How a Detroit factory revolutionized global manufacturing and made the automobile truly affordable

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1913, the Highland Park Ford Plant introduced the world to the moving assembly line. By optimizing production processes, Ford slashed the time required to build a Model T from over twelve hours to ninety-three minutes, fundamentally changing how the modern world creates goods and making cars accessible to everyone.

Designed by Albert Kahn Associates and opened in 1910, the Highland Park facility was an industrial titan, spanning approximately 102 acres. At the time of its debut, it stood as the most expansive manufacturing site on the planet. The complex was built to integrate Ford's entire supply chain, housing offices, a foundry, and a power plant all in one location. This spacious, strategic layout established a new blueprint for factory design that would influence industrial architecture for decades to come.

The site's most significant innovation arrived on October 7, 1913, with the implementation of the moving assembly line. This shift toward extreme process optimization and division of labor allowed Ford to drastically reduce costs. The price of a Model T plummeted from $700 in 1910 to $350 by 1917. Beyond efficiency, the plant became a social experiment in 1914 when Ford raised daily wages from $2.34 to $5.00 and shortened shifts to eight hours. These changes were transformative; the company's employee turnover rate, which sat at nearly 32 percent in 1913, dropped to just 1.4 percent by 1915.

As manufacturing needs evolved, the site's purpose shifted. By the late 1920s, assembly moved to the River Rouge Plant, though Highland Park remained vital, producing Fordson tractors and, during World War II, 1,690 M4A3 Sherman tanks between 1942 and 1943. Following decades of decline and the sale of Ford's tractor interests, the site underwent significant demolition in the 1980s. Today, the location serves as a reminder of a pivotal era, with some remaining structures repurposed for commercial use, storage for the Henry Ford Museum, and even as a filming location for the 2011 movie Real Steel.

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