In January we went to Detroit for the International Car Show.   While we were there we decided to check out the Henry Ford Complex.

The Henry Ford Complex is in the suburb of Detroit, known as Dearborn.   The Complex is home to the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, Benson Ford Research Center, several conference spaces and is your access point to tour the Ford Rouge Factory. Since we went in January, Greenfield Village was closed for the winter season, but is open from April to November and select days in December.

To prevent a super long blog post; I am going divide our visit to the Henry Ford Complex into two parts, part 1 an introduction about the complex and the Ford Rouge Factory Tour and part 2, the Henry Ford Museum.

The Henry Ford Museum is the access point for the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. Tickets for the tour of the Rouge Factory are purchased along with tickets for the Museum and Greenfield Village. It will take more than a day to see all three: the museum, Rouge Factory and Greenfield Village.   Additionally, it is a lot of walking, so make sure you plan accordingly.

Once you have your ticket for Rouge Factory Tour, you can load the bus and head over the Rouge Factory. It is about a 15 minute ride between the museum and the factory. Once you reach the factory, you will be dropped off in front of the visitor’s center.

Once in the visitor’s center you will view two films. The first tells the story of Henry Ford and his dream, it provides insight to the beginning of the Rouge Factory and the triumphs and hardships encountered by the company and the factory from the 1900 to present times. The film utilizes rare archival footage to help tell the story. The second film, is an innovative 3D film which takes you behind the scenes of the factory and behind the wheel of the new Ford F-150; telling the story of how the new F-150 came to be.

After you finish viewing the films you will go up the observation deck where you will get a bird eyes view of the factory and surrounding companies.

There is a timeline regarding the factory’s history and information on how the Rouge Factory is very eco-sensitive.

After enjoying the view you can take a self-guided walking tour of the Rouge Factory, where today the F-150 is produced. No photography or video is allowed on the tour and you must wear enclosed shoes. From a bird eye view you will walk above the assemble line and follow the process of an F-150 getting assembled. There are tour guides stationed at different point to explain the various stations and answer any questions you may have. If you go on the weekends, the factory will not be active as it is during the week. The only work going will be of workers either catching up on work from the past week or preparing for the next week’s work.

After completing the factory tour you will return to the legacy gallery where you can view a model of the new F-150 along with other vehicles produced in the Rouge Factory, such as the Mustang, A-1 and Thunderbirds.

Before you get back on the bus make sure to take a short walk around the visitor center and the front of the factory to see Ford’s efforts to help the environment.

Overall the Rouge Factory tour is not that impressive.  It is a very basic tour. but good for showing children the concept of the assemble line.  Or for car nuts in general!

The Rouge Factory is an industrial wonders of the world.  Today it is one of the few industrial area encompassing all the basic steps in automobile manufacturing. Found in the complex is everything from a steel mill to a tire production plant.  The Factory epitomizes Henry Ford’s commitment to improve production methods and his dream of nonstop flow from raw materials to assembled automobile. The factory put people to work and supported the United States during the World Wars.

To view more pictures from the Rouge Factory Tour follow the following link: https://findingamy.net/the-ford-rouge-factory-tour/