Ford River Rouge Complex
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Ford River Rouge Complex
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Aerial view of the Rouge Complex in 1927
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| Location | Dearborn, Michigan |
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| Built | 1917–1928 |
| Architect | Albert Kahn |
| NRHP Reference # | 78001516 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 2, 1978 |
| Designated NHLD | June 2, 1978 |
| Designated MSHS | December 14, 1976 |
The Ford River Rouge Complex (commonly known as the Rouge Complex or just The Rouge) is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex located in Dearborn, Michigan, along the Rouge River, upstream from its confluence with the Detroit River at Zug Island. Construction began in 1917, and when it was completed in 1928 it had become the largest integrated factory in the world. It served as an inspiration for the Russian GAZ factory in the 1930s, and the Hyundai factory complex in Ulsan, South Korea.
The Rouge measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide by 1 mile (1.6 km) long, including 93 buildings with nearly 16 million square feet (1.5 km²) of factory floor space. With its own docks in the dredged Rouge River, 100 miles (160 km) of interior railroad track, its own electricity plant, and integrated steel mill, the titanic Rouge was able to turn raw materials into running vehicles within this single complex, a prime example of vertical-integration production. Over 100,000 workers were employed there in the 1930s.
Some of the Rouge buildings were designed by Albert Kahn. His Rouge glass plant was regarded at the time as an exemplary and humane factory building, with its ample natural light coming through windows in the ceiling. More recently, several buildings have been converted to "green" structures with a number of environmentally friendly features.
In the summer of 1932, through Edsel Ford's support, Diego Rivera studied the facilities at the Rouge; these studies became a major part of his set of murals Detroit Industry, on continuous display at the Detroit Institute of Arts since their completion in 1933.
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