess. Interesting on how they're marketing the Runabout as a suitable car for a woman to drive. The next thing you know, they'll want to vote.   The second ad shows an address of 33 Baltimore Ave., Detroit. Was this an office address? This is an earlier ad than the first one. Pneumatic tires $50 extra! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1981 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
I received a copy of Mike Dixon's "Motormen & Yachting" today. The first thing I discovered is that the Studebaker factory on West Jefferson at Clark was originally a Blomstrom factory. Carl Blomstrom was born in Grand Rapids and wound up in Marquette building gasoline marine engines in the late 1890s. He also designed and built cars on the side. He moved to Detroit in 1901 and built his first car here in 1902. In 1904, he started the C. H. Blomstrom Motor Car Company and relocated his factory from 62 Second Avenue to a 19 acre plot at 75 Clark Avenue, near River Road (W Jefferson). By 1906 the company encountered legal difficulty and merged with the De Luxe Motor Car Co of Toledo, OH. The Blomstrom name was dropped and by 1909 the company went out of business. Its assets, including the factory, were sold to E-M-F, later Studebaker. In the meantime, Blomstrom left the company and in 1906 started the Blomstrom Manufacturing Co at a factory at Leib & Wight Streets. There he continued to manufacture cars under his name until 1909. He continued to manufacture marine engines too, but kept his fingers in the automobile business by designing and being one of the principle stockholders of the Rex Motor Co, a car which was produced only in 1914, at two factories; the first somewhere on Junction, then later in the year at a plant on West Jefferson near the Rouge River. After that venture he became involved with the Bateman Manufacturing Co in New Jersey, maker of the Frontmobile in 1917 - 1918. After the failure of the Frontmobile, he tried to build the car again with a new company, the Camden Motors Corp. I don't think they ever produced anything and the company was liquidated in 1922. Blomstrom died the next year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 205 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.199 |
I'm all happy, and researching on my own lines of inquiry, and you, Mikem, have to post new information that sidetracks me off in another direction. Oh well, that's what makes it fun. I added more stuff to THE LIST to includes a whole bunch of connections, and some new addresses. Here's some stuff about Blomstrom, first, from an antique boat motor site (these guys are as bad as we are). http://www.oldmarineengine.com/discus/messages/3454/1794.html?1054747412  From a book by Wendel:  Nameplate from Blomstrom engine:  And now, for something completely different: A couple of old Queens!  1905 Queen model C ,made by C.H.Blomstrom Motors in Detroit Mich. The car is a horizontal 2 cylinder,16 H.P. engine,with planetary band transmission,chain drive to rear axle.  1906 Queen Model K 5P Touring From and auction listing: Roi des Belges Coachwork with a 26/28HP engine. The Queen was manufactured by the C.H. Blomstrom Motor Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1904 to 1906. While Blomstrom himself was involved in a number of automotive ventures from 1902 to 1918, none of his other vehicles achieved the success attained by the Queen, which was produced in 1, 2, and 4 cylinder models. Total production is estimated to have been 1500 cars. There are 3 1906 Queen's known to exist and a chassis sitting in Tombstone, AZ. Painted in forest green and black with a vermillion pinstripe. Lighting equipment with “Queen” branded brass headlamps, cowl lamps, tail lamp and acetylene gas generator are all manufactured by the Atwood Lamp Co. It has an “Autocoil” ignition unit on the dash and a brass speedometer is mounted near gearshift lever. 100" wheelbase and 31” wheels with whitewall tires.Fully restored in the early 90’s, showing minimal wear. Price: $115,000.00 Year: 1906 Make: Queen Link to info about a 1907 motorboat race, with a few names from the list: http://www.lesliefield.com/races/1907_detroit_country_club_regatta.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1985 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
Nice work! I'm glad you are taking up the cause; I have a full plate with some other projects. I neglected to mention in my previous post that Blomstrom continued to build marine engines and boats at the future Studebaker plant, while building cars at the same time. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 207 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.199 |
I think that some exploring around the marine-engine geek forums, and comparing names from THE LIST, might provide some interesting info for us. Has anyone, or is anyone on this forum, a memeber of the Society for Industrial Archaeolgy? They just had a tour around Detroit, and might have some info, or we might. http://www.sia-web.org/ Still trying to unravel the Lycaste street, incest of industry, mess. I think that it would need some legal type, deed searching. Also, I think that lot numbers. out in the wilderness of Conner and Mack. back then, were haphazard. I grew up with my father working in the property tax div of Wayne County, so I know what those records have in them (some neat maps too), but don't know what happens to the City's old records, and if they were the same as the county's. OT: Lowell, new idea for a T-shirt. DetroitYES! logo with "I surivived the Old Car Factory thread." on it. I get a kick out of how every once in awhile someone peeks into this thread and says "You guys still at it?" (Message edited by Hornwrecker on October 08, 2005) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 213 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.84 |
