HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-05-18, Page 18PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1988.
History of cars told in Ford Museum displays
History cannot be altered, but
the way we look at the past changes
with time.
That’s why the Henry Ford
Museum in Dearborn, Mich., has
undergone a massive $6 million
(U.S.) renovation. The new display
is called, “The Automobile in
American Life,” and opened last
fall.
Instead of just a lot of old
vehicles lined up like those in the
used car lots, the new exhibit
shows how automobiles have
shaped everyday life.
“We decided to try and show the
impact of the automobile on the
various ways in which we live and
play, through all the things it
brought about - like drive-in
restaurants, motels and drive-in
theatres. Those are things that
might not have come into existence
without the automobile,” explains
Earl Dowdy of the museum’s
public relations department.
This is probably the only time a
car museum has spent millions of
dollars on renovations, and ended
up with fewer cars to show.
The number of vehicles is being
reduced from 150 to 110 to make
roomfor, among other things, a
full-size 1940’s service station, an
early Holiday Inn motel room, road
signs, a drive-in theatre, and a
McDonald’s restaurant.
The McDonald’s has an old-s tyle
single arch (circa 1960) unlike the
double golden arches of today. A
national search was launched to
track down a single arch, but it
turns out it could have been a civic
search. One was found in suburban
Detroit, rescued just before it was
headed to the scrapyard, and then
hauled a few kilometres to the
museum.
These are some of the elements
being used to make the museum
come alive, bring back memories
and make the past easier to
understand.
The display is the brainchild of
Albert H. Woods Associates of
New York, the same design firm
that was retained to dream up the
Epcot Centre at Walt Disney World
in Orlando, Fla.; and the 1982
World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tenn.
The work began two years ago.
About one-third of the 5,574
square metre building (60,000
square feet) has been completely
revamped. (The rest of the muse
um includes displays on farm
implements, furniture, household
appliances and even trains.)
A major reason for the change is
to help halt the deterioration of the
vehicles.
The museum was built in 1929,
long before anyone realized the
damage the environment can
cause.
So, for example, the skylights
have been covered over to prevent
the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays
from fading the paint on the cars,
and deteriorating the interiors.
As well, the huge building had
extreme seasonal temperature
changes, which were harmful to
the vehicles. So various modifica
tions have been made to maintain a
fairly constant temperature.
In all, $1.2 million of the $6
million in renovations was spent on
improving the environment inside
the museum.
The exhibit is divided into six
sections.
The Automobile As American
Symbol, explains how the role of
the car has changed, from the Ford
Model T (considered a symbol of
freedom) to the Pontiac GTO of the
1960s (a symbol of power).
Getting Away From It All, shows
various recreactional vehicles in a
tree-shaded campground.
The other sections are Design
ing the Automobile; Advertising
And Promoting The Automobile
and Its Industry And The Automo
tive Landscape.
The museum features many cars
that had a major impact on the
industry. Among them:
•A 1937 Cord 812, the first
production car without running
boards and with disappearing
headlights. It cost a hefty $2,645
brand new.
•A 1949 Volkswagen Beetle - one
of only two sold in the U.S. that
year.
•The very first Ford Mustang
that rolled off the assembly line on
March 9, 1964 (which, inciden
tally, was shipped to a Newfound
land buyer before someone at Ford
discovered the error of selling the
first example).
There’s no question about it: the
Henry Ford Museum is one of the
finest collections of historically
significant vehicles in the world.
About 1.2 million people went
through the museum last year.
It’s always been worth a week
end visit-it’sdifficulttosee the
entire museum properly in just one
day.
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