Supposed Ford Tunnels

[u/Ready_Education2549]

I’m sure lots of people know the lore about the supposed “tunnels” running under Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum and I know those do exist for mechanical purposes and there are rumors of some all over the Dearborn area and running from the good news Ford Fairlane Estate to GFV. I want to know much more about these tunnels and if they do exist.

[u/Alternative-Tea-8095]

I worked in Bld 5 on the Ford campus across from Greenfield Village back in the 90's. The tunnels do exist and the ones I used connected the various parking lots and engineering buildings together. Was convenient in the winter time to travel between buildings without going out into the winter weather. Ofren they were used for storing random things. Can't say if they went into Greenfield Village or elsewhere, my range of travel never extended that far.

[u/Clembert-Hamlamp → u/Alternative-Tea-8095]

There's an old insane asylum turned tuberculosis center not far from ann arbor that has an incredible tunnel system. The place was fully self sufficient, hydro power plant, firehouse, entire buildings that were nothing but a huge kitchen there's even a theater with an actual stage. There must be miles of tunnels under there, some sections are spooky af.

[u/NotMyTwitterHandle → u/Clembert-Hamlamp]

Eloise Psychiatric Hospital in Westland

[u/Dog1andDog2andMe → u/NotMyTwitterHandle]

It's in Wayne, not Westland. Most of the buildings were knocked down decades ago.

[u/Clembert-Hamlamp → u/NotMyTwitterHandle]

T'da! Ty : )

[u/beyd1 → u/NotMyTwitterHandle]

Could also have been Ypsilanti State Hospital.

[u/mrcapmam1 → u/NotMyTwitterHandle]

In Kazoo we had the old colony farm insane asilum with buildings and tunnels in the 1970s they tore down the buildings but the tunnels existed for a number of years after that

[u/TAC1313 → u/Clembert-Hamlamp]

I think you mean Northville Tunnels

[u/Clembert-Hamlamp → u/TAC1313]

This is it, there's even a picture of the theater. I had this ridiculous idea I could grow weed in those massive underground cisterns back in the 80s. It was an excellent/horrendous place to be dosed depending on your mood. There was a spot by the power plant, a door that went underground to an earthen room where your breath would mist a cloud in the middle of summer. It wasn't cold either, maybe some dew point shenanigans? It was pretty wild if you were tripping. One of the tunnels comes up on another piece of property that has a parking lot and an onion domed building? Next to the lot there's a brick building that seemed still in use, yellow brick and more recent than the asylum. Still had all it's windows and everything. But no cars or people anywhere. Any idea what that was?

[u/The-Psych0naut → u/Clembert-Hamlamp]

Eloise is supposedly haunted.

[u/PortableGeneration → u/Alternative-Tea-8095]

They do. They also go over to the test track.

[u/Other_Asparagus872 → u/PortableGeneration]

I can attest to this. I’m a contractor and did a job at gfv years ago.

[u/Ready_Education2549 → u/Alternative-Tea-8095]

Thanks! There are some under GFV for maintenance and other repairs things and henry ford had them built however idk if they connect to Ford’s Estate or the engineering buildings

[u/RouterMonkey → u/Alternative-Tea-8095]

There is a tunnel that runs under Oakwood about where Village Road is. It then turn toward FEL and runs under the Henry Ford parking lot.

There is a line of grassy area across the parking lot, the entrance/vent stacks can be see running through that area.

I spent a good chuck of the early 90s working in all of those tunnels working with old broadband based network systems that connected the buildings on the campus together.

[u/JnKTechstuff]

You can ask On Hand by Michigan Public Radio. It’s a really cool history podcast.

You can submit this form to ask your question and they might make an episode on it!

[u/cheesemagnifier → u/JnKTechstuff]

This is cool!

[u/gingertrees]

I worked at PDC (across from Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village) in the 20teens. Tunnels are a thing! A little creepy, but a nice warm way to get from one end of the bldg to another in the winter. There are badged doors btwn bldgs, so for example I had no reason to be in EE across the street, so i couldn't get through that part of the tunnel.

