The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village

Near Detroit in Dearborn, Michigan is an absolutely fabulous museum that is really two in one, one inside and one outside. Here Henry Ford has gathered numerous wonders of America which make American History jump off the page and come alive which was his intention.

At the Henry Ford you will see legendary vehicles and planes like the Mark IV, winner of Le Mans and an engineering marvel, the car President Kennedy was assassinated in, the car President Reagan was pushed into after being shot, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, the Fokker plane that took Admiral bird to the South Pole area, cars of celebrities like John Lennon and Madonna, stagecoaches, sleighs, trains, Henry’s first car the Quadricycle, etc. Want to see the old McDonald’s sign when burgers were 15 cents? It’s there along with the old drive-thru when you ate from a tray hung on your door and the old railroad car diner by the side of the road. A new design for affordable mass produced homes built in 1946 which looks like a spaceship and is called the Dymaxion house is there.

If that is not enough to tantalize you, how about seeing George Washington’s camp cot that folded into a suitcase, the bus Rosa Parks sat on and refused to go to the back, or the chair from Ford’s Theater that Abraham Lincoln was shot in.

They also have those wonderful plastic injection molding machines that will make a hot souvenir right in front of you for $2. Another souvenir I am taking home is lots of Wienie Whistles.

There is an Imax theater there as well where currently you can see Harry Potter’s latest movie in 3D.

Over at Greenfield Village,

You can ride in a genuine 1914 Model T, a 1913 Carousel, horse drawn busses, a steam train, and the old 1930s type busses. See Edison’s Lab and the Edison Lighting Company Station A, the house Robert Frost the poet lived in, the one room log cabin Mr. Mcguffy of Mcguffy’s Readers fame was born in, a plantation, covered bridge, windmill, the Wright Bros. Bicycle Shop, Henry Ford’s home, a proper English cottage of stone, a clock tower with animated bell ringers, etc. And, of course, the best ice cream/custard cones are there with a twist of chocolate and vanilla.

Learn how to blow glass, shape tin into useful objects, and make pottery.

It took me 3 days but I saw every building in Greenfield and most of the exhibits in the Henry Ford. I rode the Model Ts, Omnibus horse busses, and the carousel. For me it was cheaper to buy a one year membership so I can see them free anytime I want (rides cost extra) and they waive the $5 parking fee. You also get a discount on merchandise as a yearly member.

Describing it in words is pretty well impossible so I shot lots of pictures for you instead. Go checkout out all the other pictures I shot at The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village. I don’t have a flash on my camera so no comments on quality please.