Walter Marr,Buick's First Engineer

This photo was saved from a waste basket in 1908 by Ray S. Morrish who worked in the accounting department. He would leave Buick shortly after this and ended up (in 1912) going to Medical school in Ann Arbor Michigan becoming a well known doctor in the Flint area. He next shows up in the record as secretary of the Genesee county medical society in 1916. The original photo was donated by his son Richard to the G.M.I. archives in 1976. The telephone exchange for the Buick office in 1915 was 1065. Quite a short number from our viewpoint today.















This detail shows where I believe Buick and Marr's office was located (as stated in the photo description below).











Marr and Buick in the office. Walter Marr and his wife Abbie lived at 829 Hamilton Avenue in 1915. After many hours of researching these two photos I have come to the conclusion that both were taken in the same office. In the top photo you will first notice the size and shape of the two windows. After looking at all possible buildings they should have occupied during Buick's short stay with the firm, my only match was the third floor windows used in the alcoves of the first Buick office on Hamilton Avenue. The second clue is in the top photo, you can clearly see the shape of the alcove, which would also confirm the third floor of the Buick office. The next clue is behind the roll top desk. This would be the side wall of the alcove. Another telling clue is the light fixtures present in both photos. They are the same style as the ones in (later) President Nash's office, which is firmly established. The only difference are these have a single globe, compared to the one's in the presidents office, which have two, but are the exact style. The final clue is the highly placed chair rail above the wainscoting. And one last thing, this would have been the perfect location for Marr and Buick as they both loved to go onto the factory floor. The third floor office had a direct connection to the third floor of factory #01. Since the office had three alcoves it's hard to tell which one's are in the two photo's. You have to know that this is only my best guess.











Dutch Bower, Marr & Enos DeWaters in Flint 1934. This is from a rare movie clip I have mis-placed. Walter passed away December 11,1941 four days after Pearl Harbor.










Both Marr's in Flint. This is the Fred Aldrich car.










Walter Lorenzo Marr with son Walter Durant Marr in Flint.

View of Walter Marr posing with Buick car no. 64 in front of the George N. Pierce Company dealership in Buffalo, New York during the 1906 Glidden Tour. Stamped on back: "Photo by N. Lazarnick, 29 West 42nd Street, New York." Handwritten on back: "Walter Marr beside his Buick car. Tours--Glidden Tour, 1906." - See more at: http://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A188743#sthash.q7NDAuE9.dpuf Link: Detroit Public Library.

Marr 1906 Glidden.

Walter on his large wheel bike.










Walter sporting numerous awards.










Walter at center (looking away) with the Buick racing team at the Buick plant in Flint 1909.










Walter at left in his Saginaw shop.


A vacant lot now with an outdoor eatery. Google link here. January 1896.






Walter in front of his shop in Detroit. The address in 1899 for Walters shop was 198 Grand River Avenue Detroit, Michigan.










Walter Lorenzo Marr.










Walter at the tiller of the first car he built at his Detroit bicycle shop. Seated next to him is W.H. Starling.










Detailed information.




















Marr descendants in the Autocar.











This photo shows Marr driving his Autocar.










The Marr chassis.







The 1904 Buick chassis in the photo above, has numerous things in common with the Marr-Auto car chassis shown in the photo above the Buick chassis. Such as motor placement, tilt steering mechanism and center mounted engine with chain drive. The Marr was still in production well into 1904 until a fire at the Fauber factory in Elgin, Illinois in August of that year ended production forever. 1918.


Link: A Tribute To Walter Lorenzo Marr.

Original Aldrich Buick

The 1904 Model B & Flint Wagon Works.

When this was still the Flint Wagon Works office. The same view as below.










A latter view with the Ivy growing up the walls. This was originally The Flint Wagon Works office and at this time, Chevrolet. This view is facing north across Kearsley Street.








The Flint Wagon Works in 1896.










The Flint Wagon Works. Wagon Works new lunch room.










This view of the Flint Wagon Works would be after the March 21, 1900 fire, that destroyed the main building along Kearsley st.









Click on to view many great Michigan factories.







June 1909.









The Flint Wagon Works,after becoming part of Chevrolet. The man at left is standing on west Kearsley St. facing north.  

August 21,1927.

The Flint Wagon Works, where the chassis of the first Flint Buick was built. The body is thought to have come from the W.F. Stewart body factory located a few blocks east on Kearsley at the location of the old Beardslee & Gillies plaining mill.


















This is inside the Flint Wagon Works factory in 1913. The vehicles in the background are Chevrolet's.