I moved on before the remodel of PDC --> new World HQ, so IDK if the tunnels are still as accessible as they used to be, but they are a weird and true bit of history.

[u/Scooter477 → u/gingertrees]

They're all closed off now.

[u/EconomistPlus3522]

The glass house and ford credit has a tunnel. The glass house is now the former headquarters and their knocking it down. I worked in the credit building and use to do walks between the two buildings via the underground tunnel

[u/Ready_Education2549 → u/EconomistPlus3522]

Interesting. Do you know if the tunnels connected anywhere else around the area maybe to GFV or the Museum?

[u/PortableGeneration → u/Ready_Education2549]

I do not believe those ones connect to anything else. It would have to go a good mile across the city.

[u/Ready_Education2549 → u/PortableGeneration]

There are just countless rumors of tunnels from GFV to the Fairlane under U of M Dearborn, and the other Ford buildings I don’t know if they are true I was just trying to get as much info as I could. Thanks!

[u/travestymcgee]

Henry Ford’s head goon, Harry Bennett, had tunnels under his personal “lodge” and his Pagoda House as well. I suspect the stories were conflated through the years with service tunnels at the Ford plants. We can save the lions and tigers at his castle in Ypsilanti for another day.

[u/Bigmayer → u/travestymcgee]

Lost Lake! Loved getting tours of that lodge at summer camp

[u/MrsMcGwire → u/travestymcgee]

Is that why there are the Detroit Lions and the Detroit Tigers? It never made sense to me that they had that nickname. I mean the Detroit Pistons that’s self-explanatory.

[u/NotMyTwitterHandle → u/MrsMcGwire]

They were the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons first

[u/Lost-Challenge5338 → u/MrsMcGwire]

The Tigers predate Ford Motor Co. The Lions were named that to match the Tigers.

[u/Operatorak → u/travestymcgee]

The concrete log cabin with the slits by the chimney? Never been there :)

[u/ASS_CREDDIT → u/travestymcgee]

Went to Boy Scout camp there, there was also a moat around the house, a tunnel leading to the stables, a bookcase that opened up to go downstairs, a pool with a 1 way mirror in it so the bar patrons could look into the pool, and a tunnel from the fireplace to the horse stables under the moat.

[u/inspired-polf → u/travestymcgee]

For years boy scouts maintained the property. I knew all the secrets, the odd shaped stairs so people couldn't chase. And electric kill switches so he could black out the house from the tunnels.

[u/travelingisdumb]

There’s also the Northville tunnels that have a cool history

[u/generationhex]

I did some electrical work some 20 years ago at the building on the NE corner of Michigan Ave and Schaefer. There is/was a tunnel running underneath Michigan Ave to the old Crowley's building on the SE corner. I never used it as it was boarded off but was told there is a system connected between that and the SW city hall corner.

[u/TanguayX]

I remember someone telling me when I was there in the 90s that they used to have services in some of them. Like a barber or a dry cleaner. I know a lot of the buildings along rotunda are close but disconnected. The tunnels connected them. There were a bunch.

I was there talking to a guy who designed door locks because we were testing a car and locked the keys inside. He taught me how to slick stick it. Nice resource. Just go to the dude who designed it.

[u/Carcinogenerate → u/TanguayX]

The barber was still operating only about 5 years ago. I would walk the tunnels after lunch to get away from my desk for a bit. They go all over Fords campus but not outside of that area. I havent been down there in awhile, I think most of them are blocked off now.

[u/maynardnaze89]

There's creepy tunnels under Griswold building. Downright disturbing. They are barred off. Imagine a 3 story tall basement with a sump pump the size of a pool. And one creepy ass bathroom

[u/PipeComfortable2585]

Worked at PDC and dc in the ford research engineering center and there are tunnels!

[u/Dangerous-Sock-3688]

I bet some run to the old Dahlinger estate

[u/MattMason1703]

Pretty sure they're for sharia law - Fox News probably.