O/T: My trip to the Henry Ford museum

[JHolmesesq]

Wow! I would LOVE to go there. There's a small matter of the Atlantic separating me from it

[Discman]

You should have seen this place in the late 1960's. It was full of 1000's of Edison inventions including more phonographs than you could count. In addition to phonographs as far as the eye could see, they were as many old radios and televisions. I went here for the first time on a grade school field trip in 1965 and that's what sparked my interest in collecting phonographs. It was known as the "Edison Institute" back then but somehwre in time they dumped the namesake's importance. I guess in order to survive they had to adopt flashy, in your face exhibits to cater to the kids 5 second attention span. I still visit every year but miss the old exhibits. I would highly recommend visiting in early Sept. when they have the annual old car festival. The village is alive with 100's of antique cars and it takes on an entirely different character.
Dave Jolley

[Henry]

Wow, gotta go there! Love that GM bus,

Just to clarify... the GM bus is actually *the* Rosa Parks bus. It is in the "history" section and not the "automotive" section.

I grew up in the segregated South, so I'm very familiar with the peculiar customs and mores that Rosa Parks defied with her courageous act. Until my family moved North when I was a teen, I had attended segregated schools, ridden segregated public transportation, and drunk cold water from the water cooler (IOW, not the one marked "Colored"). I am very pleased that this historic vehicle has been so beautifully restored and maintained as an inspiring reminder to future generations of the sacrifices made by the few for the many.

[Jerry B.]

A couple of years ago, my phono buddies Stan Stanford and Dan Melvin and I flew into Chicago, rented a car and antiqued our way to Detroit. The next morning we were at the entrance when Greenfield Village opened and we made a beeline to the Edison workshop. The docent was not planning to use their tinfoil machine that day but when she found out we were phono collectors everything changed and we recorded on the Bergman tinfoil machine and took home the recording. We rode in a Model T and visited the Wright Brother's Bicycle shop and had a wonderful time. The last half of the day was spent in the Ford Museum. It was a wonderful all day adventure. After that, we antiqued our way south through parts of Ohio, west through Indiana, and back to Illinois to Union. We bought a spear-tip Victor horn, an Edison Home with original 14" horn, and other goodies on our trip and much more at Union. It was a 100% phono nerd trip and tons of fun. Jerry

[Tinkerbell]

Seeing the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile really made me flash back to my childhood... I know there were several built, but it seemed we saw it (or rather, one of them) quite frequently in Southern California while I was growing up! (That said, one of the Little Oscars, however, was a rather peculiar type... had a rather questionable penchant for young girls )

[Ziechy]

We know that The Henry Ford museum is a National Historic Landmark so that it is so great to be in there. The Henry Ford gallery in Dearborn, Mich., is reopening after an extended period of remodeling to unfold an account of America's obsession with the automobile. Beginning Jan. 29, the exhibition “Driving America” will open to the general public. The $8 million project signifies the first major overhaul of the gallery in 25 years, said Henry Ford museum president Patricia Mooradian. Same topic here Driving America opens at The Henry Ford on Jan. 2 . It will show and feature great automobiles in the automotive industry.

[chriszm]

If you had gone into Greenfield Village you would have seen several tinfoil phonographs in the Menlo complex, including an original Bergmann which they do operate for visitors and one of two suriving 'Brady' models (the other is at the Edison Site). There's also a phonograph 'store' adjacent to the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop but the machines and records in the window are a jumble covering a range of dates from early gold-moulded to Amberols. It's evocative, but not accurate.

Glad you had a good visit, thanks for sharing. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm bragging, but I live about 2.5 miles from the museum and love taking my son there all the time. A great place for kids (young and old), especially the outside. As TinfoilPhono mentions, they have a Phono shop next door to the Wright shop, but it is often closed. I usually look like a kid peering into a candy store. There is an Edison disc upright in the inside of the museum as well.
One of my favorite outdoor special occasion events they have is the Ragtime festival. This year it is July 14-15, open till 9pm on the 14th. I highly recommend it. Live bands and concerts, phonograph demonstrations, etc. Always a good time.