Photos: Henry Ford Museum

1956 Firebird II turbine-powered concept car

Henry Ford Museum

photo by Scott Beale

I was in Detroit last week and while there I visited the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, which is part of The Henry Ford, also home to Greenfield Village. This museum is an awesome testament to the history of American innovation and automation. It is so large, 12 indoor acres, that it even contains a couple of complete trains, both engines and cars with tracks built into the museum floor as well as several full-sized planes including a Douglas DC-3. Other notable installations were several of the Lincoln Continental presidential limousines, including the one that JFK was riding in when he as assassinated in Dallas, an entire motel room from a 70’s era Holiday Inn, Lamy’s Diner, a 1940’s diner transplanted from Marlboro, Massachusetts, an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and even the refurbished Rosa Parks bus.

The Dymaxion House

photo by Scott Beale

One of the highlights of the museum was R. Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House, a 1946 home-of-the-future constructed out of aircraft material. Only one was ever built and the museum purchased it from the original owners and refurbished it to Bucky’s original specifications.

Merlin

photo by Scott Beale

Here’s my photo gallery of the museum. Hey, when’s the last time you saw a Merlin?

Photo Gallery: Henry Ford Museum

Scott Beale
Scott Beale

Scott Beale founded Laughing Squid in 1995 in San Francisco and is currently based in New York City. When not running the blog, Scott can be found posting on Bluesky and sharing photos on Instagram.