Famous people's places / Dearborn
Ford World Headquarters (the Glass House)
Closed – archive entry · 2025
Ford's 1956 glass-walled Dearborn headquarters, nicknamed the Glass House, vacated in 2025 and set for demolition around 2027.
01 / The story of this place
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Ford Motor Company opened this twelve-story glass-walled tower as its global headquarters in 1956, under chairman Henry Ford II, grandson of the company's founder. Designed by the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the International Style, the building's shimmering curtain-wall facade quickly earned it the nickname the Glass House and made it a Dearborn landmark visible for miles. Generations of Ford executives ran the company's worldwide operations from its floors through booms, oil crises, near-bankruptcy and the rise of the SUV and the electric vehicle. In 2025 Ford moved its headquarters staff about three miles west to a new Central Campus building designed by the firm Snohetta, ending the Glass House's 69-year run as company headquarters. Ford announced it will demolish the tower over roughly eighteen months, despite objections from preservationists who call the modernist landmark structurally sound and historically significant; demolition is expected to be complete around 2027.
- Opened in 1956 under chairman Henry Ford II
- Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; nicknamed the Glass House
- Served as Ford's global headquarters for 69 years
- Ford vacated it for a new campus in 2025
- Demolition planned, expected complete around 2027
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 5
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Robert McNamara 1916–2009 · Ford Motor Company president, U.S. Secretary of Defense
Worked here
Ford's headquarters during his last years at the company; vacated in 2025 and slated for demolition.
- Lee Iacocca 1924–2019 · automotive executive, president of Ford, chairman of Chrysler
Worked here
Ford's headquarters during his rise to president; vacated in 2025 and slated for demolition.
- Henry Ford II 1917–1987 · automotive executive, president and chairman of Ford Motor Company
Worked here
The glass-walled headquarters opened under his leadership; Ford moved to a new headquarters nearby in 2025 and plans to demolish it.
- Alan Mulally born 1945 · CEO of Ford Motor Company, former Boeing executive
Worked here
Ford's headquarters during his turnaround; vacated in 2025 and slated for demolition.
- Semon Knudsen 1912–1998 · automotive executive, head of Pontiac and Chevrolet, president of Ford
Worked here
Ford's headquarters during his short presidency; vacated in 2025 and slated for demolition.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
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Source and former website ↗