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Article: A historical tour of Ford's Twin Cities Assembly Plant.(BUSINESS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- March 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Ford Motor Co. began car assembly in Minnesota in 1912 in a downtown Minneapolis warehouse. Production later moved to a 10-story building, also in Minneapolis, where Ford Model Ts were assembled.
Construction of the current St. Paul plant began in 1923. Brian McMahon, an architectural historian and a consultant to the Minnesota Labor Interpretive Center, said that when Henry Ford saw the plans for the St. Paul plant in the early 1920s, he asked that its facade be switched from facing what is now Ford Parkway to face toward the river.
As a result, what has faced Ford Parkway for years is mainly a big asphalt parking lot.
By May 4, 1925, Model T cars and Model TT ...