Detroit, aka Motor City, was once the epicenter of the American automotive industry. This was thanks in part to Henry Ford, who established his factories around Piquette Avenue. Built in 1904, the Ford Piquette Plant is the birthplace of the Model T, the world's first mass-produced car. It was also the first automotive factory to operate an assembly line, an innovation that changed manufacturing forever.

Standing on three acres of land, the huge building used 355 double-hung windows to admit natural light and ventilation to make life more comfortable for the thousands of people who worked there. The facility was also one of the first to feature a sprinkler system, something Ford himself insisted on after a fire destroyed one of his other factories in 1901.

Famous American factories that turned to rust