The Ford Rotunda – Dearborn, Michigan, photographer unknown
From 1936 to 1962, the gear-shaped Ford Rotunda attracted visitors from around the world. It was the fifth most popular tourist destination in the United States in the 1950s. Lost Story explains that all changed 64 years ago today:
The building had its roots in the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, known as the Century of Progress Exposition, which opened in May of 1933 and attracted more than 40,000,000 visitors over its two-year run. One of the major attractions at the fair was Ford Motor Company’s Rotunda, which was disassembled after the fair and brought back to Dearborn where it was reconstructed using more permanent materials. Designed to be the showcase of the auto industry, the Ford Rotunda was opened to the public on May 14, 1936.
…The building was closed to the public during World War II, and following the war underwent a massive remodeling in 1952, in which the courtyard was covered with an 18,000 pound dome. The weight of a conventional dome, 320,000 pounds, would have crushed the structure, so Ford turned to R. Buckminster Fuller, who came up with the design, the first commercial application of his experimental geodesic dome.
…Described as ‘ultra-modern’, the Rotunda reopened as part of Ford’s 50th anniversary celebration on June 16, 1953. A radioactive wand (the tip contained a small amount of radium), said to be symbolic of the arrival of industry at the threshold of the atomic age, turned on golden floodlights and lighted 50 huge birthday candles around the rim of the Rotunda. The wand bombarded a Geiger tube with 44,890,832 gamma ray impulses in 15 seconds. The final impulse (the number signified the number of vehicles produced by Ford since 1903) was said to trigger the electrical system.
With the Rotunda’s new design came a new lure for visitors: an annual Christmas display called the Christmas Fantasy, which first opened on Dec. 15, 1953. That first year Donner, Blitzen, Prancer and Dancer were there, along with a 37 foot, 6 ton Christmas tree. Santa’s Workshop formed the centerpiece, with Santa’s elves building transportation toys on a miniature assembly line. Three-dimensional portrayals of the Nativity and ‘The Night Before Christmas’ were inside the Rotunda and Santa was on hand taking requests. Nearly 500,000 visitors saw the Christmas show that first year.
…The preparations for the 1962 Christmas display were well under way when disaster struck on Nov. 9. While workers applied tar to the dome as weatherproofing, they kept it warm with an infrared heater. Somehow the tar caught fire. Shortly after 1 p.m., an employee saw flames on the ceiling of the main floor, and gave the alarm as workmen raced down from the roof. Sheets of flame shot 50 feet high. The black smoke was visible for miles.
In less than an hour the Rotunda lay in ruins. All employees and display workers escaped injury, except for the engineer in charge of the building, who ran to the roof at the first alarm and suffered from smoke inhalation. The roof collapsed shortly after the fire started, and a shouted warning to the firemen barely got them out of the building before the walls collapsed.
Read on for more & share your memories & pics in the comments!
This plus the cool pics bring back great memories and some astonishment (5th most popular?!). And an idea: why not, as part of the Cobo renovation, convert the Arena’s exterior into a modern replica of the Rotunda look? Its round, too, and nondescript — the “gear” look, on the riverfront, as part of the facility that houses the NAIAS event every year, is perfect.
I was just writing a thank you note for some hockey tickets that I received, telling them that I hadn’t been to a game since the olympia stadium. Then I started thinking about the Rotunda, which was one of the most beautiful buildings that I can remember back then. My memories are great of this building and my parents took me there for Christmas along with the old Murray’s Department store on Michigan Ave. I wish that I could experience this with my grandchildren it was a wonderful time. Why have we not replaced this building, instead we’re raising money for a RoboCop statue!
I’m an old Detroit boy (born and raised) and remember my parents taking me and my sister to the rotunda every Christmas. Remembr the animation and train sets. Loved those little theaters that showed cartoons.
I remember that also. We used to go every Christmas when I was a kid. Me and my Dad saw it burn down that awful day. I was going to be 7 years old the next month. We were in the area because my Mom worked at Ford Motor in the clinic there (she was an LPN) at the Rouge River plant, and we were going to pick her up from work. We were early, and were just hanging out nearby.
