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The Henry Ford is a huge museum complex in Dearborn, Michigan. It’s a must visit if you’re in nearby Detroit.
Introduction to the Henry Ford
The Henry Ford was founded by American automobile magnate Henry Ford (1863-1947), who began collecting all sorts of antiques and gadgets in 1914. By the late 1920s, he was the world’s foremost collector of Americana. His collection got so big that he decided to build a museum to house it. He also acquired several historic buildings that would later become Greenfield Village.
The museum was dedicated by President Herbert Hoover on October 21, 1929, the 50th anniversary of the first successful incandescent light bulb, and was named the Edison Institute of Technology after Ford’s friend, Thomas Edison (1847-1931). At first it was a private educational institution, but it opened to the public on June 22, 1933, after growing interest in the project.
Today there are three main components of the Henry Ford: The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, and the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. I’ve only been able to visit two of them, with Greenfield Village being the exception due to seasonal closings. There’s also a theater called the Giant Screen Experience.
In this post I’ll cover the exhibits that I had the chance to visit, in order from the entrance to the end of the exhibition hall. I couldn’t cover everything in the time we spent there. I’ll definitely go back in the future to see the rest.
Visiting the Henry Ford
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is open daily from 9:30am to 5pm. Greenfield Village is open daily from spring through fall from 9:30am to 5pm, Friday to Sunday in November, and select evenings in December. The Ford Rouge Factory Tour is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30am to 5pm, with the last tour leaving at 3pm. Showtimes for the Giant Screen Experience vary. Check the official website for more info.
Adult admission to the museum only is US$38, to Greenfield Village only is US$41, and to the factory tour only is US$26. Tickets for traditional and classic films for the Giant Screen Experience cost US$11. Prices are current as of May 2024.
Different packages are available if you want to combine your visit and see more than one attraction. For example, you can get a discounted ticket to the factory tour with a ticket to the museum.
Give yourself at least a half day just to see the museum. I can’t give advice on Greenfield Village, but you can combine the Ford Rouge Factory Tour with a visit to the museum.
Where to Eat at the Henry Ford
There are two restaurants in the museum building.
Lamy’s Diner
Lamy’s Diner is an authentic lunch car converted into a diner in 1946. It serves original recipes popular in 1940s New England. The diner was originally located in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and later moved to Framingham and Hudson. The Henry Ford acquired it in 1984 and it’s now located within the Driving America exhibit.
Plum Market Kitchen
The Plum Market Kitchen offers “organic, sustainable and artisanal foods”. They serve breakfast and a good variety of lunch items. You can visit without purchasing a ticket to the museum.
Michigan Café (Permanently Closed)
We ate at the Michigan Café, which specializes in the cuisine of the Great Lakes region. All food is locally sourced. It’s open from 11am to 4pm and can get very crowded around noon. You can visit the Michigan Café without purchasing a ticket to the museum.
The menu has a good variety of sandwiches, hot dogs, soups, salads, fish, and more. I had the buffalo mac and cheese which was delicious. Marisol had a loaded potato soup.
Shopping at the Henry Ford
A gift shop is located at the entrance to the welcome center. It’s open daily from 9:30am to 5:30pm and sells books, shirts, model cars, and other interesting items.
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is the main component of the complex. The façade of the building incorporates replicas of Independence Hall, Old City Hall, and Congress Hall in Philadelphia. It was designed by architect Robert O. Derrick (1890-1961).
The museum’s exhibition hall is a whopping 523,000 square feet, which is enough space to hold several permanent and temporary exhibitions. Artifacts from American history, cars, locomotives, agricultural machinery, and airplanes all have their place among countless other items on display. It takes at least a half day to admire them all.
Agriculture
The Agriculture exhibit sits just inside the entrance to the museum galleries. It includes machinery and farming equipment used to grow and harvest crops, process eggs and dairy products, and raise livestock.
Dymaxion House
The Dymaxion House is behind the Agriculture exhibit. Architect Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) designed the Dymaxion House in 1930, and redesigned it in 1945, as the home of the future. It was lightweight, cost-effective, and built to last. Only two prototypes were ever built, and no Dymaxion House was ever built according to Fuller’s intentions.
The house on display at The Henry Ford was lived in by investor William Graham from 1948 to 1970. Graham purchased the two prototypes and constructed a hybrid as an extension to his ranch home. His family donated the home to The Henry Ford in 1990, and it was installed as an exhibit in 2001. Regular tours of the house are available. Visitors can walk through and learn about some of the unique features, such as the central mast, ventilation, rain collection system, and revolving closets.
We were able to walk through the bedroom, with shelves that revolved at the push of a button, and kitchen, which featured built-in appliances.
