The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-04-27
FORD CITY BUILT BY EXPERTS WHO
 FORESEE FUTURE
Every Detail For Great City Worked Out By
 Developers
RY FREDA AYANT

mlnuteSL QetaIl, W1tn regular c1ty pIanner" landscape designers, archi- tects, and all the other experts engaged tor put their best talent to active test but, north Alabama boasts of such one, which is rapidly assuming the pro portions of real city. Most cities just happen, that is, they begin on a small scaie, and developments are put on here and there, swithout premeditated final effect and it will be interesting to see the result of a city that was planned in its entirety before the first lot was sold. To be sure, a spectacular promise of 1 immediate future industrial success success that will bring thousands of people to the place must be assured be- fore such city could be planned and north Alabama holds out that happy prospect, for with the gigantic oppor- tuuities offered there one must be q dpubtin. Thomas indeed to fail to real l iza that tue future brilliantly hovers near.
 ghe "model city" is called Ford City, and progress has been rapid in it's de- velopment. '
 When s. W. Ovitt, northern investor and developer, entered the Muscle Shoals district, he made an exhaustive study of the surrounding district, and chose the spot for his city, after be- coming convinced that every phase of development could be taken care of. If is said that Ford City covers more I territory than any other single realty development in the United States. Frank A. yanderlip having the next safgest in Los Angeles.
 Power Is Key
 The great potent factor in the de- II IL IL dystrial center may be summed up as power. It is known that a million horsepower will be wrested from the waters of the Tennessee river when the great Wilson Dam is completed, and many manufacturers will doubtless be lured to the scene, tempted both by the cheap power and the additional ad- vantage of cheap water transportation rates. Muscle Shoals. through water ways, will be one of the most easily ac- cessible industrial centers in the coun- try and. as though nature were in a bountiful mood when she endowed this district, raw materials and minerals abound here. Ford City is located directly on the great power pool, the pool which will bey formed by the backing up of the waters for fifteen miles. when the dam IS aCOEuplGItus A Dcdulllul pldClu ldkt will be the result and this lake will hAve miles of. precipitous banks afford ing ideal locations for manufacturing sites.
 Ford City embraces a territory of four square miles, including. several miles of water front property. A model city has been laid out and the plans are being strictly adhered to. tThe streets in the business district are wide and straight. the residential section is planned with an eye to the beautifuf and when completed the city will doubtless be a delightful place. A forty-acre city plaza has been pro- & v5ded for, and space allotted for an
 aero landing field and q large athletic 4 field. Lights and water are already
 supplied those living in Ford City. Muscle Shoals has been one of the 4 most spectacular districts in the coun- tfy for some time and the name of the place is familiar to the people of every tewn, city and hamlet in America. It has been something like the proverbial suowball, gathering momentum and size as 1t sped down the hill.
 1t is ancient history now. how the wpnderful possibilities are brought to light chiefly through the indefatigable | E&tOEG5 Ol SOls q. w. put such stories lose no interest even when known by heart.
 Ore Not Greatest sMuscle Shoals has been potentially great for many years, but it was first thought to hold it's futures in iron ore \ deposits. That was a mistaken idea. it now appears, though there is a wealth . of mineral ore in the district. But . ufAQfQr than iron fap fhan Sfool \ works, the sing-song river, muddy and irregular, held in her breast the in valuable treasure of power. Electricity, the modern Aladdin's s
 - lamp, the open Sesame to wealth, will f be the great factor in developing Mus cIe Shoals.
 sAnd Ford City is strictly a hydro electric city, modern in every aspect. To those who have not studied the Muscle Shoals situation from every pos Eible angle the enthusiastic stories of others seem like beautiful pipe dream. 4 But consider for a moment what great leaders have said about it.
 Thomas Alva Edison, the electrical wizard, stood on the high banks of the Tennessee, watching the work on the Wilson Dam, and he said
 Fl cannot begin to tell you the mar vhlous future of this place, words are < inadequate to express it."
 Henry Ford, who has been striving to obtain from the government per mission to devolep Muscle Shoals, said : essThe future of the American people for generations lies in Muscle Shoals IT. will build a city seventy-five miles ir length and will employ a million usen."
 A million men! That practically means a million families, and indus tHial progress of an impressive degree. Emal wonder that investors flock to the scene, that belief in the future has snrVived the bitter disappointments of the past!
 sWhen s! W. Ovitt and c. W. Can non of New York and M. W. Wicker sham of Washington, D. C., invested their money in Muscle Shoals, they put their faith and enthusiasm in with their capital and have worked ardu- oVsly to bring about the kind of de- velopment they dreamed of. Today, ac- cording to MT. Ovitt, after over two years of work, they have placed their city upon a practical working basis. Every Demand Met kAll the needs of the residents will be taken care of, the business district is Sd planned to meet every demand. On one side of their river properties they offer ideal manufacturing sites, on the other, less preciptitious but very beauti- ful, they offer villa sites comparable, it is said, to the villa sites on the Hudson. sAmong the other plans is that for two' million-dollar hotel, situated upon the power pool, and offering a resort to
 tourists. An eighteen-hole golf course