Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Original Aldrich Buick



This is the 1904 Buick recreation that used parts from the Aldrich car.

Officials of Durant Dort. From left,front row are W.C.Durant, A.B.C. Hardy, W.C. Orrell and Fred A. Aldrich. Back row, from left, are James A. Slocum, Charles D. Wesson and Charles Webster. In the center is J. Dallas Dort.

This is the original 1905 Buick once owned by Fred Aldrich which was cannibalized by the Sloan Museum in Flint to recreate the first Flint built Buick for Flints Bicentennial project. There is talk of trying to reverse this mistake and recreate the original Buick. (update: the Aldrich Buick was restored as a Centennial project). Aldrich was an original employee of the Durant Dort Carriage Company and was employed as a secretary. He started with Durant in 1889. Durant called Fred for help when he had a massive stroke at the hotel named in his honor in Flint, this was in 1942. Durant always used the same room in the hotel, #544. He later died in New York March 18th,1947. The Fred and Annie Aldrich residence in Flint was 831 Garland.

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