Detroit, Michigan

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation began as Henry Ford's personal collection of historic objects, which he began collecting as far back as 1906. Today, the 12 acre site is primarily a collection of antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles, locomotives, aircraft, and other items:

 

Rosa Park's bus

Sitting in Rosa's seat

 

On The Road with Charles Kuralt

Pikes Peak racer

Racing up Pikes Peak back in the day

Car seats over the years

Hitsville U.S.A. is the nickname given to Motown's first headquarters

Uniroyal Giant Tire

The Giant Tire was first created as a Ferris wheel for the 1964 New York World's Fair in Flushing, Queens, NY.  It was designed by the same architectural firm that designed the Empire State Building. The wheel carried over 2 million people while in operation.  It had 24 barrel-shaped gondolas, each carrying up to 4 people, and could carry up to 96 passengers. It was driven by a 100 hp engine.

When the fair ended in 1965, the tire was disassembled and shipped by rail to Detroit, where it was reassembled without its passenger gondolas in 1966 as a static display outside a Uniroyal sales office. Later, the sales office moved but the tire remained, becoming an icon of Detroit's industrial power. Today it still stands tall as a symbol of Uniroyal's heritage and a Detroit landmark.