Edsel B. Ford II stepped to the podium to address an audience of several hundred people. It was Friday, October 1, 2004, 7:30 PM, on the third floor of the Ford Piquette Avenue plant. They had all gathered to celebrate the 100th birthday of the site, best known as the birthplace of the Model T.

Exactly 100 years earlier, Edsel's great-grandfather, Henry Ford, stood at the same site as his fledgling company was moving in to the building.

A Model T vs. a Ford GT

The past and the present greeted arriving Centennial Celebration guests as they passed between a 1914 Model T Touring and a 2005 Ford GT. A display sign made a few comparisons between the two Ford products: horsepower for the GT was listed as 550 -- and 20 for the T. Model T seats were made with "machine buffed leather with genuine horse hair," while those in the GT were "Sparco leather with carbon fiber structure."

And then there was the pricing comparison: $141,245 for the GT ...and $850 for the Model T Touring!

Guests arrived on the building's second floor and began a tour of the newest exhibit "The Making of the Model T." Thirty-four various displays throughout the top two floors provided visitors with some of the most important stories of the plant's history.

These included the construction of the building and its location in a famous industrial section of Detroit called Milwaukee Junction, so named because of the intersection of two railroads lines.

The first display that visitors saw was the Ford cars built before the Model T. These included a Model A built at the rented Mack Avenue plant and early Piquette-built cars.

Visitors also had a chance to see the site of Henry Ford's office with a 1909 photo of him sitting at his desk. The desk and wastebasket on display are reproductions of the ones used by Ford in this office. They were made by a retired businessman and woodworker, M. Peter Martin, whose grandfather, Peter E. Martin, was in charge of manufacturing at the plant.

Most auto enthusiasts know that the moving assembly line is associated with Ford's Highland Park plant. But most don't know that during the summer of 1908 Henry Ford and his staff began experimenting with the idea of a moving assembly line at the Piquette Avenue plant.

An exhibit highlighted that story and showed how they might have pulled a Model N frame along until the axles and wheels were put on. Then sub assemblies like a radiator, dash, steering gear and the spark coil were added.

At the back of the second floor, the exhibit covered some of the educational partnerships and outreach programs being planned by Model T Automotive Heritage Complex (T-Plex) volunteers.

The Experimental Room

As guests arrived on the third floor via the original, wood stairway at the rear of the building, they could enter the updated exhibit space interpreting the Experimental Room. It is here in this small corner area of the Piquette Avenue plant that the Model T was developed during 1907 and 1908.

Adjacent to the Experimental Room was a superbly restored 1909 Model T Touring, a 1911 Cadillac Model 30 Touring and a 1910 Maxwell AA Runabout. These cars offered a visual comparison of the Model T with the five-passenger room and comfort of larger, more luxurious cars at nearly the price of smaller, two-cylinder, two-passenger runabouts.

"A high-grade car at half the other man's price," Henry Ford said.

Of particular interest were some of the old plant photos that were enlarged into posters and placed in their original positions on the floor. Visitors got a wonderful "real-life" perspective of what the factory operations looked like in 1908!

By 7:30 PM, guests had gathered near the former location of the Drafting and Pattern Shops for the celebration remarks.

Jerald Mitchell, founder and CEO of T-Plex, spoke first and reviewed the organization's progress, including announcements on recently awarded grants. Most noteworthy was his announcement of the building facade restoration grant. The project will replicate the original doorway and restore the facade to its original appearance.

Mark Pischea, Executive Director of MotorCities National Heritage Area, followed with comments about the importance of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in building auto heritage tourism to the Detroit region. Pischea then introduced Edsel B. Ford II, the evening's keynote speaker.

"Relegated to the Footnotes"

Edsel Ford has always had a keen interest in the history of Ford Motor Company. He also has a keen interest in its operations today, since he is a member of the company's board of directors.

During his remarks, Ford pointed out that when historians write about Ford Motor Company, everyone mentions Mack Avenue - the place where his great-grandfather and colleagues first began to produce automobiles. And everyone always mentions Highland Park and the Rouge.

"But the Piquette plant tends to get lost in the overlap and relegated to the footnotes," he said. "And to do that is, in my mind, to miss the point of Henry Ford and what he did for the nation and the world."

"What made my great-grandfather special was his vision - his ability to dream," Ford continued. "And the Piquette Avenue plant is the repository of those dreams."

Edsel Ford then unveiled the Michigan State Historic Site marker, which will be installed soon near the building in conjunction with the facade renovation.

Then Ford surprised everyone by announcing his intentions to "adopt" the second floor facade windows, which included those in his great-grandfather's office. His generous gesture was a fitting conclusion to the centennial celebration.

Early Saturday morning, the doors opened promptly for the public Open House. During the weekend, over 250 individuals, couples and families followed the self-guided tours and viewed the various exhibits. Visitors ranged in age from toddlers to 101 years. They came from as far away as Germany.

Car enthusiasts conducted detailed comparisons and debated points of restoration. Kids enjoyed having their picture taken in the red Model T Touring. Old-timers recalled memories of the Model T and early car experiences. Everyone learned a lot. Several new T-Plex members were registered and the Gift Shop was a "T-hive" of activity.

During the three-day celebration, Henry Ford's Piquette Avenue plant got rave reviews; just as it did one hundred years earlier.