The first completed 1904 Model B Buick in front of the "Buick Motor Co. Engine Works" on west Kearsley St. in Flint Michigan. Whiting and Begole are in the rear with Marr and Tom Buick in the front. This car had a chassis measuring 89 inches whereas the "Wolverine" shown in the top photo had a wheelbase of 82 inches. History tells us that David Buick designed the body while Marr designed the chassis. The Wolverine designed by Marr for the Reid Manufacturing Company in Detroit bears a striking resemblance to the Buick. Early Buick history often credits the Wolverine as an early prototype Buick. Now Marr left Reid January 5, 1904 and was contacted within three days by David Buick to join him in Flint. History also shows that Marr had convinced James C. Whiting, owner of Buick, to build a prototype auto by the third week of February. The new Buick was ready for testing on the Flint to Detroit run on June 4, 1904. If David Buick designed the body then I believe that he had either seen Marr's prototype for the Wolverine or was shown the above photograph by Marr. I know Reid introduced the car to the press in Detroit in mid November 1903. Reid also had an exhibit at the Detroit Light Guard Armory (Tri-State Automobile and Sporting Goods Association) February 16th through the 22, of 1904. I have not found a photo showing their exhibit so I figure the car looked as the prototype did, showing Marr next to it. Maybe Marr and Buick were both in attendance at the show. It makes sense that they would have been there. You can see in the Wolverine photo that this car did indeed have a rear differential as opposed to the chain drive of the first Buick's. It supposedly had a front mounted engine also which was another thing that the Buick did not have. So as far as early Buick histories claiming this as an early Buick prototype, I would agree. First Buick announced. Another figure for 1904 production. Western Tanning & Japanning Co. Flint 1909.


November 1904. November 9, 1904.

Factory #62

Just another copy I found.

I found this in one of my old "National Geographic Magazine's" This is the Unified Assembly Line in Factory #62. This view is facing south. This was in the March 1928 issue of the magazine. The article went on to explain the vehicle manufacturing history in Flint from the time of carriages to 1928.   Buick's silver anniversary  1928 Buick efficiency. 1928 Aerial view.

Original Buick Factory In Flint Michigan

Buick also built engines for the farm.










This south-east view over the original Flint Wagon Works factory before it burnt on March 21, 1900 shows the site directly across the street (wood storage above the word Kearsley) where the first Buick factory would be built in late 1903.










This view facing west, with the Chevrolet avenue bridge in the distance, is the same view as below. The small building just south (to the left) of the building #4-C with the row of windows around the top would be the location of the first Buick plant in Flint. This is the east end of factory #4. You can still see the remnants of the Grand Trunk rail line in the foreground.










This fantasy photo resembles what would have been in early 1904 with Kearsley street running between the two factories. The viewer would be facing west. Link for original plant in color










This is a 1907 map showing the original location of the first Flint Buick factory #1. This later became factory #2 after the creation of the Big Buick plant on Hamilton avenue.










This is showing the original locations of the first Buick factory in Flint. The view is facing west across the old Chevy in the hole site. This was where I worked in 1973. You can see many more photos of this site in my previous posts.










This map showing the detail north of the Flint river shows Wilcox st. which later became Chevrolet ave. This is from the same 1870 map as shown below.










This closeup photo showing the location of the various buildings comprising the Wagon Works was taken at the Stockton House on Ann Arbor st. in Flint. This is a wonderful 4 foot 1870 map. Said to be the only one known to exist.











The location of the original Buick factory on west Kearsley Street in Flint, Michigan.










This is the first Buick factory viewed from across the Flint river. The white addition built in 1907 was removed when the east addition of Chevrolet factory #4 was built in 1917.











This was the original product being built in the Flint factory.

Buick Poem

This poem from back in the early years of Buick was found in a diary at the Salvation Army by Joanne Ladd who is a "Mother Goose Storyteller". She said that she had donated the diary to the Labor Museum. I found this a fascinating look into one working man's early career at Buick . The old timers back in the day called people like Sherwood "DESPOTS". "This person probably became a foreman at Buick". From the poem I deduce that Lorey would have been working in the new engine plant . This new factory for building the Buick engines was called #11 which is still standing as of this writing. Factory #11 started producing engines in December 1909. At that time they started calling the old Buick engine factory on Kearsley st.#2. The original factory was later called "Mason Motors". The Flint wagon works was located directly across the street from the old Buick Motor Company Engine Works. A.C.Mason was originally the manager at the new factory #11 but left in late 1911 to work for Billy Durant at the old Flint Wagon Works (building the "Little" car) which eventually became "Chevrolet". It seems from the dates that he then rehired into factory #11 again. I seen so many people at Buick try to climb the ladder (raise a few) of success by crawling over the bones of other workers that this poem would still hold up even today.