The Tangled Web of Byron F. "Barney" Everitt  In 1899 Everitt moved to Detroit where he opened the B.F. Everitt Co. at 63-65 Fort St. Their main business was the building and repair of horse-drawn vehicles, but early a few bodies for built Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford. One of Everitt’s first employees was Frederic J. Fisher, the eldest son of Norwalk, Ohio’s soon-to-be-famous Fisher Brothers. Fred left in 1904 to go to work for the C.R. Wilson Co. at about the same time that Walter O. Briggs joined B.F. Everitt as an upholsterer. http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/e/everitt/everitt.htm Interior shots of Everitt factory on Fort St.    DPL/NAHC Some info on Everitt's other factories" ...the new Everitt-Metzger-Flanders Company represented a merger of the Wayne Automobile Company and the Northern Motor Car Company, in which William Metzger quickly and conveniently acquired a controlling interest. This provided E-M-F three ready-made plants, Wayne's and Northern's in Detroit, and the latter's second plant in Port Huron. To provide a ready-made dealership organization, E-M-F contacted the Studebaker brothers in Indiana. http://dreamwater.org/emfauto/EMF_history_P1.html The Rickenbacker Motor Company was incorporated in July of 1921 when Barney Everitt decided to start up another car company. He asked Eddie Rickenbacker for the use of his name on the automobiles and named Eddie vice-president & director of sales for the company. Everitt also asked long time friend and businessman Walter Flanders to help get this car company off the ground. Everitt & Flanders worked together before with William Metzger at the EMF car company from 1909-1912. http://rickenbackermotors.com/hrm/hrm.html Consequently they purchased the former Disteel Wheel factory on Michigan Ave. and produced a handful of prototypes that would be displayed at the upcoming 1922 New York Auto Show. The car took off and by the middle of 1922 was building 50 cars per day. Everitt enlisted famed Detroit architect Albert Kahn to build them a new factory at 4815 Cabot Ave. http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/e/everitt/everitt.htm In 1905, three brothers by the name of Trippensee took over the firm, reorganizing as the Trippensee Manufacturing Co.... a new factory was built at 2679 East Grand Blvd. in 1908. However sales eventually leveled off and the brothers began to look for additional products that could be manufactured using their existing equipment....As luck would have it they were located in the heart of Detroit’s emerging automobile industry and lots of potential customers for automobile bodies were within a stone’s throw of their new factory. Amongst their first customers were Buick and the Ford Motor Co., for whom they built bodies and subassemblies into the early twenties. Everitt Company Factories: Everitt, B.F.- (1899-1927) 63-65 Fort St. cb Everitt, B.F.- (1909 or 11) Beaufait & Mack, later Columbia plant 1916 Everitt Bros. Mfg. (191?-2? )- ??? East Jefferson EMF - (1907-12) Piquette (d) fire 2005 EMF - Clay & Dequindre EMF- also used Wayne & Northern factories EMF - 75 Clark & River Rd. ex-Blomstrom Rickenbacker- (1922)- Disteel Wheel factory on Michigan Ave, prototypes? Rickenbacker- (1922-27 ) 4815 Cabot (s) formed by E.M.F founders (Kahn bldg) Trippensee Mfg.(1908-2?)- 2679 East Grand Blvd, cb, bought by Everitt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 223 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.241 |
While looking for info to answer something Mikem brought up, I came upon this little bit of info that I don't think has been mentioned, or I can find in this thread. On our list is: Scripps Motor Car-(1914-22) 5817 Lincoln ... but I came accross this old letter head for Scripps-Booth with an address on Beaufait. This might be from before, or after Durant bought them to add to GM.  I can't find a source for the original address, only this new one so far. Does anyone have a link to a decent, early chronology of GM? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 953 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.14.122.57 |
After seeing a 1916 Scripps-Booth Model C Roadster at a Christ Church Cranbrook event in 2003, I did a little research on the Scripps and Scripps-Booth car concerns. 1907 - Scripps Motor Co. - 608 Trumbull Ave. (which is just north of the Scripps House at 598 Trumbull Ave.) 1916 - Scripps-Booth Cycle Car Co. - Beaufait and Gratiot Later that summer, I attended a lecture by Mark Coir, the Archivist at Cranbrook, on James Scripps Booth, who was, as Mark puts it, "the most underappreciated car designer in Detroit." I took notes and will try to pull something cohesive together and post as soon as possible. Also, the 1975 3rd Quarter issue of Automobile Quarterly contains the only article ever written about James Scripps Booth. I will try to put my hands on my copy for more information. (Message edited by Kathleen on October 13, 2005) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 227 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.46 |
