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Building, Northville, since 1936

Ford Valve Plant

Still standing, photographed 2017

The front façade of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant at 461 Piquette Street, Detroit, Michigan, 2017 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1936
Style
Art Deco
Standing
90 years

Designed by Albert Kahn

The Ford Valve Plant has stood on E. Main St. in Northville since 1936, 90 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Ford Valve Plant

Ford Valve Plant, Northville MI, 2010 Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Standing

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 24, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

In 1936, through the Depression, the war years and the postwar move to the suburbs, the Ford Valve Plant opened in Northville.

Credit the design to Albert Kahn, in the Art Deco style.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1995.

Go see it at 235 E. Main St. Photos never get the scale right.

The Ford Valve Plant is a factory building located at 235 East Main Street in Northville, Michigan. The plant was built as part of Henry Ford's vision of decentralizing manufacturing and integrating it into rural communities. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1936 Built Designed by Albert Kahn
  2. 1995 Listed on the National Register August 1, 1995
  3. 2026 Today 90 years and still standing

Where it is

235 E. Main St., Northville

On this map

  1. Ford Valve Plant This place
  2. Northville Historic District 0.3 mi
  3. Robert Yerkes House 0.4 mi
  4. Joseph D. Yerkes House 0.8 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Albert Kahn
Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Albert Kahn

American architect, 1869 to 1942. Designed the General Motors Building (1922) and 114 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Albert Kahn

Around the block

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 façade 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 Valve Plant, Northville MI, 2010 Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.