The living room was the largest room of the house. It was built with a stainless steel fireplace connected to the central mast.
Your Place in Time
Nearby is Your Place in Time. It’s an exhibit that showcases technologies that shaped the five different generations of the 20th century.
Progressive Generation
The first generation covered is the Progressive Generation (born between 1890-1919). They witnessed the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the Wright Brothers’ first flight as well as Babe Ruth (1895-1948) and mass migrations. On display is a moving picture theatre showing silent movies and a 1917 Overland touring car among other items.
War Generation
Next is the War Generation (born between 1920-1932), who lived through some difficult times, including the Great Depression and World War II. They also witnessed the rise of Hollywood and grew up listening to the radio. One feature of this generation is a living room set up around a radio, telling the story of the War of the Worlds broadcast that caused major panic around the country.
Baby Boomers
Moving along are the Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). The largest generation of the 20th century, they witnessed the moon landing, the Kennedy assassination, the rise of the Beatles, and fought in the Vietnam War. Representing their generation are a jukebox, typical teenage clothing of the era, Cold War memorabilia, and an early television.
Generation X
Fourth is Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979). They were shaped by a boom in affordable technology. Generation X witnessed Star Wars, the rise of personal computers, and the AIDS epidemic. On display are several different electronics, including Simon, an Atari Home Pong console, an Atari 2600 console, and Texas Instruments Speak & Spell.
There’s also a replica teenager’s bedroom featuring a Pet Rock, cassette player, and a messy unmade bed as well as a case containing an 8-track player.
Millennials
Finally are the Millennials (born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s), who grew up with the Internet, cell phones, and rapidly advancing technology. This section was most interesting to me because it featured several items I grew up with.
Some of the items on display are a Nintendo Game Boy, a pair of Nike Air Jordans, an RCA VCR, and an Apple Macintosh.
Fully Furnished
Next is Fully Furnished, which showcases furniture produced in America from 1670 to the present. Several historic pieces of furniture are on display, including a table made between 1830 and 1860 used by Mark Twain (1835-1910) as a writing desk, a portable writing desk owned by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) between 1830 and 1849, and a rocking chair made from tree roots and branches between 1865 and 1875 once owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877).
There are also several furniture prototypes, and a section on how manufacturers turned technology into furniture in order to make it fit more nicely next to actual furniture. Another section highlights lighting while yet another displays dollhouses.
Finally, there’s a section with replica kitchens throughout different periods in American history. There are also examples of living rooms throughout the years.
Made in America: Manufacturing
Made in America: Manufacturing showcases American manufacturing from the 18th through 20th centuries. There are all kinds of machines on display, from planers to lubricators and stampers to screw machines.
Some finished products are highlighted, including a child’s bicycle and sewing machines. You can peek into a cobbler’s workshop, and even see an exploded 1924 Ford Model T.
Attached to the manufacturing exhibit are a collection of historic telephones, and Henry Ford’s personal collection of violins.
With Liberty and Justice for All
Next is With Liberty and Justice for All, which is one of the most important exhibits at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. It covers four key rights movements in American history.
American Revolution
The first movement is the American Revolution. On display is George Washington’s camp bed used during the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1780, as well as a Speaker’s chair or Supreme Court chair (1790-1795) from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You can also find an original copy of Common Sense by Thomas Paine (1737-1809), printed in February 1776, and 1 of 200 engraved copies of the Declaration of Independence commissioned by John Quincy Adams and printed in 1823.
Antislavery
Next is a section on the antislavery movement and the Civil War era. Shackles worn by slaves, Civil War uniforms and artifacts, photos, and articles are all on display, as well as an original copy of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in 1865.
Two of the most important items in this section are a life mask of Abraham Lincoln and a life cast of his hand. They were made by Leonard Volk (1828-1895), a sculptor from Chicago, Illinois.
Another is the actual chair used by Lincoln when he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC., on April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865), during a production of Our American Cousin. Henry Ford purchased the chair for his museum in 1929.
Women’s Suffrage
The third section focuses on the Women’s Suffrage Movement. It includes posters, photos, pamphlets, and other items related to the movement, as well as a replica prison cell in which women would be imprisoned for supporting their right to vote.
Civil Rights
Finally, the most moving section is about the Civil Rights Movement. As an ongoing struggle, the origins of the movement are still quite fresh in the minds of many Americans.
The segregation laws in Southern states called for “separate but equal” facilities in schools, bus stations, trains, restrooms, and other aspects of public life. A replica bus station waiting room has two entrances – one labeled “White Waiting Room” and another “Colored Waiting Room”. When you step inside each room, you can clearly see the differences in the quality of the facilities. Facilities such as this were always separate but never equal.
