Henry Ford Museum Changing Name

DEARBORN, Mich. January 30 , 2003; The Associated Press reported that the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village is changing its name.

The 74-year-old institution will be known as The Henry Ford: America's Greatest History Attraction, President Steve Hamp said Tuesday.

The Henry Ford will be the informal and collective name for the four main attractions on the Dearborn campus: Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, the IMAX Theater and tours of Ford Motor Co.'s Rouge plant, which are to begin in the spring of 2004.

"This is more than a name change," Hamp told the Detroit Free Press. "We're creating a much more understandable institution with multivenues. We fully expect to be a widely known national cultural attraction like the Smithsonian."

Although it's Michigan's most popular cultural attraction, a recent in-house survey found that visitors generally are unaware of the different attractions at the institution that automotive pioneer Henry Ford founded in 1929.

"There's been confusion about who we are," chief operating officer Patrician Mooradian said. "Locally, we get called the village, and nationally, people think we're an automobile museum."

The Henry Ford name should be in place in early June, when Greenfield Village reopens after a $15 million renovation. The 200-acre history park has been closed since mid-September for improvements to the exhibitions and construction of sidewalks, roads and sewers.

The changes at the Henry Ford are expected to increase attendance and revenues by 35 percent by 2011, Hamp said.