Assembly Square’s Ford factory
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What’s in a name? Assembly Square in Somerville is named for the 52-acre Ford assembly plant that used to operate in the area. The factory closed in 1958, but the name still sticks, as the vicinity transforms into a new “Assembly Row” shopping complex, apartments, and MBTA station — all projected to be completed by 2014.
Pictured: The Ford Motor Company’s building in Somerville from February 1958.
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Another view of the Ford assembly plant in Somerville. More than 1,100 workers lost their jobs when the factory closed in 1958.
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The Somerville plant produced multiple models, including the Ford Edsel and popular Fairlane, pictured here on Feb. 19, 1958.
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An original Edsel cost $2,878 in 1958. Ford abandoned production of the car in 1960 and swallowed a $350 million loss, according to Globe archives. It was referred to as “one of the biggest flops in automotive history.”
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The scene as the last car rolled off the assembly line at the Ford plant. Plant manager E.J. Duquette shook the hand of the driver who took the last car — a station wagon — off the line.
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The last car off the Somerville assembly plant line got a big sendoff as workers moved on. Some went to other Ford plants in Ohio and New Jersey, the older workers retired on pension, and others tried to find new jobs.
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The Ford plant on March 2, 1927.
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Some of the 1,200 Ford engines on a conveyor at the Somerville building of Ford Motor Co. in 1927.
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Employees assembled a Ford car at an airport on March 15, 1927.
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A look at the assembly conveyor in 1927 where cars started at one end and were completed at the other end.
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In 1935, the Somerville Ford plant had a bit of a scare where robbers attempted to steal the payroll. The armored truck usually delivered money through the door at night, but on March 29, it was brought in through the gate at the end of building.
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A bare chassis with only wheel hubs attached was placed upon the chain of the Ford assembly line to grow as it moved slowly along on June 28, 1946.
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A heavy crane gently lifted a body from a feeder assembly line and dropped it upon the chassis behind the motor at the Ford Motor Co. plant in 1946.
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On March 14, 1958, three foremen walked down the empty line after the 31-year-old plant was shut down. Ford officials said the plant was no longer profitable in this location.
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