The legacy film then tells the story of Ford's idea to create a vast factory complex for the purposes of vertical integration--where Ford created nearly everything it needed to build a motor car out of raw materials in one place--which became the Rouge (also having gone under the names River Rouge plant, Fordson plant (for the Fordson tractors built there at one time, the Rouge plant, Ford Rouge Complex, and now the Rouge Center).
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| The legacy film then tells the story of Ford's idea to create a vast factory complex for the purposes of vertical integration, which became the Rouge. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
The film continues on to tell about the devastating effects of the Great Depression on Ford, the auto industry and workers. Then it delves into the fight to prevent labor organizers from unionizing Ford with a look at the infamous Battle of the Overpass in 1937. This incident is where Ford "service department" goons pummeled union organizers, including future UAW President Walter Reuther, on top of the Gate 4 pedestrian bridge over Miller Road.
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| In theater two, the "Art of Manufacturing" offers a true multi-sensory experience of auto manufacturing. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
The Battle of the Overpass, captured in a series of pictures that ran in the world's newspapers, changed much of the public's view of Henry Ford, who had been viewed as a champion of workers since 1914. The UAW, however, didn't organize Ford until 1941, on the eve of America's entrance into World War II.
The legacy film also tells the story of the Rouge as part of the "Arsenal of Democracy" during the Second World War and some of its history beyond.
In theater two, the "Art of Manufacturing" offers a true multi-sensory experience. Visitors sit in chairs that can swivel a full 360 degrees as they are bombarded by the images of steel being made to cars being built. They will feel heat thrown off by multi-wattage light bulbs, simulating the heat of molten steel being poured into molds, scents of new metal, and even mist falling down from the ceiling.