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Building, Milwaukee Junction, since 1904

Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

Still standing, photographed 2025

The front exterior of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant at 461 Piquette Street, Detroit, Michigan, 2017 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1904
Style
Late Victorian
Standing
122 years

Designed by Field, Hinchman & Smith and Smith, Hinchman & Grylls

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant has stood on Piquette Ave. in Milwaukee Junction since 1904, 122 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

Ford Piquette Plant, Corner of Piquette Avenue & Beaubien, Detroit, Wayne County, MI Photo: Jet Lowe, Historic American Buildings Survey, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
Part of the third floor of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, 2017 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Car on display at Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Under renovation

  • Standing and open Source: Historic Detroit

Building permits at this address

10 permits since November 2024

$1.8 million in declared work (4 of 10 name a figure) Newest: Fire alarm permit, October 23, 2026

  1. Fire alarm permit

    Interior alterations to code per plans

  2. Electrical permit

    Interior alterations to code per plans

  3. Mechanical permit

    Renovation

  4. Plumbing permit

    Plumbing

  5. Alteration permit

    Interior alterations to Code per plans. Subject to Field Approval.

    $1.2 million

  6. Alter revision permit

    Revision to BLD2025-02837 to Code per plans. (Modifications to electrical distribution system and reconnect... Read all

    Revision to BLD2025-02837 to Code per plans. (Modifications to electrical distribution system and reconnect to existing

    $189,000

  7. Generator permit

    Emergency Generator

  8. Alter revision permit

    REVISION TO BLD2024-00425 TO SHOW TRUE SCOPE OF WORK (Modifications to electrical distribution system and... Read all

    REVISION TO BLD2024-00425 TO SHOW TRUE SCOPE OF WORK (Modifications to electrical distribution system and reconnect to e

    $189,000

  9. Mechanical permit

    461 Piquette

  10. Alteration permit

    Modifications to electrical distribution system and reconnect to existing equipment per plans. (Subject to... Read all

    Modifications to electrical distribution system and reconnect to existing equipment per plans. (Subject to Field Approva

    $189,000

Source: City and county building permits

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 25, 2026.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

In 1904, in the years Detroit became the Motor City and built like it meant to stay on top, the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant opened in Milwaukee Junction.

Credit the design to Field, Hinchman & Smith and Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, working in Late Victorian.

The federal government named it a National Historic Landmark in 2006, a status only a few thousand places in the country hold.

It is still open, and still part of daily life in the city.

Go see it at 461 Piquette Ave. Photos never get the scale right.

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a former automobile factory located within the Milwaukee Junction area of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Built in 1904, it was the second center of automobile production for the Ford Motor Company, after the Ford Mack Avenue Plant.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1904 Built Designed by Field, Hinchman & Smith and Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
  2. 2002 Listed on the National Register February 22, 2002
  3. 2003 Protected by the city Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
  4. 2006 Named a National Historic Landmark February 17, 2006
  5. 2024 Alteration permit November 7, 2024
  6. 2025 2 building permits $189,000 in declared work, the latest December 2
  7. 2026 7 building permits $1.4 million in declared work, the latest October 23
  8. 2026 Today Under renovation

Where it is

461 Piquette Ave.

On this map

  1. Ford Piquette Avenue Plant This place
  2. Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District 430 ft
  3. Fisher Body 21 0.2 mi
  4. Stanley Hong's Mannia Cafe 0.2 mi
  5. New Center Stamping (Fisher Body Plant No. 37) 0.3 mi
  6. Millwood Apartments 0.3 mi
  7. Frances Harper Inn 0.3 mi
  8. Grand Quarters 0.4 mi
  9. Saint Joseph's Episcopal Church (1883-1896) 0.4 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Field, Hinchman & Smith
Photo: Traveler100, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Field, Hinchman & Smith

Architectural firm. Designed the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant (1904) and 6 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Field, Hinchman & Smith

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
Photo: Traveler100, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls

American architectural and engineering company, founded 1853. Designed the Penobscot Building (1928) and 68 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls

More from Detroit in the 1900s

Around the block

It is in Milwaukee Junction. See the neighborhood's homes, pros and story.

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. The front exterior of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant at 461 Piquette Street, Detroit, Michigan, 2017 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Ford Piquette Plant, Corner of Piquette Avenue & Beaubien, Detroit, Wayne County, MI Photo: Jet Lowe, Historic American Buildings Survey, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
  3. Part of the third floor of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, 2017 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. Car on display at Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  5. Car on display at Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  6. Car on display at Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  7. Car on display at Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.