In 1946, the Motor City toasted its 50 years in the auto industry with a giant celebration, including a parade. He’s an awesome period newsreel reporting the event.
In the spring of 1946, not long after the Allied victory in World War II, the city of Detroit was feeling confident and reflective. Noting that the first cars in the city had been built back in 1896—Charles B. King’s came first, followed by Henry Ford’s quadricycle a few months later—Detroit threw itself a grand and glorious party, a 50th anniversary bash for the Motor City. The Golden Jubilee included speeches, dinners, awards, and presentations starring the surviving pioneers of the auto industry: Henry Ford, R.E. Olds, Charles Nash, Barney Oldfield, and others.
Naturally, the festivities included a parade down Woodward Avenue, with elaborate floats provided by all the car manufacturers and suppliers. Probably the most memorable float was Buick’s: essentially a giant Buick hood ornament with a Buick front end as its headpiece (above). The procession also included a fleet of early automobiles, which is the focus of this wonderful period newsreel. We hereby declare this the very first Woodward Dream cruise. Enjoy the video.
I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender.
What’s not mentioned is that a length of Woodward Avenue was painted gold for this event. I was there as a fourteen year old “curb stander” with my parents and was in awe of the new “which way is it going” Studebaker Starlight(?) coupe with the wraparound rear window. Many 1946 Buick hood ornaments had the circular part broken off and became chrome bracelets for some lucky young ladies…