An old estate, seen in a modern way;
the Ford House welcomes the iPod era

Visitors to the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House may now feel more immersed in the history of the grounds and closer to the daily lives of one of Detroit's greatest families with a new iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad tour that includes video.

The app is a free download from iTunes and has an abbreviated web version compatible with a number of other smart phones. iPod Touches are also available to borrow, free to Ford House members or with a house tour, or for a $5 fee with grounds admission. The tour can also be seen in chapters on YouTube. As visitors tour the grounds, they can stop at different spots and play videos from old Ford family home movies made on the same spots.

Director of Interpretation and Programs Christopher Shires worked with Boston-based Audissey Media, a fairly new company that specializes in interactive museum tours, to bring the long-discussed project to life. The general purpose, Shires said, was for "visitors to see how the family used the property. Above all else it was a home and a safe environment to raise their children ... to actually see it in the films is very neat ... Visitors can relate to seeing Mom and Dad at the pool."

According to Shires, previous visitors would experience the power of the architecture and the landscape working together but would receive little history, taking away from that intended connection and the story of the estate. With videos the manor comes to life, recreating long-gone structures such as Edsel's beloved boat house and explaining carefully planned artistic touches to the estate.

The iPod tour focuses not only on the family's lifestyle but also on the collaboration of the three parties that brought about this work of art. Architect Albert Kahn, designer of the River Rouge plant and the Fisher Building, built the estate in the fashion of an old English Village. The Fords, especially Edsel, who is reported to have had an abstract and modernist eye, had the final say and gave strong suggestions on all projects. But it was the lesser-known of the three, landscape designer Jens Jensen, who gave the estate its natural feeling.

Shires said, "The story really focuses on Jens Jensen. He's not well-known. He was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright and had this wonderful design philosophy which was almost spiritual in nature and we wanted to bring that to light." The combination of these three visions, traditional, modern and natural, according to the tour and Shires, are what make the grounds unique and worthy to see.

Upcoming events at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House include an exhibit on Balthazar Korab, who photographed the house over 30 years, and corresponding landscape photography workshops for adults and youths at all levels. House tours are $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $8 for children ages 6-12 and free for those under 5. Grounds admission is free for children under 5 and $5 for all other visitors. Visit the website or call (313) 884-4222 for more information.

• Login or register to post comments
• Printer-friendly version
• Send by email