Flow Through Terminal

This is where most small parts were sorted and sent to the Buick plants. This structure is located east of Saint John street. This view is from the I-475 freeway. photo from Ace Coplands

Billy & Catherine Durant June 2, 1928

This photo by chance was taken on the same day my mother was born.

Marr Cyclecar

Link for more views.

Walter Marr Cyclecar

Leonard Thygesen

Leonard got the old Personnel building sign. Demolished February of 2012. "Way to go Leonard"!

Leonard just sent this photo from Christmas 2011.

Leonard sent this photo of his yard, showing the old SEASONS GREETINGS sign that used to be displayed on the Buick powerhouse. He stated it now contains 2000 lights. You can see him recovering this piece of history in his fine film showing the demolition at Buick. Thanks a million Leonard. "MERRY CHRISTMAS". 

 Follow the link for more on this

Powerhouse #07

Buick Personnel 2012

The End Of Buick Factory Personnel.

Hamilton and Industrial

A panorama of the two photos below. This is sometime during the '20s. Original

The axle plant is on the left,then factory #01 with the main office at right.

The Industrial bank is on the left,with the Buick axle plant on the right.

1935 Drive away

This photo shows Buick dealers and salesman from Ohio gathering for a Buick Drive away in 1935. This view is looking west from the roof of the main kitchen, building #43, built around 1920. They are standing under the overhead bridge #20 that brought engines to final assembly from factory #11/24 engine test. These are the new Buick Special's which put Buick back on the map. The factory in the background is #29 Toolmakers.  September 1935 news story concerning this rare gathering.

Buick Workers

This photo looks to be the same location as the photo of Mike's grand father shown in the previous post.

Some of the first Buick workers.

James Arthur Procunier

Mike stated,

I really enjoyed going through your Buick blog. It looks like you've put in a lot of work on it. I haven't spent much time in Flint, but my father was born there and grandfather raised there. I've attached a picture that I just came upon in my late grandfather's things. The hand written inscription on the back reads "Buick Motor Car Co. 1908 - Flint, Michigan". Can you identify where the picture was taken? My great-grandfather James Arthur Procunier is in 3rd row, 4th from right. GERRY REPLY'S You can see the saw-tooth windows in the roof when you look through the window panes. Also the pillars and window configuration would make this the west wall of factory #11. History tells us this building was built in 1909 so I tend to believe that the inscription on the back was added at a latter date. Either that or the date of construction of #11 is off, which I doubt. More research is required if Mikes photo is correctly dated. Thanks for this lost piece of history Mike. MIKE'S REPLY.  Wow... you should work for CSI. You're right, I didn't notice saw tooth windows until I really looked. The really telling thing is that the bench from my picture perfectly matches the bench in yours. It would make sense that the inscription might be off. They didn't move to Flint until at least 1908 and he was listed as a painter in the 1910 Census & assembler in the 1920 Census. I doubt if he would have been a painter at the engine plant.

Buick Motor Co.Engine Works

Dr. Hills The Man Who Bought The First Flint Buick

The first Buick sold to a customer.

Description on the above photograph.

Dr. Herbert H. Hills, was the first owner of a production Buick. The story goes that he was not the first on a list of persons waiting for a new Buick. He was placed ahead of others because he agreed to let this vehicle be used as a demonstrator model. Some believe this car was built using the chassis and engine used on the Flint to Detroit test run. An article in the Flint Daily Journal July 29th stated the test car had been shipped to Chicago. We will probably never know for certain which is true. It is also believed to be the car that Billy Durant drove around Genesee county during the summer of 1904. Years later Walter Marr stated that the engine from the test Buick was seen by him being used to pump water in Chicago. This could help substantiate the story that the original test car was sent to Chicago. The large lamp was needed for night time driving.                                                                   July 27th 1904
On this day in 1904, Dr. Herbert Hills of Flint, Michigan, purchased the first Buick automobile ever to be sold. Founder David Buick initially made his mark as an inventor and mechanic in the plumbing industry, but had sold out of his business in order to pursue building motor cars. Buick was a man with an innate gift for inventing and tinkering, but who cared little for financial matters. He reputedly was unable to sit still unless he was concentrating on some kind of mechanical problem. None of his contemporaries would have been surprised that his company eventually became more successful than he did. In 1902, after years of fiddling with an automobile design, Buick agreed to a partnership with the Briscoe Manufacturing Company, wherein Briscoe would write off Buick's debts while in turn establishing a $100,000 capitalization for Buick's car company. Buick ceded $99,700 of the company's stock to Briscoe until he repaid his standing debt of $3,500, at which point he could buy controlling interest in the stock. Still, Buick had yet to complete an automobile. When it became clear to Briscoe that Buick would neither be able to pay his debts nor complete his vehicle soon, they sold their interest in the company to the Flint Wagon Works for $10,000. Buick and his son were given stock, but their managerial roles shrunk. Finally, in July of 1904, the first Buick made its initial test run. During the test run, the Buick averaged 30mph on a trip around Flint, going so fast at one point that the driver "couldn't see the village six-mile-an-hour sign." Sixteen Buicks were sold in the next few months, but Flint Wagon Works remained troubled by the Buick venture. They had purchased the company in order to help the city of Flint adjust to a new economy of automobile production, but Buick was already heavily in debt to a number of Flint banks. At this point, David Buick owned only a small share of stock and held none of the business responsibilities, and the Wagon Works decided to bring in Flint whiz kid William Durant to turn the business around. Durant kept Buick on as a manager, a position he held with little impact until 1908. Durant turned Buick into a major player in the automotive industry before incorporating it into his General Motors project

Dr. Herbert Hills with his first Buick

Link: Herbert Hills Bio.