Does anyone remember the cartoon about the bears that were sweeping and cleaning. They were singing and dancing to the beat of a song as they bumped their rear ends together.
My parents took us to see a program around Christmas time and I remember seeing that cartoon. I was wondering if it is available on line. I’d love to see it again. Betty
I sure remember that Disney cartoon – “In the Bag”, which came out in 1956. I saw it at the Ford Rotunda Christmas Fantasy and absolutely loved the cartoon and the Christmas Fantasy exhibits.
If you haven’t checked Youtube for “In the Bag”, you might try seeing if they have it online. Great cartoon, and I love the song.
I visited Mom (85) a few weeks ago. I said her grandchild had another field trip soon. She got all animated, telling me about my first school field trip. ‘Your class was going to see the Ford Rotunda Christmas. You talked about it for days before going. Next day, the kitchen radio said Ford Rotunda burned down. She and dad were in shock. They didn’t want me in school that day, but our entire family went to Coho Hall Auto Shows.
i so loved the Ford Rotunda. Does anyone remember the long path up to see santa clause? It went up on an incline and at the top was santa and down at the bottom was a real reindeer. Gosh i wish that were still around.
In 1962 I was working for Continental Insurance Company as an insurance adjuster. I was informed that our company insured the roofing company who caused the fire. This was my first major fire loss.
I was wondering if you could help me? I think I have a photograph that was in the Rotunda (Large Scale) that was hanging in the building. Do you have pictures of the burnt interior damages? I am seeking to prove the photo (According to my grandfather who passed was hanging in the building)
The Rotunda holds great memories for me. My father and mother took my sister and I there every year until 1960. My father had surgery at the VA hospital early that year and a doctor’s mistake left him in a coma for 8 years. I think my father enjoyed the Rotunda more than us girls did. He was always so excited when it came time to go see Santa. The memories from the singing choir, the hundreds of dolls, and the animated scenes will forever be strong in my heart. How sad, when it was destroyed. Thank you Dad!
Was there a little train that took the kids in cars back to see Santa? I remember girls dressed like elves as helpers and the train going behind a black curtain. Was that at the Rotunda?
Herb Lavergne- We left Camp Borden Army Camp Ontario Canada in 1957, I was 18 at the time, I drove our new 1956 Chev hardtop to Detroit to visit my aunt Addie who was a secretary at the Ford Rotunda. On display on the circle first floor was a 1955 Ford Mystere. I remember the cradle phone between the front seats and all of the clear glass, plus the removable stearing wheel. I could not believe my eyes, and never forgot the experience. Am now 78 years old. Been a Ford man ever since. thx
I was very fortunate that my parents took me there several years when I was a kid. Wee Willie Winkie was my favorite exhibit – I was wide-eyed while watching him run out one door and into another. And I loved seeing Santa – and this was the REAL Santa Claus.
I have never seen a Christmas exhibit since then that has even come close to wonder and beauty of the Ford Rotunda Christmas Fantasy. I still wish it would be recreated.
I was born a few years after the Rotunda burned down and frankly i had never heard of it before however as a “Ford man’ all my life i have ran into rotunda specialty tools Ford made in the 60s and 70s to work on their cars, i assume they named these specialty tools after this building?
This plus the cool pics bring back great memories and some astonishment (5th most popular?!). And an idea: why not, as part of the Cobo renovation, convert the Arena’s exterior into a modern replica of the Rotunda look? Its round, too, and nondescript — the “gear” look, on the riverfront, as part of the facility that houses the NAIAS event every year, is perfect.
I was just writing a thank you note for some hockey tickets that I received, telling them that I hadn’t been to a game since the olympia stadium. Then I started thinking about the Rotunda, which was one of the most beautiful buildings that I can remember back then. My memories are great of this building and my parents took me there for Christmas along with the old Murray’s Department store on Michigan Ave. I wish that I could experience this with my grandchildren it was a wonderful time. Why have we not replaced this building, instead we’re raising money for a RoboCop statue!
I’m an old Detroit boy (born and raised) and remember my parents taking me and my sister to the rotunda every Christmas. Remembr the animation and train sets. Loved those little theaters that showed cartoons.
