Depiction Of Buick Factories In 1923

This picture from a tour book back in the '20s shows they were proud of their smoke stacks.

This view is looking north east.Factory #11 is located in center.

Factory #11 around 1922

The year 1918.










Inside factory #11 shown above.











This was the Buick Motor Plant which took over production of the engine work previously done at the original Buick factory on west Kearsley st.








1922.

Factory #11 1924

 North-end of #11 1922.

Shown above (in a post card) is the original south face of factory #11.







This article is the announcement for the construction of the engine plant #11.

This is how the south end looked on September 9, 1924 after the remodel. The building at the left was where the meals were prepared before being distributed to the factories at lunch time. This was designated building #43. When I hired into factory #40 in 1972 there was still no cafeteria, they just heated small cans of soup and such on tiny bun-son burners on the second floor near the north elevator. The big car assembly line in factory #04 did have a cafeteria located on the second floor just next to where bridge #40 entered the second floor of factory #04, coming from factory #40. They had one even when I toured there in 1960. What you need to know is we only had a thirty minute lunch, so if you did not work within 100 feet of the lunch room “forget it” because the line at the counter was just too long. Your morning breaks were staggered day to day according to your relief man’s discretion. The ideal time for this break was mid shift, just so you could get a bathroom break. But if you had the last relief near lunchtime you could beat the crowd at the cafeteria. “Which was best”? It depended on how your body felt on any given day. An 8 hour shift went like this, (1/2 hour before lunch (paid) 1/2 hour lunch (unpaid) and 16 minute after lunch (paid). This may sound like a lot of breaks but believe me, if you have ever worked on an assembly line your body needs all the rest it can get. At Chevy you had (20 minutes mid shift (paid) twenty minute lunch (paid) and 10 minute after lunch (paid) break. Where I worked on the straight six line at Chevy it took ten minutes to reach the cafeteria. Round trip twenty minutes. So there was not even time to place an order even if you were first in line. The best food I ever seen was at Chevy #4 in the hole but the rest of what went on there wasn't very good. If you were lucky in a G.M. factory and happened to work near some machine or heat source you could enjoy a hot lunch, “as I did” on the third floor of Buick’s factory #04 paint shop factory #11. The numbering of factories/departments/zones & divisions can be quite confusing at times but I do my best to get the right designations throughout this blog. General Motors did not help either by always changing these numbers. Any help would be greatly appreciated. (click on the link for my hot ham & cheese oven) Photo from the Buick Research Gallery. North-end of #11 1922.

1937. 

Links:

Factory #04/11-14
Buick Kitchen #43

Factory #11 before remodel

This factory is still standing as of this posting. It is considered the oldest  factory still in existence that was built after the creation of General Motors. This was the first factory built after incorporation. This view is looking north across Leith street. This photo was taken during 1920 as evidenced by the construction of the Buick powerhouse at lower right.

Factory #31 Originally Factory #11

This view is from 1953 or before, because 1953 was the last year for the straight eight.

I took this picture myself in 1997. Originally built in 1909, this is the the way it looked after the 1923 remodel. A second floor was added at the south end only, for office space.

1924.

Factory #01

This view with the first office is from 1908. This view is facing north.

In this view from March 1934 we can see demolition taking place at factory #01 (north of the main office). The east and south wings of the building are now removed. Only the center section will be rebuilt. This is the second remodel to this factory. The one before this in 1926 when the original roof trusses were removed and re-used on factory #66. Link:

Factory #01 Roof Trusses

East Hamilton Avenue Gate.

Above is shown Four different views of factory #01.

This view from 1923 is looking north east, the arrow is pointing at the east wing of factory #01, in the direction of the previous post. The cross streets are Hamilton and Industrial avenue.

Buick Factory #1 Hamilton st. Flint Michigan (view south west)

In one old postcard it was written that this was General Motors first factory, but was actually built in 1906. General Motors was not incorporated until September of 1908. As near as I can figure the first plant built under the General Motors corporation would be factory #11 Buick's engine plant, construction beginning on April 21, 1909.

State historic marker

This is a still shot from the Leonard Thygesen demolition documentary. This is the last of factory #04 in the background in 2002.   Go here for more.

This (Historic marker) in front of the Buick Headquarters on Industrial avenue has now been removed. 'I do not know by whom'?   Facing north you can just see factory #04 in the background. Photo by: Norb Burwell.  The end of an era link showing this same view.

1908 Buick

A 1908 Buick "White Steak".

News

Buick City was a massive automobile manufacturing complex in Flint, Michigan. Elements of the 235 acre (951,000 m²) complex dated from 1904, but it became known as Buick City in 1984. The complex was closed on June 29, 1999 and demolished in March of 2002. It was the last Buick plant in Flint, long a center of automobile production. The final cars built at Buick City were the Pontiac Bonneville and the Buick LeSabre.
The plant originated with Buick before the formation of General Motors. Other elements were built by early manufacturers and suppliers like Fisher Body. GM employment in the city peaked in 1978 at 77,000, with Buick City workers reaching a high of 28,000 in the 1980s.
The factory represented a failed attempt by General Motors to ramp up production volume in response to Japanese manufacturers. However, the experiment wasn't without its successes: The 1989 Buick Le Sabre built in Buick City was ranked the top car in the J.D. Power and Associates rankings for that year; it was the first American built car to show up on the list. In 1999, the year the plant was closed, Buick City won the Platinum Award. As of 2006, it was the only General Motors plant given this award.