{"id":5283,"date":"2016-09-07T08:08:33","date_gmt":"2016-09-07T14:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=5283"},"modified":"2016-09-07T08:18:43","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T14:18:43","slug":"a-day-at-greenfield-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/09\/a-day-at-greenfield-village.html","title":{"rendered":"A day at Greenfield Village"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"IMG_1739\"<\/p>\n

The Wright brothers\u2019 bicycle shop.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1737\"<\/p>\n

The back workshop.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1809\"<\/p>\n

Henry Ford\u2019s boyhood home.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1807\"<\/p>\n

And workshop.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1796\"<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1799\"<\/p>\n

Thomas Edison\u2019s Menlo Park laboratory.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1752\"<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1783\"<\/p>\n

And Machine Shop.<\/p>\n

Yes, this is Greenfield Village<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Because, while Detroit is not a tourism destination, this complex \u2014 the Greenfield Village living history museum and the Henry Ford Museum, a massive collection of historic vehicles (cars, trains, planes) and other objects \u2014 is a big deal.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t just your usual construction or transplantation of historic buildings, demonstrating pioneer or colonial days. \u00a0Henry Ford created the complex by literally moving to the site a substantial number of buildings related to the history of America and especially industrial America: \u00a0the Wright brothers\u2019 bicycle shop and home, the Edison farmstead, the Firestone farmstead, the boardinghouse where Edison\u2019s employees lived and which served as\u00a0a demonstration of electrical lighting. \u00a0The Edison Menlo Park complex was not original but reconstructed in close detail, and there are other historic buildings, as well as quirky, out-of-place buildings such as an English Cotswold cottage. \u00a0And George Washington Carver\u2019s reconstructed birthplace was in the form of \u00a0a tribute to him rather than a faithful reconstruction of a slave cabin, though it was built based on his own memories and Carver himself visited it shortly before his death.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, in looking for online information, I came across the blog \u201cGreenfield Village Open Air Museum<\/a>,\u201d in which \u201cHistorical Ken\u201d has provided details on every building on the site.<\/p>\n

Now, we didn\u2019t see as much of the complex as I would have liked, especially the area with the craftwork demonstrations, but, let\u2019s face it, in the end I think what I like best about Greenfield Village is the very idea of its existence. \u00a0Wikipedia gives some history: \u00a0it was first opened in 1929, and\u00a0opened to the public as a museum in 1933 \u2014 which is considerably older than your typical living history museum. \u00a0But beyond that, rather than your typical presentation of \u201cthis is how things were done in the olden days,\u201d\u00a0Greenfield Village, and the Henry Ford Museum is a celebration of American history and American innovation. \u00a0Heck, if you want to continue your celebration, you can plunk down an extra $20 to visit the Rouge assembly plant (which we did a couple years ago \u2014 it\u2019s pretty fun, but you only see the final assembly, so nothing like my childhood memory of a loud factory where I had to cover my ears until we got through the factory floor to the nurse\u2019s station where Mom worked at the time).<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s an\u00a0observation for discussion: \u00a0the visitors\u00a0were largely white. \u00a0A smattering of Asian, both Indian\/Pakistani and East Asian. \u00a0But rather small numbers of black\/African-American visitors, and that despite the fact that the complex is located in Dearborn, directly adjacent to Detroit and just a short drive from its most integrated middle-class suburb, Southfield. \u00a0Now perhaps, despite the significant numbers of middle-class blacks in the metro area, that group is still so small that relatively few can afford the ticket price ($104 for the five of us, after a 20% discount coupon printed off a website). \u00a0Perhaps the jazz festival downtown was a greater draw.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps there\u2019s simply a cultural gulf, and the narrative of American ingenuity is much less likely to speak to them.<\/p>\n

What do you think?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wright brothers\u2019 bicycle shop. The back workshop. Henry Ford\u2019s boyhood home. And workshop. Thomas Edison\u2019s Menlo Park laboratory. And Machine Shop. Yes, this is Greenfield Village. Because, while Detroit is not a tourism destination, this complex \u2014 the Greenfield Village living history museum and the Henry Ford Museum, a massive collection of historic vehicles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":5286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9,466],"class_list":["post-5283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-detroit","tag-greenfield-village"],"yoast_head":"\nA day at Greenfield Village<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Wright brothers' bicycle shop. The back workshop. Henry Ford's boyhood home. And workshop. 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