Mustang Museum of America

ODENVILLE, Ala. – Being active in the Ford enthusiast hobby brings countless opportunities to celebrate the storied heritage of the Blue Oval brand. In addition to the Ford cars, Ford car clubs and Ford car shows, we love to tell the stories of Ford car people, and the Ford car places they have helped create and support all across the globe. Some places where the Ford name is enshrined, such as The Henry Ford museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, have enjoyed world-renowned popularity. And certainly the famed Ford Rotunda, which had once stood along Schaefer Road also in Ford’s suburban Detroit hometown of Dearborn, was hallowed ground to Ford fans for decades.

Ever since it had opened to the public in May of 1936, the Ford Rotunda served as the brick-and-mortar face of Ford Motor Company. After being closed during the World Wars, its reopening in 1953 featured all sorts of design and development displays and exhibits that helped bring the Ford story to life for thousands of visitors. By the early 1960s it was one of America’s top tourist attractions. Unfortunately, a massive fire on November 9, 1962, destroyed the Rotunda -- and with it the spiritual home of Ford fans.

Dreams to rebuild the Rotunda never materialized, and despite the promotion of other notable Ford landmarks over the past half-century, including Detroit’s Piquette Avenue Plant, the birthplace of the Ford Model T, none have carried more fan support than the possibility of building a museum for what is perhaps Ford’s most treasured nameplate – the Mustang. After a Ford-supported effort by the Mustang Club of America in the early 1990’s had failed to break ground on a national Mustang museum, interest in, and discussions about, the idea was still high well into the early 2000’s until he economic recession that bankrupted other automakers had all but killed off such plans.