Fair Lane was the estate of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

founder

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...

and his wife, Clara Ford, in Dearborn, Michigan, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was named after an area in Cork in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

where Ford's adoptive grandfather, Patrick Ahern, was born. The estate along the River Rouge included a large

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

house, an electrical power plant on the dammed river, a greenhouse, a boathouse, riding

stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, a children's playhouse, a treehouse, and extensive landmark gardens designed by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

landscape architect

Jens Jensen Jens Jensen may refer to: * Jens Jensen (footballer) (1890–1957), Danish football (soccer) player who played one game for the Denmark national football team * Jens Jensen (landscape architect) (1860–1951), Danish-born landscape architect in Chi ...

. The residence and part of the estate grounds are open to the public as a historical landscape and house

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

, and preserved as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. Part of the estate grounds are preserved as a university nature study area.

Architecture

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

participated in the initial design. However, after Wright fled to Europe with his mistress Mamah Borthwick, one of his assistant architects,

Marion Mahony Griffin Marion Mahony Griffin (; February 14, 1871 – August 10, 1961) was an American architect and artist. She was one of the first licensed female architects in the world, and is considered an original member of the Prairie School. Her work in ...

, one of the first female architects in America, revised and completed the design according to her own interpretation of the Prairie Style. Henry Ford and his wife took a trip to Europe and, on their return, dismissed Griffin and used William H. Van Tine to add English

Manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

details. In 1913, architect Joseph Nathaniel French was brought in to work on the final stages of the residence, completed in 1915. The house, with 56 rooms, was considered befitting, but less grand than other great houses and mansions of the era in America. It included an indoor pool and

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

. The pool is now covered over and serves as an event and meeting space. It had formerly housed a restaurant.

Landscape

The powerhouse had its cornerstone laid by

Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

. The building included the estate's garage and, on the upper level, a laboratory where Ford worked on engine designs. It is also built of limestone in the Prairie Style. The

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

not only powered the estate, but a part of the town of Dearborn as well.

employed his "delayed view" approach in designing the arrival at the

residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...

. Instead of proceeding straight to the house or even providing a view of it, the entrance drive leads visitors through the estate dense

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

areas. Bends in the drive, planted with large trees on the inside arc of the curves, gives a feeling of a natural reason for the turn, and obscures any long view. Suddenly, the visitor is propelled out of the forest and into the open space where the residence is presented fully in view in front of them. The idea of wandering was one which Jensen featured in almost all of his designs. Expansive

meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artificia ...

and gardens make up the larger landscape, with naturalistic massings of

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

surrounding the house. The largest axial meadow, the "Path of the Setting Sun", is aligned so that, on the summer solstice, the setting sun glows through a precise parting of the trees at the meadow's western end. The boathouse, with stonework cliffs designed by Jensen, allowed Ford to travel on the Rouge River in his electric boat.

Museum

The estate was donated to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1957 for a new Dearborn campus. The staff's former houses and a pony barn are used by the

University of Michigan–Dearborn The University of Michigan–Dearborn (U of M Dearborn, UM–Dearborn, or UMD) is a public university in Dearborn, Michigan. It is one of the two regional universities operating under the policies of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, ...

. The main house, powerhouse, garage and 72 acres (0.29 km²) of land were operated as a museum, while a restaurant occupied the former indoor swimming pool

natatorium A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as ...

until the University closed Fair Lane to the public in 2010. In 2013 the stewardship of the estate was transferred to the same non-profit group that operates the lakeside

Edsel and Eleanor Ford House The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House is a mansion located at 1100 Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, Grosse Pointe Shores, northeast of Detroit, Michigan; it stands on the site known as "Gaukler Point", on the shore of Lake St. Clair ...

, with financial help from the Ford family. The museum underwen
restoration
in 2020, which included the cleaning and refinishing of wood surfaces throughout the first and second levels of the main hall. The services were provided b
John Canning & Company
an architectural arts restoration contractor out of Cheshire, Connecticut. View of back of house from across the river

Names

The private rail car of Henry and Clara Ford, named "Fair Lane", was kept on standby at the Ford siding of the Michigan Central Railroad in Dearborn. The Ford Fairlane automobile model, sold between 1955 and 1970 in America, and between 1959 and 2007 in Australia, was named after the Fair Lane estate.

Gallery

Image:HenryFordEstatePowerHouse.jpg, Power house Image:HenryFordEstateNESide.jpg, North east side Image:HenryFordEstateSouthSide.jpg, South side Image:HenryFordEstateSWSide.jpg, Southwest side Image:HenryFordEstateNWSide.jpg, Northwest side Image:HenryFordEstateGarage.jpg, Power house – garage Image:Henry and Clara Ford Statues at Fair Lane.jpg, Henry and Clara Ford Statues Image:Early Rose Garden at Fair Lane.jpg, Early Rose Garden

References

External links

Henry Ford EstateVirtual tour of the Henry and Clara Ford 'Fair Lane' estate.
* * * {{Authority control Henry Ford Buildings and structures in Dearborn, Michigan Gardens in Michigan Houses in Wayne County, Michigan Historic house museums in Michigan Museums in Wayne County, Michigan Open-air museums in Michigan Architecture museums in the United States Houses completed in 1913 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan National Historic Landmarks in Metro Detroit Landscape design history of the United States Tourist attractions in Metro Detroit Historic American Buildings Survey in Michigan Historic American Landscapes Survey in Michigan 1913 establishments in Michigan Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan MotorCities National Heritage Area Marion Mahony Griffin Gilded Age mansions