Outside the waiting room are two drinking fountains. One is labeled “Whites Only” and another labeled “Colored”. Both date back to 1954. A Ku Klux Klan uniform stands nearby in front of an original rally poster from 1950.
The most interesting artifact in the Civil Rights section is a bus from Montgomery, Alabama. Inside this bus on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks (1913-2005) refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested soon after. The bus was made in 1948 and refurbished to what it would have looked like in 1955.
Visitors can actually climb into the bus and take a seat. Every so often, docents lead short lectures about that day and how the bus came to be a part of the museum’s collection.
Made in America: Power
Continuing along is Made in America: Power. It gives visitors a look at historic machines that generated power from the 18th to 20th centuries. Also on display is a test tube supposedly containing Thomas Edison’s last breath as well as several firearms.
Heroes of the Sky
Heroes of the Sky is an exhibit on aviation history at The Henry Ford. The exhibit chronicles the history of flight from its earliest days, highlighting famous pilots and different vessels. At the entrance is an early Northwest Airlines passenger plane.
1903 Wright Flyer
Heroes of the Sky includes a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, which Orville and Wilbur Wright flew at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. The original Wright Flyer is at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Ford Flivver
Ford Flivver Airplane #1, built in 1926, was Henry Ford’s entrance into the world of aviation. He built three or four prototypes with the idea of making them the Model T of the sky, but abandoned the project after his test pilot, Harry Brooks (1902-1928), died in a crash near Melbourne, Florida.
1925 Fokker F. VII Tri-Motor
A 1925 Fokker F. VII Tri-Motor has an entire room dedicated to it. It’s significant because it was the very plane flown over the North Pole by Admiral Richard Byrd (1888-1957) in 1926. The expedition was financed by Edsel Ford (1893-1943), and Byrd named the plane “Josephine Ford” after Edsel’s daughter. Controversy surrounding the expedition is covered in the exhibit as well, because there have been serious doubts as to whether or not Byrd reached the pole.
1928 Ford 4-AT-B Tri-Motor
A 1928 Ford 4-AT-B Tri-Motor is also on display. This plane was flown by Byrd over the South Pole on November 28-29, 1929. It was named after Floyd Bennett (1890-1928), the pilot with whom Byrd claimed to reach the North Pole. Bennett died a few months before the South Pole expedition.
1927 Boeing 40-B2
In the same room as the South Pole plane is a 1927 Boeing 40-B2. It flew 6,049 service hours and crashed four times without any injuries to passengers or crew. The plane was donated to the museum in 1938.
Helicopters
Finally, another room is dedicated to two different types of vessels. Hanging from the ceiling is a 1931 Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro, which was used by the Detroit News. This plane is unique because it could take off like a plane, but could land vertically like a helicopter. The engine was powered by a propeller and lift provided by a rotor. On the ground beneath it is a 1939 Sikorsky VS-300A Helicopter, which was the first successful helicopter developed by Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972).
Other Displays
Other sections of the exhibit include the Pride of Detroit, which traveled to exotic locations all over the world, and an exhibit on wing walking. There’s also an Amelia Earhart-branded overnight luggage case from the Orenstein Trunk Company and a blouse designed by Earhart.
Commercial Aviation
Finally, a section of Heroes of the Sky covers commercial aviation. It explains the history of commercial airlines, the early standards of becoming a stewardess, and even lets visitors sit on four different replica passenger planes. The seats on the plane are authentic, you can hear the sound of the engine, and you can even look out the windows to feel like you’re actually flying.
The oldest “plane” on display is a 1927 Boeing 40 (not pictured), which was designed to carry mail but had room for two passengers. The cruising altitude was 900 feet with a cruising speed of 100 mph. The range was 650 miles. It featured blankets, a reading light, cotton to plug ears, coffee served in a thermos, and box lunches.
Next is a 1928 Ford Trimotor, which carried 15 passengers and had a cruising speed of 110 mph. The cruising altitude was 2,000 feet with a range of 570 miles. Passengers were able to open the windows while sitting in cushioned seats, and were given cold meals and cotton to plug their ears.
The 1939 Douglas DC-3 carried 21 passengers and had a range of 1,500 miles. The cruising altitude was 6,000 feet and it had a cruising speed of 200 mph. It had a heated cabin and soundproof interior, adjustable padded seats, hot in-flight meals, and pillows.
