As chairman of the nonprofit Henry Ford Estate Inc., he wasn?t sure how many people would show up to the estate?s transfer ceremony and open house Saturday because of the threat of rain.
In the first three hours of the six-hour event, thousands of people descended upon Henry Ford Estate-Fair Lane to get their first look inside the house since 2010, see the ceremony, enjoy birthday cake in honor of the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford?s birth and wander the grounds.
It was a one-day chance to tour the estate?s first floor and basement before it is closed for renovations. Visitors could not go to the second floor.
The estate was Henry and Clara Ford?s home from 1915 to Henry?s death in 1947 and Clara?s death in 1950. The 56-room estate was given to Ford Motor Co. by the Ford family that year, and the estate was donated to the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 1957.
The university signed over the paperwork to Henry Ford Estate Inc., which was founded in 2012 and also runs the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, last month, but the formal announcement wasn?t made until the birthday celebration, which featured cake prepared by Henry Ford Community College culinary students.
Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, in what was Springwells Township and is now Dearborn.
Edsel Ford II, Henry and Clara?s great-grandson and namesake of their only child, was thrilled with the turnout Saturday.
?The crowds are so much bigger than anticipated,? the member of the Ford Motor Co. board of directors said after the ceremony. ?It?s terrific.
?It?s a great day.?
He said it?ll take a lot of work to restore the estate to the way it looked when his great-grandparents lived there, but the group will take its time to make sure it?s done right, even if it?s two to three years.
?I think it?s a chance to make this estate a world-class estate and bring it back to the way my great-grandparents had it,? said Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman William Clay Ford Jr., Edsel?s cousin.
The estate?s grounds will remain open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, as it has been since the estate was closed to inside activities Dec. 31, 2010. As part of the transaction, the estate will be able to use Fair Lane Drive, which connects the estate to Evergreen Road, and the university?s 235-space parking lot closest to the estate in perpetuity.
The transfer was for the 17 acres from just north of the garage to just south of the powerhouse. The great meadow and trails leading to the university?s Environmental Interpretive Center are still owned by the university. The Planning Commission and City Council had to approve because the estate otherwise would be landlocked by university property.
Kathleen Mullins, president of Henry Ford Estate Inc., said the public can check HenryFordEstate.org for updates on the renovations and when the estate will reopen.
She said the estate likely will reopen in phases, but the board has to plan the renovation, including updating the plans that were made as the estate closed. She said the renovation will provide ?great teaching opportunities.?
It took 2 1/2 years for the estate to be transferred because of the deal?s complexity, she said.
?It?s very complicated, if you think about it, for a university to divest itself of such a valuable asset,? Mullins said. ?What we wanted to make sure is every ?t? was crossed and every ?i? was dotted.
?Good things are always worth waiting for.?
Daniel Little, the university?s chancellor, presented the ceremonial key to Edsel Ford II.
?We are excited,? Little said. ?We did it carefully and the Ford side did it carefully.
?We?re very satisfied with the agreement and pleased with the agreement.?
He said the renovation will provide a good opportunity for the university and nonprofit group to collaborate. One possible way is through a historical curation curriculum. He also said he and Mullins have talked about allowing the Fair Lane Music Guild to continue performing in the estate until construction makes it impractical.
During the ceremony, Mayor Jack O?Reilly presented Mullins with a proclamation, and she also received proclamations from the state House of Representatives and Senate. State Rep. George Darany (D-Dearborn) was one of the presenters. Gov. Rick Snyder sent a letter of congratulations.
William Clay Ford Jr. told the crowd that many family members were at the ceremony, and the family was key to Ford Motor Co. pulling through the downturn of 2008 and ?09. He said his great-grandfather would have been proud.
He said the concept of having the estate being a public building was part of Henry Ford?s theory of making people?s lives better. He also said he regretted never being able to meet his great-grandfather (he was born 10 years after Henry?s death), but heard many stories from his father, William Clay Ford.
Little told the crowd that the spirit of Henry Ford not only is in the estate and on the grounds, it?s on the university campus, too, through programs that teach technological and business innovations. He said the university has been a responsible steward of the estate, and its ?highest priority? was to keep it in the public. He also said the sides worked ?tirelessly? on the details of the transfer.
?The estate will always be a part of our campus community,? he said.
In addition to the transfer ceremony and house tours, other highlights included a display of cars in and outside of the garage; music by The Olde Michigan Ruffwater Stringband and examples of Henry and Clara Ford?s favorite dance styles; guided outdoor walks offered by the university?s Environmental Interpretive Center; a food truck rally; a European-style beer garden; a Dearborn Farmers & Artisans Market presented by the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce; and book signings by two authors. Admission was free.
Gary Mrak of Macomb Township had never been to Fair Lane, but had been to the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House.
?I think it?s great ? the chance to see the cars, the old original cars,? he said. ?I?m anxious to get in the house. The fact it?s free for people to see this is a great touch.
?It?s well worth the drive.?
He said he?s planning to return when the renovations are complete.
Paul Rodriguez of Dearborn Heights and his son, Jack, were interested in the 1916 Model T parked in front of the house.
?We?ve been here before, but wanted to see the house and the grounds,? Paul Rodriguez said.
?I think it?s pretty cool,? his son said. ?It?s fun to look at the Model T.?
Contact Staff Writer Joe Slezak at 1-734-246-0835 or jslezak@heritage.com. Follow him on Twitter @ JoeSlezak1.
Source: http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2013/07/27//news/doc51f4372e21780876286041.txt
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