page_title: Ford Rotunda
section_title: Relocating to Dearborn
hierarchical_section_title: Ford Rotunda / Relocating to Dearborn
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: Ford Plant, Dearborn, Michigan Subjects: Industrial facilities; Rivers Places: Michigan &gt; Wayne (county) &gt; Dearborn Notes: Title from item. Extent: 1 print (postcard)&#160;: linen texture, color&#160;; 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. Accession #: 06_10_014657
context_page_description: The Ford Rotunda was a tourist attraction originally located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and later was relocated to Dearborn, Michigan. At one point, it was the fifth most popular tourist destination in the United States in the mid-twentieth century. This futuristic structure received more visits in the 1950s than did the Statue of Liberty. The Rotunda was built for the 1933 World’s Fair—“A Century of Progress International Exposition”—in Chicago. After the World’s Fair, the Rotunda was dismantled and rebuilt in Dearborn, serving as the visitor center for what was then the equivalent of Ford Motor Company’s world headquarters. Albert Kahn, who designed the Rotunda for Ford’s exposition at the World’s Fair, was also called upon to update the design for its new purpose. Its ultra-modern design, elaborate shows, and spectacular Christmas displays contributed to the Rotunda’s extreme popularity amongst tourists during its existence. The Rotunda was destroyed on Friday, November 9, 1962, due to a fire.
context_section_description: Late in 1934 it was announced that, following the World’s Fair, the Ford Rotunda would be dismantled and shipped to Dearborn, Michigan where it was to act as a visitor center and be reconstructed using more permanent materials. It was constructed on a 13.5 acres (5.5 ha) site across Schaefer Rd. from the original Ford Administration Building and near the later Ford World Headquarters. It was constructed with a steel framework weighing 1,000 short tons (910 t) with 114,000 sq ft (10,600 m²) of Indiana limestone attached to it, matching the administration building. It stood 10 stories high and measured 210 ft (64 m) at the base and had a center courtyard with a diameter of 92 ft (28 m). Two additional wings were also added to the permanent location in Dearborn that anchored the center section.
  The Rotunda had a completely new look after being reassembled at its new location; the building resembled four gears stacked in decreasing sizes. Inside the Rotunda were murals showing the River Rouge assembly line. On the grounds of the Rotunda was a .75 mi (1.21 km) track were 19 reproductions of what Ford called the Roads of the World: the Appian Way, the Grand Truck Road, the Oregon Trail and Detroit’s Woodward Avenue where visitors would be driven in the latest Ford vehicles. The Rotunda was reopened to the public on May 14, 1936 after more than a year of construction. Fred Waring’s band played for more than 22,000 visitors at the grand opening. Movie stars, celebrities, business leaders, heads of state, and millions of people came to learn about and celebrate the Ford Motor Company.
  It became the fifth most popular tourist destination in the 1950s, after Niagara Falls, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Smithsonian Institution and the Lincoln Memorial. It was more popular than Yellowstone Park, Mount Vernon, the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty.  During World War II, attendance dwindled due to gas rationing so the Rotunda was closed to the public and served as office space and a school for the Army Air Corps, with barracks set up across Rotunda Drive. The theatre inside the Rotunda was used as a movie hall to entertain soldiers. In 1946, ten young army officers, soon to be known as the Whiz Kids, first met Henry Ford II over lunch at the Rotunda.
  In anticipation of re-opening in 1952, the Rotunda underwent extensive remodeling. Seeking to enclose the open center court with a roof, Ford engineers calculated the weight of a conventional steel-framed dome at 160 short tons (150 t), which the Rotunda structure could not support.  In its first real-world application, inventor R. Buckminster Fuller designed a lightweight geodesic dome weighing 18,000 lb (8,200 kg), solving the problem, and becoming a tourist attraction in its own right. On June 16, 1953, the rotunda was reopened to the public as a part of Ford’s 50th Anniversary celebration and as a highlight included 50 huge birthday candles, mounted and lit along the rim of the rotunda.
  Ford utilized the Rotunda’s popularity to call attention to new model introductions, and was used as a venue to photograph its automobiles and hold special events. The Rotunda was used for dealer presentations, press events and other business meetings. In the first 12 months of re-opening nearly 1.5 million people visited the Rotunda to see the displays, ride the cars, and tour the Rouge. In 1958 the new Lincoln Continental was introduced to the press under a 100-foot-tall (30 m) model of the Eiffel Tower and in 1959 just after Alaska became the 49th state, a display was built featuring mountains, fisherman and a stuffed grizzly bear in the Rotunda. Flower shows and custom car shows were also held in the Rotunda.
  One of the brands introduced at the Rotunda was the ill-fated 1958 Edsel, introduced during the late 1950s, a depressed economic period where buyers wanted smaller, more economical cars. This was the start of the American compact car race and the Edsel division was discontinued shortly after the 1960 models and a production run of two years.
  In 1953, the annual Christ
caption: Rotunda in Dearborn, across street from Ford headquarters, over river from the Ford Rouge factory
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