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fairlane mansion by g. s. george

fairlane mansion

Astonishingly, in the midst of this heavily-industrial landscape, just a few miles up the river from the Ford Rouge plant, nestled on the riverbank in a wooded area just a stone's throw from the most heavily-industrialized neighborhoods in the nation, is Henry Ford's magnificent Fairlane Mansion. And in the river next to the mansion, Henry Ford & Thomas Edison created a hydroelectric dam that doubled as a gorgeous waterfall. It is amazing to travel the length of the river, from where it meets the Detroit River at Zug Island, an enormous center of steelmaking, past the Rouge plant where steel is turned into automobile, to Ford's mansion in the woods, just a few miles upstream.

The people who live among the behemoths of industry along the river in the communities of Delray and River Rouge hardly experience the small-town feel of Greenfield Village or the beauty of Fairlane. And one cannot help but think about all those cars, many of which originated from this very spot over the decades, and of all the freeways, stripmalls, tract homes & drive-thrus that have consumed the American landscape as a result. The River Rouge is truly a metaphor of Detroit & its industrial history, and a stunning example of American capitalism & one man's control of a way of life.

Start from the beginning: Take a journey up the River Rouge, where the history of the city of Detroit is written into its surreal landscape & waters.

Fairlane Mansion
River Rouge
Dearborn, Michigan

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Uploaded on Jul 9, 2009

2 comments

rouge I by g. s. george

rouge I

The storied Ford Rouge complex. The industrial landscape of the River Rouge was shaped almost entirely by automobile tycoon Henry Ford. His enormous River Rouge complex was the largest integrated factory in the world at the time of its construction in 1928.

River Rouge
Dearborn, Michigan

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Uploaded on Jul 9, 2009

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electrical furnace by g. s. george

electrical furnace

Something very loud was happening in there. Here, at the Ford Rouge Complex, Henry Ford's assembly line has been perfected: iron ore is melted down to steel and shaped into auto bodies. The frame is pushed down the line towards the end of the complex, and along the way various components are added, from seats to dashboards. At the end of the plant a finished automobile is rolled off the line & numbered and placed on a freight train or semi trailer to be shipped across the world.

River Rouge
Dearborn, Michigan

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Uploaded on Jul 9, 2009

5 comments

rouge II by g. s. george

rouge II

Rear of the Rouge complex. Henry Ford, in his push to become the world's greatest industrialist, aided in the destruction of the bucolic and utopian lifestyle he created for himself at Fairlane Mansion and Greenfield Village. Whereas Ford created a village with tree-lined streets sided by the historic workshops of Edison & the Wright Brothers and traversed by a tiny steam-powered choo-choo, and built for himself an artificial waterfall at his provincial manor in the woods, the industrialized portion of the River Rouge and the wildlife that call it home are surrounded by criscrossing freeways, piles of deposits, train crossings, and heavily polluted factories.

River Rouge
Dearborn, Michigan

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Uploaded on Jul 9, 2009

1 comment

old bottling plant by g. s. george

old bottling plant

A bit of Venice in Detroit. Where the Rouge & Detroit rivers meet, the brown hues of the riverwater collide with the aquamarine-blue waters that dominate the Great Lakes, coloring the water with varying rusty & tropical tones.

River Rouge & Detroit River
Detroit, Michigan

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Uploaded on Jul 9, 2009

5 comments


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