A look inside The Henry Ford Museum

[Brownie]

Went to The Henry Ford today, hadn't been in years and the have the Marvel Universe exhibit going. A little background, the Museum was started in the 1920's. It was Ford's idea to gather ingenuity, technology, and historical artifacts from the world. Henry was clearly biased toward machinery, but didn't neglect other aspects. He was also keen on Americana. The museum has kept to these main themes. These are a sample of the museum.

Just a shot of one sitting areas. The museum exhibits have been updated over the years, but they've kept the original architecture and interior appointments to the extent they can.

P1061923 by telecast, on Flickr

The most photographed item in the museum. This is a 1941 Allegheny Locomotive. It weighs 603 tons and could pull a mile and a half of loaded coal cars at 60 miles per hour. It was built by the Lima Ohio Locomotive Works for the Chesapeake and Ohio RR. Even though it was at the pinnacle of steam technology, it couldn't keep up with the more economical diesel powered locomotives. Within 15 years, all 60 Allegheny Locomotives had been decommissioned.

P1061744 by telecast, on Flickr

A 1931 Bugatti Royale.

P1061756 by telecast, on Flickr

Camping in style in your Volkswagen bus!

P1061763 by telecast, on Flickr

Part of a Texaco gas station display. Note the pump in the middle, it has a display case for point-of-purchase sales.

P1061775 by telecast, on Flickr

An original McDonald's sign along with A&W Rootbeer, While Castle, and Howard Johnsons.

P1061800 by telecast, on Flickr

Inside of a typical roadside diner. These were made of aluminum and steel. You could buy one and have it delivered to your property, almost ready to go. They popped up all over after WWII. During non-COVID times you can still have lunch here.

P1061810 by telecast, on Flickr

This is the Fokker used by Admiral Byrd on his Arctic expedition. They also have the Ford Tri-Motor he used on his Antarctic expedition.

P1061836 by telecast, on Flickr

A 200KW steam powered generator

P1061850 by telecast, on Flickr

This is the oldest surviving steam engine in the world. It was made in England in 1760 and was used to dewater mine shafts.

P1061856 by telecast, on Flickr

This is the chair in which Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was assassinated at the Ford Theater.

P1061863 by telecast, on Flickr

The interior of the bus in which Rosa Parks made history.

P1061874 by telecast, on Flickr

The first Marvel Comic

P1061885 by telecast, on Flickr

This one needs no explanation nor introduction.

P1061922 by telecast, on Flickr

A 23 ton 'Traction Engine'. It was capable of pulling an 8-bottom plow. In the fall the steam engine was used to run threshers to separate grain.

P1061950 by telecast, on Flickr

Last but not least, yours truly taking a rest with a buddy.

Resized_20210128_121234 by telecast, on Flickr

 

[retiredfromlife]

Very nice set of images.

 

[Replytoken]

Thanks for the memories. It has been over 40 years since I have been to the museum or Greenfield Village and I used to love to go every year when I was a kid. I was always more partial to the Village when I was a kid but I have come to appreciate the museum as an adult. And what I would not give for that VW Westy!

--Ken

 

[mcgillro]

wonderful set - thanks for sharing. Reminds me I must go over to Paraparaumu to southwards Museum.

 

[Panolyman]

Excellent photos Tim.
But in keeping with the ethos of the museum, I think you should have used one of your old film cameras.

 

[speedy]

Went to The Henry Ford today, hadn't been in years and the have the Marvel Universe exhibit going. A little background, the Museum was started in the 1920's. It was Ford's idea to gather ingenuity, technology, and historical artifacts from the world. Henry was clearly biased toward machinery, but didn't neglect other aspects. He was also keen on Americana. The museum has kept to these main themes. These are a sample of the museum.

Just a shot of one sitting areas. The museum exhibits have been updated over the years, but they've kept the original architecture and interior appointments to the extent they can.

View attachment 871054P1061923 by telecast, on Flickr

The most photographed item in the museum. This is a 1941 Allegheny Locomotive. It weighs 603 tons and could pull a mile and a half of loaded coal cars at 60 miles per hour. It was built by the Lima Ohio Locomotive Works for the Chesapeake and Ohio RR. Even though it was at the pinnacle of steam technology, it couldn't keep up with the more economical diesel powered locomotives. Within 15 years, all 60 Allegheny Locomotives had been decommissioned.

View attachment 871055P1061744 by telecast, on Flickr

A 1931 Bugatti Royale.

View attachment 871056P1061756 by telecast, on Flickr

Camping in style in your Volkswagen bus!

View attachment 871057P1061763 by telecast, on Flickr

Part of a Texaco gas station display. Note the pump in the middle, it has a display case for point-of-purchase sales.

View attachment 871058P1061775 by telecast, on Flickr

An original McDonald's sign along with A&W Rootbeer, While Castle, and Howard Johnsons.

View attachment 871059P1061800 by telecast, on Flickr

Inside of a typical roadside diner. These were made of aluminum and steel. You could buy one and have it delivered to your property, almost ready to go. They popped up all over after WWII. During non-COVID times you can still have lunch here.

View attachment 871060P1061810 by telecast, on Flickr

This is the Fokker used by Admiral Byrd on his Arctic expedition. They also have the Ford Tri-Motor he used on his Antarctic expedition.

View attachment 871061P1061836 by telecast, on Flickr

A 200KW steam powered generator

View attachment 871062P1061850 by telecast, on Flickr

This is the oldest surviving steam engine in the world. It was made in England in 1760 and was used to dewater mine shafts.

View attachment 871063P1061856 by telecast, on Flickr

This is the chair in which Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was assassinated at the Ford Theater.

View attachment 871064P1061863 by telecast, on Flickr

The interior of the bus in which Rosa Parks made history.