Finally, the 1967 Boeing 737 carried 130 passengers. It had a range of 2,100 miles at a cruising speed of 580 mph. The cruising altitude was 35,000 feet. Passengers enjoyed reclining seats, complimentary magazines, movies, music, and hot in-flight meals. It also had a climate-controlled cabin.
Driving America
Driving America is the largest exhibit at The Henry Ford Museum. It’s a complete history of the American automobile, dating back to 1865, covering such topics as style, safety, and speed. There are cars of all classes, and it delves into everything from racing to road trips.
The first cars in the exhibit are some of the oldest American cars ever produced.
You’ll find everything from iconic cars…
…to luxury vehicles…
…to service vehicles.
You’ll also find the very first Japanese car ever to roll off an American assembly line, which was the 1983 Honda Accord LX.
Road Trips
A section on road trips displays plenty of pieces of Americana, including a replica motel room, McDonald’s sign, Holiday Inn sign, and even a Texaco station. The first traffic light ever created, which was developed by a police officer in Detroit, is also on display.
Kitchen Sink Engine
Perhaps the most important artifact in the Driving America exhibit isn’t a car at all. It’s Henry Ford’s kitchen sink engine. On December 24, 1893, Ford clamped an engine he made with scrap metal to his kitchen sink. He wired a spark plug to an overhead light and spun the flywheel while his wife, Clara, fed gasoline through an intake. The engine came to life and changed automotive history forever.
Three years later, Ford built his first ever car, the Quadricycle, which sold for US$200. He used the profits to develop his second car.
Driven to Win
Driven to Win is an exhibition on the history of racing in America. It contains some of the most famous Indy cars, stock cars, and drag racers ever to grace the tracks. You’ll learn about innovations made by famous drivers and there’s also a racing simulator.
Presidential Vehicles
Presidential Vehicles is an exhibit at the Henry Ford featuring five limousines used by 11 different presidents. It’s located next to the Driving America exhibit.
1902 Brougham
The oldest vehicle in the collection is a 1902 Brougham used by Theodore Roosevelt. It was in service from 1902 to 1928. After Roosevelt, it was given to the White House housekeeping department to make grocery runs and run other errands.
1939 Lincoln
Next is the Sunshine Special, a 1939 Lincoln used by Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was the first car built specifically for presidential use and got its nickname because Roosevelt enjoyed riding in it with the top down. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the car was fitted with armor and bullet-resistant tires and gas tank. It was in service until 1950 and also carried Harry S. Truman.
1950 Lincoln
Truman continued riding in a 1950 Lincoln, which was also used by Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1952 to 1960. Eisenhower added the plastic bubble top, and after his presidency, the car was used as a spare for the next two presidents until it was retired in 1967.
1961 Lincoln Continental (The Kennedy Car)
The most important car in the collection is a 1961 Lincoln Continental. John F. Kennedy was sitting in the back seat of the car when he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Lyndon B. Johnson had the car rebuilt with a permanent roof, titanium armor, and bulletproof glass. It was used until 1977 and also featured during the presidency of Richard Nixon.
1972 Lincoln Continental
The fifth and final car is a 1972 Lincoln Continental. It was used by Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush until it was pulled from service in 1987. Reagan was getting into the car on March 30, 1981, when he was shot by John Hinckley in Washington, DC, and the car carried him to the hospital.
Railroads
At the very end of the exhibition hall at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is the Railroads exhibit. It includes historic trains and street cars.
Allegheny Steam Locomotive
The most impressive train in the collection is the Allegheny Steam Locomotive built in 1941. It was designed for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and was the most powerful steam locomotive ever built. It could pull 160 coal cars each with a 60 ton load. The locomotive is 125 feet long and weighs 1.2 million pounds. Visitors are able to climb up inside the locomotive and feel like an engineer for a few moments.
Sam Hill
The “Sam Hill” Steam Locomotive, dating back to 1858, is next to the Allegheny. It pulls a replica Bangor & Aroostook Railroad passenger car, which ran between 1855 to 1865. The replica was built from 1925 to 1928.
Snowplow
Behind that is a Canadian Pacific snowplow built in 1923. It was one of 36 built between 1920 and 1929. One or two locomotives had to push the plow to clear snow from the tracks.
Model Railroad
Besides some other cars and locomotives, there’s a decent model railroad layout as well as a Lego model of Detroit.
Temporary Exhibitions at The Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation presents temporary exhibitions throughout the year.
Rock Stars’ Cars & Guitars
One of my favorite exhibits at the Henry Ford Museum was Rock Stars’ Cars & Guitars. It was a temporary exhibit that ran from May 16 to September 7, 2009. The entrance to the exhibit featured the van that Soundgarden drove from gig to gig in the 1980s, spreading the “Seattle sound”, which later became known as grunge.