Thanks for the info Kathleen. Here's a link to some newsletters from the Scripps-Booth club, which I found while tracking down Northway Motors. http://home.earthlink.net/~scr ippsbooth/ Will add new info to the list. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 955 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.14.122.57 |
Thanks, Hornwrecker! I will take a look at those Scripps-Booth newsletters. FYI...I attended Bob Cosgrove's Milwaukee Junction presentation to the Bluewater Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society last evening. Not only was there information about some sites not covered by the brochure, but I also had the pleasure of meeting the originator of this thread....Sven!!! We had a nice chat and I look forward to talking with him in the future. Thanks, Bob, for an interesting program!!! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 956 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.14.122.57 |
While talking with Sven last evening, I mentioned that I had taken some photos of the Uniroyal Plant back in early 1985 just as it was beginning to be demolished. I'm posting a few of the photos so that you can see what an immense job it was!! Jefferson side looking east  Jefferson side looking west  The eastern view from the Belle Isle Bridge  Another shot from the Belle Isle Bridge  As seen from Belle Isle  I've got other shots showing some of the actual demolition and industrial remnants around the grounds taken over several months, if anyone is interested. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 367 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 69.246.13.131 |
Thank you Kathleen, nice to see some good photos of the plant. Please post anymore that you may want to share, we are photo junkies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 232 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.168 |
This is an ineterior picture showing women workers during WWI, at the Morgan & Wright factory (Uniroyal).  Big difference between the conditions in this plant, and some of the old auto plants during the same period. although getting covered in carbon black and dealing with the smell might outweigh having a view. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 958 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.14.122.57 |
A few more shots of the Uniroyal Plant as it was being demolished in 1985.... Demolition started on the western side of the building nearest to the river  The eastern half remained untouched for several months  By July, the eastern half was underway  Sheer demolition!  The Jefferson front almost gone...  The southernmost and northernmost buildings along the eastern side already down...leaving only a few buildings to go  Internal railroad tracks  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 4746 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 64.228.197.41 |
Awesome stuff K. thanks! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 235 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.168 |
Damn you Kathleen, now you've got me sidetracked into searching through more archives. I managed to dig out this crappy side shot of the factory in the 20s.  Pretty poor definition on that, so I decided to search for a feature near the plant and found this...  Hmm, what's that white thing in the picture on the right?  Special Bonus: Two Belle Isle Bridges and a flying boat! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Drweird74 Member Username: Drweird74 Post Number: 5 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 68.83.194.101 |
Wow some interesting information and history here about all these plants. Alot of the pictures are very amazing. Especially the one's from the early 1900's. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 960 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.14.122.57 |
Thanks, Hornwrecker....getting sidetracked is part of the fun!!! Just go with the flow and enjoy!!! Here's the upright version of the Uniroyal internal train tracks...  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 245 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.198 |
