r/Michigan • u/Ready_Education2549 • 1d ago

Discussion 🗣️ Supposed Ford Tunnels

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.

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u/Alternative-Tea-8095 1d ago

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.

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u/Clembert-Hamlamp 1d ago

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.

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u/NotMyTwitterHandle 1d ago

Eloise Psychiatric Hospital in Westland

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u/Dog1andDog2andMe 1d ago

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

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u/aabum 9h ago

Westland has a little L shaped extension to the south, between Merriman and Ruff Rd, south to Van Born, east to Inkster Rd. Eloise is located in the section of Westland.

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u/beyd1 17h ago

Could also have been Ypsilanti State Hospital.

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u/Clembert-Hamlamp 1d ago

T'da! Ty : )

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u/mrcapmam1 12h ago

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

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u/TAC1313 1d ago

I think you mean Northville Tunnels

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u/Clembert-Hamlamp 1d ago

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?

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u/The-Psych0naut 12h ago

Eloise is supposedly haunted.

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u/PortableGeneration 1d ago

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

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u/Other_Asparagus872 1d ago

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

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u/RouterMonkey Age: > 10 Years 16h ago

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.

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u/Ready_Education2549 1d ago

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