Lincoln Motor Company Plant
6200 West Warren Avenue at Livernois in Detroit
Major wars often provoke great technological innovations. The federal government appropriates the requisite capital so that designers and engineers can produce effective new technologies for the war effort. World War I was the first major engagement in which military officials tried to use airplanes to destroy their enemies. The Liberty engine was developed to power US planes during World War I. This plant was designed and built to produce those engines.
Henry Leland, a Detroit entrepreneur and financier, had a role in the development of three major automobile manufacturers. He provided capital so that Ransom E. Olds could produce cars in a small plant on East Jefferson around 1900. Olds, however, got a better financial offer from people in Lansing and moved his plant there. In 1902, Leland founded the Cadillac Motor Car Company. His mill-type plant with its heavy oak flooring burned shortly after construction, so he had George Mason build a three-story plant using reinforced concrete where Cadillac were produced until 1920. This original Cadillac plant still stands at 450 Amsterdam.
Leland pioneered the development of transmissions and improved engineers, so Cadillac prospered as an expensive but reliable car for upscale customers. I believe that Cadillac, in 1912, became the first car to use an electric starter rather than a crank. Because of his engineering accomplishments and entrepreneurial skills, the military turned to Leland to produce Liberty engines for the war effort. George Mason was the architect that began building this factory in 1917, but it expanded quickly. Albert Kahn also designed some of the many buildings that extended along Livernois from Warren to Tireman.
After World War I ended, Leland converted this large plant into production of Lincolns, another expensive automobile. In the early 1920s, Henry Ford realized that his Model T sold well in the lower reaches of the automobile market, but that he did not have a car to compete for the silk stocking market. He bought the Lincoln firm from Leland and continued to produce cars here for many decades.
After auto production ceased, Detroit Edison obtained this plant and used it, primarily, as a storage yard. Although the plant was listed on both the National and Michigan registers of historic places, Detroit Edison tore down most of the plant in October and November of 2002. There were not required to hold public hearings or seek any approval to do so. The large administrative building facing West Warren may be spared.
Architects: George Mason, Albert Kahn and Walbridge
and Aldinger
Dates of Construction: 1917 to 1922
National Historic Landmark: Number: 78001521, Listed: June 2, 1978
Michigan Register of Historic Sites: P112
No Historic Marker is visible on this site.
Photo: November, 2002; Ren Farley