Mikem brought up Northway, so I thought that I'd do a little digging on it, as I know nothing about it.  Northway Motor and Manufacturing (Maybury Grand Ave and Hancock) was started by Ralph Northway in 1903 to make parts for Ford, previously he worked for Russel W&F, Dodge Brothers, and Allis-Chalmers, and designed the Northern engine. He had ties to Eureka Mfg, and broke away to form Northway Motors in 1904 and eventually made engines for Auburn, Buick, Ford, and Oldsmobile. In 1909 they started to make autos in a plant in Ohio, and later heavy trucks in Natick, Mass. The Detroit plant was bought by GM keeping the Northway name, although the name continued to be used to produce vehicles in its other plants until 1924. (This might be off a bit, as the text I found is in German.)  These photos must be from an expansion of the plant, not much of the building, but the construction techniques of the time are interesting. Both from DPL/NAHC  Some info that I found on the web from a club newsletter about Durant and GM connections: Northway was purchased by W.C. Durant for the growing General Motors Corp. in 1909. 1t was reported for the year 1912 that Northway was making 11,000 engines a year. Oakland was then the largest single customer, buying 5.000 engines, with the rest of Northway's production spread among 12 other car and truck assemblers. By the early '20’s, because of growth volume and a lack of design control, both Oakland and Oldsmobile moved away from outsourcing their engines, and began to build their own engines. In the end, the Northway engine was known only as a truck engine, with GMC Truck becoming its only customer. In mid-1925 the Northway Motor and Manufacturing Division was transferred out from under the Inter Company Parts Group to direct operation and Control under the GM Truck Division. After Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Co. purchased the GM Truck Division in September 1925, the Northway division was quietly disbanded. By March 1926, the Northway property in Detroit, wbich was by then called GM Truck Plant No.7, was purchased by Chevrolet for the manufacture of front and rear axles and parts for past model Chevrolets. From the Scripps-Booth Register, newsletter #11 http://home.earthlink.net/~scrippsbooth/sbrnumber11.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 2017 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
This empty field is the site of Northway: http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=9&Z=17&X=3274&Y=46901&W=3 Lodge (Maybury Grand) to the west, Lawton on the east, W Warren at the top. Back in 1981:  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 247 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.40.198 |
Ah, so that's what became of Maybury Grand Ave. I've been looking at maps without freeways, that I never connected the Lodge to it. I wonder what the story is behind the name? I know that Maybury was a former mayor, but why the Grand? It looks like it ran out to the old Ferry farm, where Northwestern Field is, and I think that there was some type of fair or other event held there long ago. (thanks for the trolley book info} | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 2021 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.43.15.105 |
At the bottom of page 9 of this topic, Sven posted two Sanborn maps of the Northway plant. The triangular collection of buildings on the north side of the tracks was another Kelsey-Hayes plant, with Northway-Chevrolet above it. View looking southeast from intersection of Maybury Grand and Hancock:  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sven1977 Member Username: Sven1977 Post Number: 121 Registered: 04-2004 Posted From: 209.220.229.254 |
Great pics Kathleen! MikeM and Hornwrecker, I bet you guys could find pictures of the outhouse that stood behind the Bjornström's house on Seminole in 1921. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 2563 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 24.22.82.162 |
Ofcourse they can, Sven1977. GPS can't hold a candle to these guys. jjaba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 4756 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 209.216.150.127 |
Switching back to the south side for a moment... I haven't covered the original Ford Canada Plant... It was on the Riverfront roughly between Parke-Davis and Belle Isle. The plant was demolished in the 1970's after closing in the late 50's. The view from above:  A view from the Detroit Publishing Co.  You can see how the plant was expanded in the aerial view as opposed to the earlier DPC photo. This was the site of the 1945 Ford Blockage in which striking workers blockaded the surround streets, isloating the factory for 99 days. The army came in and helped keep the peace. A defining moment in Canadian Labor History. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 2570 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 24.22.82.162 |
Excellent AIW. Merci. Happy AIW is up on his CAW history. Obviously, Canadian unions have been a centre-piece in the formulation of Canadian social policy. jjaba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 4757 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 209.216.150.127 |
Back then jjaba it was the UAW. The CAW didn't form until they were sick of the UAW in 1985. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 249 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 63.41.24.69 |
I found a couple of old aerial shots of the Ford Walkerville plant. I'm not sure if they've been posted before. From WSU/VMC   Aiw There's a couple of very long buildings, partially shown at the right of the top photo. Were these part of the Ford complex? I also found a couple of old photos labeled Ford City in the Windsor area. Were these the same complex, or another one? I can re-crop and enlarge to include if wanted. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discuss Detroit » Hall of Fame Threads » Old Car Factories » Old Car Factories - 11 |
|
