Blast Furnace at Ford Rouge Plant, 1927

01

Artifact Overview

Steel production at Ford's Rouge Plant encompassed every step from start to finish. Two massive blast furnaces operated 24 hours a day to feed a unique process that rarely allowed molten iron to cool before steelmaking or casting. Instead, ladles on railroad tracks waited below the furnaces to be filled with up to 75 tons of the lava-like metal for transport.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

1927

Creator Notes

Originally photographed by Charles Sheeler in 1927 for Ford Motor Company. Copied by Ford Motor Company in 1929.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

64.167.189.P.6583

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)
Linen (Material)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 10.875 in
Width: 7.375 in