Also at the entrance was a checkered car, John Deere tractor, clothes, and equipment owned by Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, as well as costumes and memorabilia from Kiss.
Inside the exhibit, there were several cars on display, including: Elvis Presley’s 1973 Cadillac; Snoop Dogg’s 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille (Snoop DeVille “Sticky Icky”); a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback driven by Sheryl Crow in the “Steve McQueen” music video; and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons’ 1932 Ford Coupe (Eliminator).
Next to a 1956 Lincoln owned by Pete Townshend, I was able to see guitars, drums, and clothing used by The Who.
The memorabilia was just as interesting as the cars. Rick Nielsen lent his huge guitar collection to the exhibit, which included a 1955 Fender Stratocaster used by Jimi Hendrix during a sound check in Madison, Wisconsin, on February 27, 1968, and B.B. King’s “Lucille”, a 1999 Gibson.
Blues legends Howlin’ Wolf (1910-1976) and Buddy Guy each had a guitar on display, courtesy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ford Rouge Factory Tour
When visiting The Henry Ford, you can’t miss the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. This is where the Ford Motor Company assembles every F-150 truck sold in the entire world.
The historic Ford River Rouge Complex was once the largest integrated factory in the world. It was built between 1917 and 1928 and was designed by Albert Kahn (1869-1942). The factory has over 16 million square feet of factory space. At its peak, it included its own steel mill, electricity plant, docks, and rail lines, and once employed over 100,000 workers. Most Ford production took place there until the 1960s.
Start of the Tour
After purchasing tickets at the museum, we boarded a shuttle to the Ford Rouge Factory Tour building. We were dropped off at the entrance where we saw a statue of Henry Ford speaking to a student. The base of the statue says “Henry Ford ‘Father of Industrial Education'”. It was dedicated on September 28, 2004, by alumni of the Henry Ford Trade School.
When we walked inside, we met our first guide, Henry, who worked at Ford for over 40 years. He greeted our group and explained how the factory tour works. He then led us into the Legacy Theater where we watched a short film about the history of Ford and the factory.
Next, we walked over to the Manufacturing Innovation Theater to watch an amazing presentation with video, lasers, and robots. It went through the entire F-150 production process, explaining how the vehicles are designed, assembled, and tested. It was definitely one of the highlights of the tour.
Observation Deck
From there, we took an elevator up to the Observation Deck where another guide talked about some of the environmentally friendly features of the factory. Interpretive panels lined the windows highlighting the history of the plant and its features. What stood out to me is that Henry Ford purchased the land for a mere $1,100 on July 7, 1915.
We were also able to get a panoramic look at the entire factory. To the left is a blue building, which is a steel mill owned by U.S. Steel.
Directly in front of the building is the Living Laboratory, which was a brownfield converted into an ecological habitat. It contains crabapple and hawthorn trees as well as bee hives. During summer months, it’s possible to take a free guided walk through the laboratory. The employee parking lot behind the lab has the best spots reserved for Ford owners, while owners of other makes have to park in the back 12 rows. Finally, behind the parking lot, we could spot the blast furnaces (now owned by AK Steel), office buildings, paint plant, and power plant.
The building nearest where we stood is the Dearborn Truck Plant, where F-150s are assembled. It’s a green building with one of the largest living roofs in the world. Across the road behind the building are brand new F-150s waiting to be sent to dealerships around the world.
Mezzanine Level
When we finished, we went down to the mezzanine level, where there’s a small interactive area. Guests can try their hand at assembling a small truck or take souvenir photos before heading into the assembly plant.
Assembly Plant
Inside the assembly plant, we walked along an elevated walkway and looked down to see how F-150s are made. Videos along the path gave more detailed information and guides were waiting to answer questions. What amazed me is that all orders are totally customized and a new truck rolled off the line every seven minutes during production hours, and is capable of producing one truck a minute at full operating speed. We weren’t allowed to take photos on this part of the tour.
Legacy Gallery
Finally, we walked through the Legacy Gallery, which is a showroom floor displaying some of the most famous vehicles made at the Rouge. A 1929 Model A, 1932 V8, 1949 Coupe, 1955 Thunderbird, and 1965 Mustang all showcase some of Ford’s greatest achievements.
In one corner sat a 2015 Ford F-150. Guests are able to get up close and kick the tires of the vehicle assembled in the plant they just visited.
Our Thoughts on the Ford Rouge Factory Tour
The entire tour took us about two hours to complete, including the shuttle rides to and from the museum. It complements a visit to the museum by giving visitors a more complete experience into the history and production of automobiles, and the importance and innovation of Ford.
