Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-11
FORD MOTOR
CO. To BUILD
PLANT HERE,
VORk|NG5 800
Automobile Concern Pays $685.
600 for Site for Assembling
Factory at Ponce DeLeon Ave-
nue. and Southern Railway.
Cars for Two States To Be
Erected in AtIanta-Six-St Story
Concrete Building Will Con-
tain Six Acres Of Floor Space.

tall Olh NCtCS VI luUt SpoICi
The Ford Motor Car Company is to
establish a great assembling plant in
Atlanta to set up and handle all the
cars for this district, comprising at
present Georgia and Florida.
A big real estate deal was an
nounced Saturday night by which
the Ford people purchased for $4,000
a frontage of 142 feet on Ponce De-
Leon avenue, at the southeast corner
of that street and the Southern Rail-
way belt line, along which the prop
erty extends 1855 feet to North ave-
nue..
Grading will begin within 80 days"
said A. ]. Langford assistant manager
of the local Ford branch, land the
erection Of a handsome reinforced
concrete six-story building will begin
as soon as the grading is done.
1.-THE building will house great in
dustrial establishment, Mr.. Langford
added. "All the Ford cars to be de-
liyered in this district will be shipped
to Atlanta in parts and assembled in
this great building. Inasmuch as we
F., delivered LOTT cars last month, and
expect to pass the 1900 mark In the
season Of 1914, some idea may be had
of the size of the enterprise.
To Employ 500 Persons.
"Our entire sales and office force
also will be in the new building
which will be fitted with handsome
showrooms. In all, more than SOC
persons will work there at the very
beginning. OF this number about 400
will be workmen of the very highest
| type in America.
THAT means that 300 or 400 fam
| lilies will be moving to Atlanta-say
1900 persons. You can see what that
| means to the city, especially as all
these people will be of a highly de-
| sirable class, most of them DESTROYS
| of owning their own homes at once
The building is to have a frontage
extend back 300 feet. AS first erected
| it will cover just an acre Of space,
| it's six floors giving a working space
| Of six acres. AS the need arises the
building will be extended backward
| into the 4S5 spare feet of property
along the railway tracks. The At
| lanta assembling plant will be the
| twelfth of it's kind, and one of the
best and largest the Ford company
| has established.
Means Big Saving.
| "Our great volume of business had
| made it an economic necessity" Mr.
| Langford stated. You see, in ship
ping the cars to us from Detroit, only
six can come in a carload lot, part
| ly knocked down at that. AS shipped
! for assembling 20 cars can be trans
! ported in carload, and the freight
rate is lower on unassembled parts
and unfinished bodies, also. The saw
| ing will be enormous"
The deal was contaminated Satur-
| day after two visits to Atlanta by F.
L. Klingensmith, secretary of the
|, Ford Company. The property was
owned by John S. Owens, vice pres
| ident of the Central Bank and Trust
Corporation, who was represented in
| the negotiations by Carlos Lynes, OF
| the real estate firm of Thomson &
| Lynes, Grant Building.
Proud of Big Deal.
81 am not a little proud Of that
| deal" Mr.. Lynes said, first of all
because it brings great industry
| to Atlanta | was fortunate enough
| to land the sale to the Crane Com
pany recently, also. and these things
| mean a whole lot to the industrial
| and commercial prestige of Atlanta,
| as we'll as to the general city well
| fare, in that these big plants bring
! with them many desirable citizens -
| Mr.. Lynes said the residents in the
nelghborhood of the prospective plant
I need not worry for fear of factory
conditions"
1T isn't factory in any sense OF
| the word" he said, sit is to be as
| handsome a building as If it were to
| be on Peachtree, downtown, with the
| showroom in front, and none of the
| noise, smoke or dust incident to fac
| tory operation. All railroad property
must eventually be built up In indus
| trial plants and in this case the resi-
| dents of that section are mighty
| LUCKY in what they have drawn"