CHICAGO—Ford Motor Co.’s factory on the Southeast Side of the Windy City opened its doors 100 years ago this week. When production started on March 3, 1924, the facility was building Model T’s.
The Chicago Assembly Plant has withstood the Great Depression, World War II and Covid, plus changing consumer tastes, labor strikes and supplier shortages. Along the way, Ford’s oldest continuously operating manufacturing facility has produced a wide variety of vehicles, including Model A sedans, M8 armored cars, F-100 pickup trucks, Country Squire station wagons, Galaxie 500 convertibles, Thunderbird coupes and Taurus sedans.