Recently I attended a program by the fine Flint Symphony Orchestra, which performs in a concert hall located in the Flint Cultural Center. Those planning a visit to the popular, Bavarian-themed community of Frankenmuth nearby would be well advised to also consider making a stop at this excellent museum.
The museum tells the story of Flint as a center for the production of vehicles and equipment to meet the nation’s transportation needs. Beginning with log-hauling gear and wagons, area factories were soon producing large quantities of horse-drawn carriages, which ultimately led to the city playing a major role, arguably second only to Detroit, in the development of America’s automobile industry. Not only was General Motors founded here, but Flint was home to a number of historic car makes, including the Whitney, its much-better-known successor, the Chevrolet, as well as Buick and such closely-related products as Fisher Bodies and AC Spark Plugs.
Permanent displays and colorful dioramas link the founding and growth of the city and the daily lives of its residents with the factories and products which they made, and cover such other developments as the organization of labor, sit-down strikes, floods, racial tensions, plus the conversion of plants to the production of wartime materiel. Also featured are a variety of temporary exhibits. “Space, a Journey to our Future,” is scheduled from January 25 to May 4, 2014, in collaboration with NASA.
The Buick Automotive Gallery maintains a rotating display of the museum’s collection of historic vehicles, and a special Truck & Bus Exhibit will run from October 26 through March 30, 2014.
Explaining the historic auto assembly process
‘Return of the Dinosaurs’ temporary exhibit
Sit-down striker exhibit