I remember that also. We used to go every Christmas when I was a kid. Me and my Dad saw it burn down that awful day. I was going to be 7 years old the next month. We were in the area because my Mom worked at Ford Motor in the clinic there (she was an LPN) at the Rouge River plant, and we were going to pick her up from work. We were early, and were just hanging out nearby.
Does anyone remember the cartoon about the bears that were sweeping and cleaning. They were singing and dancing to the beat of a song as they bumped their rear ends together.
My parents took us to see a program around Christmas time and I remember seeing that cartoon. I was wondering if it is available on line. I’d love to see it again. Betty
Take a trip down memory lane. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ol28kPTqa4
I loved the Rotunda, too. We’d ride our bikes there in the summer.
I sure remember that Disney cartoon – “In the Bag”, which came out in 1956. I saw it at the Ford Rotunda Christmas Fantasy and absolutely loved the cartoon and the Christmas Fantasy exhibits.
If you haven’t checked Youtube for “In the Bag”, you might try seeing if they have it online. Great cartoon, and I love the song.
The cartoon you remember was from the Disney studios. The cartoon’s title was “IN THE BAG” from 1956.
I visited Mom (85) a few weeks ago. I said her grandchild had another field trip soon. She got all animated, telling me about my first school field trip. ‘Your class was going to see the Ford Rotunda Christmas. You talked about it for days before going. Next day, the kitchen radio said Ford Rotunda burned down. She and dad were in shock. They didn’t want me in school that day, but our entire family went to Coho Hall Auto Shows.
i so loved the Ford Rotunda. Does anyone remember the long path up to see santa clause? It went up on an incline and at the top was santa and down at the bottom was a real reindeer. Gosh i wish that were still around.
In 1962 I was working for Continental Insurance Company as an insurance adjuster. I was informed that our company insured the roofing company who caused the fire. This was my first major fire loss.
I was wondering if you could help me? I think I have a photograph that was in the Rotunda (Large Scale) that was hanging in the building. Do you have pictures of the burnt interior damages? I am seeking to prove the photo (According to my grandfather who passed was hanging in the building)
Sorry – no idea!
The Rotunda holds great memories for me. My father and mother took my sister and I there every year until 1960. My father had surgery at the VA hospital early that year and a doctor’s mistake left him in a coma for 8 years. I think my father enjoyed the Rotunda more than us girls did. He was always so excited when it came time to go see Santa. The memories from the singing choir, the hundreds of dolls, and the animated scenes will forever be strong in my heart. How sad, when it was destroyed. Thank you Dad!
What I enjoyed as a young boy was the model train set that was set on an angle and the miniature trains would travel around the set.
I remember going up that long incline to see Santa. It was a magical place!
Was there a little train that took the kids in cars back to see Santa? I remember girls dressed like elves as helpers and the train going behind a black curtain. Was that at the Rotunda?
Herb Lavergne- We left Camp Borden Army Camp Ontario Canada in 1957, I was 18 at the time, I drove our new 1956 Chev hardtop to Detroit to visit my aunt Addie who was a secretary at the Ford Rotunda. On display on the circle first floor was a 1955 Ford Mystere. I remember the cradle phone between the front seats and all of the clear glass, plus the removable stearing wheel. I could not believe my eyes, and never forgot the experience. Am now 78 years old. Been a Ford man ever since. thx
I was very fortunate that my parents took me there several years when I was a kid. Wee Willie Winkie was my favorite exhibit – I was wide-eyed while watching him run out one door and into another. And I loved seeing Santa – and this was the REAL Santa Claus.
I have never seen a Christmas exhibit since then that has even come close to wonder and beauty of the Ford Rotunda Christmas Fantasy. I still wish it would be recreated.
I was born a few years after the Rotunda burned down and frankly i had never heard of it before however as a “Ford man’ all my life i have ran into rotunda specialty tools Ford made in the 60s and 70s to work on their cars, i assume they named these specialty tools after this building?
Carlos re my message above under herb lavergne. i am now 83 years old and still kicking.
the pictures of the mistere is available on computer.