View attachment 871065P1061874 by telecast, on Flickr

The first Marvel Comic

View attachment 871066P1061885 by telecast, on Flickr

This one needs no explanation nor introduction.

View attachment 871067P1061922 by telecast, on Flickr

A 23 ton 'Traction Engine'. It was capable of pulling an 8-bottom plow. In the fall the steam engine was used to run threshers to separate grain.

View attachment 871068P1061950 by telecast, on Flickr

Last but not least, yours truly taking a rest with a buddy.

View attachment 871069Resized_20210128_121234 by telecast, on Flickr

The G9 & PL 8-18 make one very very enjoyable & capable combo don't they

 

[Ghostbuggy]

Thanks for sharing these. I'm kind of surprised Ford not only collected railway related stuff (considering his clear automotive background), but also cars from other companies as well. I especially enjoyed the 50's themed pictures, the diner especially or the McDonald's sign, for me the design back then is quite timeless. Maybe one day I'll make it over the big pond and check out the states myself.

 

[Brownie]

Thank you all for the kind words.

Thanks for sharing these. I'm kind of surprised Ford not only collected railway related stuff (considering his clear automotive background), but also cars from other companies as well. I especially enjoyed the 50's themed pictures, the diner especially or the McDonald's sign, for me the design back then is quite timeless. Maybe one day I'll make it over the big pond and check out the states myself.

Interestingly, General Motors is currently working on a huge exhibit in the museum which is currently walled off to the public.

Thanks for the memories. It has been over 40 years since I have been to the museum or Greenfield Village and I used to love to go every year when I was a kid. I was always more partial to the Village when I was a kid but I have come to appreciate the museum as an adult. And what I would not give for that VW Westy!

--Ken

Looking forward to the Village opening this spring, I haven't been there in many years myself.

 

[Brownie]

The G9 & PL 8-18 make one very very enjoyable & capable combo don't they

Love it! My favorite 12-60 was never even mounted yesterday.

 

[Brownie]

Excellent photos Tim.
But in keeping with the ethos of the museum, I think you should have used one of your old film cameras.

Can't afford the flash bulbs!

 

[Panolyman]

Did you actually use flash on any of those photos?
That's one incredible building Tim; I take it it was purpose built?

 

[Brownie]

Did you actually use flash on any of those photos?
That's one incredible building Tim; I take it it was purpose built?

No flash. I go to museums with a wide lens and a monopod for stability. I started this at ISO 200 then bumped to 320. The Marvel exhibit was quite dark so I went up to 800 for that part of it. I love the colors with the longer shutter speed. Of course, the G9, a short lens and monopod all make it possible. When possible I brace against a railing if there's one handy. For the shot looking into the Mustang interior, I stood on a low ramp that was next to the display and used the monopod like a selfie stick. I reached the camera out as far as I could and still reach the button. A remote trigger would've been nice to have, but after looking at the finished photo I don't think I could've framed it any better regardless, I love that shot. (EDIT: Someone PM'd me and asked "What Mustang shot?" When I wrote that, I had forgotten the Mustang photos are posted in the 'Cars' thread)

I took hundreds of photos and will post more around the forum as time permits.

The museum is over 500,000 square feet and was opened in 1929. It was built to go along with Greenfield Village, a historical village made up of buildings that were disassembled piece by piece, transported here, and reassembled exactly as they had been. They have buildings from all over, including Cotswold cottages, Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, the homes of people like Stephen Foster (American composer), The Wright Brother's bicycle shop, etc. Look them up online, they're both amazing places.

 

[PakkyT]

These were made of aluminum and steel. You could buy one and have it delivered to your property, almost ready to go. They popped up all over after WWII.

Looks like the ones made by Worcester Lunch Car Company and they were making these even before WWII. You can still find a fair number of these around as working diners. I think there are 3 or 4 within an hour drive of me. The only problem with them is they all seem to still serve delicious comfort food at great prices and with their limited seating it can be hard to actually be able to eat in one.

 

[Brownie]

Looks like the ones made by Worcester Lunch Car Company and they were making these even before WWII. You can still find a fair number of these around as working diners. I think there are 3 or 4 within an hour drive of me. The only problem with them is they all seem to still serve delicious comfort food at great prices and with their limited seating it can be hard to actually be able to eat in one.

Yes, my comment was they 'popped up all over' after WWII. The reason being a lot of guys came home and needed a job. This particular one was originally set up in Marlborough Massachusetts (go figure, eh?) and is called 'Lamy's Diner".

Here's a link to the complete history:

Lamy's: A Diner from the Golden Age -- The Henry Ford Blog - Blog - The Henry Ford

The display no longer looks like the shot in the blog of the exterior. It's proven so popular, they've built a dining platform on the front, which obscures par of the building.

 

[Brownie]

Wow, thanks for the feature, I'm honored.

 

[Danny_SWE]

Great set!

 

[SteveAdler]

A nice set of images but Henry Ford was a racist Nazi sympathizer who helped Hitler prepare for war and continued making trucks for him in Europe after the war began.

 

[Santa]

Hey Tim, that set was interesting, informative and a great bunch of photographs. BTW what book was your ”Buddy” reading?

 

[John King]

A nice set of images but Henry Ford was a racist Nazi sympathizer who helped Hitler prepare for war and continued making trucks for him in Europe after the war began.

Along with Lindbergh and many other eugenics believers all over the world.

One of the heroes of my youth, Chuck Yeager, made sure that no people of negro descent got into the USA NASA space program initially.

Racism and tribalism are two horrible curses of humanity IMO.

 

[DaveRedman]

Thanks. Great pictures.
Makes me thing I should get a monopod.

I still recall the feeling of standing next to that big steam engine, trying to imagine it running down the rails at speed.