Ford Plant 1 Demolition

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• I wonder if Ford will give the land to the city? Since they will not be needing it anymore with the casting plant being shut down. It would nice nice of Ford to give it to Windsor for a $1.00 considering Windsor bulit Ford of Canada.

• does anyone know why ford closed it?

• Yes, because they moved thier office and assembly operations to Oakville.

• I started work at that building in March 1964 when Parts and Accessories was carried on here as well as other operations such as Export Vehicle Supply, later called Canadian Supply Operations and again later Windsor Export Supply. P & A operations moved to Bramalea Ontario in late 1964 early 1965. Production Planning moved stateside shortly after. Only Windsor Export remained until 1968 when they moved the operation downtown Ouellette Ave., in the then Kent Trust Annex. That building on the drive was as old as dirt and it had rats the size of cats. There was no air-conditioning when I worked there. In the summer it was terribly hot and humid in the offices and coal dust would blow in off the coal pile that was located nearby. We all wore white shirts then so you can imagine what we looked like at the end of the day.

• nice story

• Brings back many memories of when my Dad worked at Fords for over 40 years. He was in Plant 2 and Oakville.

  Good report

• It is doubtful that Windsor would want the land the foundry was located on as it is very polluted and would require incredible cleanup costs.

• to john p

  do you know why they knocked the building down in 1969?

• My grandfather, dad, uncle, cousins and myself have worked at all Ford plants in Windsor. I remember my first family day in 1956. We were walking through the block dept. when a worker held up his hand and he squeegeed a path for us on the oiled floor in the old plant on the drive. It was a terrible place and rightfully the workers went on strike in the 40's and 50's. Because of these work actions, Ford headquarters were moved to Oakville. Later, the Autopact killed any Canadian development of new b/a products. By then, the plant on the drive was archaic and Essex Engine was built more or less as a peace offering when our dollar made economic sense to produce here.

• My last days at Ford were spent in yardwork at the powerhouse labour gang cutting weeds at the lagoon and pulling weeds out of the fencing. I had many reflective moments sitting at the river edge eating lunch and knowing I was the last of my family to work at Ford. Other than the concrete slabs, the only remnant is the gate at the west corner by Hiram Walkers. So much history gone to waste. When plant 1 was being demolished, a box of innocent papers was found containing the original agreement signed by Henry Ford and Gordon McGregor. This document was donated to the U of W. As much as management at Ford doesn't like their workers, like so much of Windsor's industrial base, Ford put out some simply great books and publications, especially for the centennial which I will cherish and pass on to my kids.