Ford River Rouge Complex | |
.jpg) Aerial view of the Rouge in 2015 | |
  | |
| Location | Dearborn, Michigan, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°18′18″N83°09′54″W / 42.305°N 83.165°W /42.305; -83.165 |
| Area | 900 acres (360 ha) (landmarked area) |
| Built | 1917–1928 |
| Architect | Albert Kahn |
| Visitation | 148,000 (2017) |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001516 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 2, 1978[1] |
| Designated NHLD | June 2, 1978[2] |
| Designated MSHS | December 14, 1976 |
TheFord River Rouge complex (commonly known as theRouge complex,River Rouge, orThe Rouge) is aFord Motor Company automobile factory complex located inDearborn, Michigan, along theRiver Rouge, upstream from its confluence with theDetroit River atZug Island. Completed in 1928, it was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1978.
Henry Ford purchased the future site of the Rouge in 1915, with plans to build a bird sanctuary.[3] Plans shifted to manufacturing following a federal request to the Ford Motor Company to produce warships. 'Building B', the first building on the property, was built to fulfill the request.[3]
The Rouge complex measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide by 1 mile (1.6 km) long, including 93 buildings with nearly 16 million square feet (1.5 km2) of factory floor space. With its owndocks in thedredgedRouge River, 100 miles (160 km) of interior railroad track, its ownelectricity plant, and integratedsteel mill, the titanic Rouge was able to turn raw materials into running vehicles within this single complex, a prime example ofvertical-integration production.[3][4]
Some of the Rouge's buildings were designed by architectAlbert Kahn, such as its glass plant in 1925, which replaced Ford's glass production site inHighland Park, Pittsburgh. It measures 760 feet long and 240 feet wide, and its walls features large glass panels.[5] Khan also designed the tire plant.[6] Completed January 30, 1938, it measures 802 feet in length and 240 feet in width and features abutterfly roof and, similarly to the glass plant, has large glass panels in its walls.[5]
In the second quarter of 1932, throughEdsel Ford's support, Mexican muralistDiego Rivera was invited to study the facilities at the Rouge. The studies informed his set of murals known as theDetroit Industry Murals, which is exhibited in theDetroit Institute of Arts.[4][7]
Charlie Chaplin studied the Rouge for his 1936 filmModern Times.[7]
The Ford Company provides free tours of the facility via bus.[8] They ran from 1924 to 1980, at their peak hosting approximately a million visitors per year. They resumed in 2004, in cooperation withThe Henry Ford Museum, with multimedia presentations, as well as a viewing of the assembly floor. In 2017, the Rouge had 148,000 visitors.[9]
The Rouge formerly operated a power plant to power the facility. On February 1, 1999, the power plant exploded, killing six workers and critically injuring fourteen others. The explosion was believed to have been caused by Ford's disregarding of regulation, and Ford was fined $1.5 million without criminal proceedings. Bronze plaques were installed for the six killed.[10] In 2024, the power plant – now abandoned – was explored byThe Proper People, an urban exploration YouTube duo.[11]
In September 2020, Ford announced the construction of theFordRouge Electric Vehicle Center, costing $700,000,000 to build, for production of theFord F-150 Lightning, anelectric vehicle.[12] On May 18, 2021, then-presidentJoe Biden toured the plant and drove an F-150 Lightning before it entered the market. He endorsed electric vehicles during a speech at the plant.[13]
In 1999, architectWilliam McDonough entered into an agreement with Ford Motor Company to redesign its 85-year-old, 1,212-acre (490 ha) Rouge River facility.[14] The roof of the 1.1-million-square-foot (100,000 m2) Dearborn truck assembly plant wascovered with more than 10 acres (4.0 ha) ofsedum, a low-growinggroundcover. The sedumretains and cleanses rainwater and moderates the internal temperature of the building, saving energy.[14]
The roof is part of an $18 million rainwatertreatment system designed to collect and clean rainwater annually, sparing Ford from a $50 million mechanical treatment facility.[15]
The plant's first products wereEagle-class patrol crafts for theUnited States Navy, which were never deployed during World War I. The production of the warships led to the widening of the River Rouge, also allowinglake freighters to fit in it. Ford produced tractors at the plant from 1921 to 1927, and following a five-month closure, began producing theModel A at the plant.[16] The plant also produced most of the parts of theModel T, with construction of the vehicles themselves happening in Highland Park.[3]
DuringWorld War II, the Rouge complex produced jeeps, aircraft engines, aircraft components and parts, tires, tubes, and armor plates.[17]
The Rouge manufactured most of the components of Ford vehicles, starting with the Model T. Many of the vehicles were compiled into "knock-down kits", then sent by railroad to various branch assembly locations across the United States in major metropolitan cities to be locally assembled, using local supplies as necessary.[4]
Throughout four decades, the Rouge produced multiple different Mustang models.[8] It was one of only three locations where Ford manufactured the Mustang; the other sites wereMetuchen Assembly inEdison, New Jersey, andSan Jose Assembly inMilpitas, California.[18]
In 2019, to celebrate the centennial of the Rouge Plant's opening, Ford produced theMustang Shelby GT500 at the 2020 Ford Motor Show. At 700 horsepower, it is the most powerfulstreet-legal vehicle.[19] As of its centennial, it is the oldest automobile plant still in operation.[7]
As of 2019, the Rouge has producedF-150s,[20] and as of 2022,F-150 Lightnings.[12]
At its peak, the Rouge employed as many as 100,000 employees.[8]
In March 1932, following mass layoffs, 4–5,000 former employees of the Rouge starved themselves and marched in protest, an event later called theFord Hunger March.[21]
On May 26, 1937, members of theUnited Auto Workers (UAW) planned to hand out leaflets, which resulted in an attack by Ford; it is known as theBattle of the Overpass.[22] The UAW was officially recognized by the Rouge on June 20, 1941, with a contract.[23] By 1947, the Rouge plant's union was led by Communist Party USA officialJames E. Jackson.[24] A caucus of the union to protect African American workers, who made up approximately 25% of employees, in 1949. The caucus' demands were denied due to beingred-baited.[25] By 1960, 65% of the plant's employees were African American, with 3.5% considered skilled laborers.[26]
In September 2024, thetool and die makers of the Rouge went on strike over contract disagreements.[27][28]
The Rouge complex inspired Renault's 1920Île Seguin factory,[29]GAZ's 1930s factory in theSoviet Union, Volkswagen's 1938Wolfsburg factory in Germany,FIAT's 1939 (Mirafiori factory) in Italy as well as the laterHyundai factory complex inUlsan, South Korea, which was developed beginning in the late 1960s.[30] With some of its buildings designed by architectAlbert Kahn, River Rouge was designated as aNational Historic Landmark District in 1978 for its architecture and historical importance to the industry and economy of the United States.[31]
In the early stages of theSoviet Union's industrialization, Ford participated in the development of an automobile production complex inNizhny Novgorod, which drew influence from the River Rouge complex[32]: 39
Ford 1922 My Life and Work.
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