Detroit There was quite a bit of excitement recently over its new Hollywood-style street sign Doesn’t seem to live up to the hype, but there’s one roadside landmark that’s beloved by residents almost everywhere. It even appears on the same highway as the “Not So Bad, Folks, Detroit” sign (albeit on the opposite side of the city). That’s the giant Uniroyal tire on I-94 that turned 60 years old this week.
The Giant Tire has been a staple of life along I-94 since 1965, although it started life as a Ferris wheel at the 1964 New York World’s Fair Detroit Free Press:
Uniroyal, formerly the US Rubber Co., is now owned by Michelin, a French tire manufacturer. Founded in 1892 in Naugatuck, Connecticut, US Rubber is one of the twelve original stocks that made up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The company built the Ferris wheel, which still boasts of being the largest non-production tire model ever, as the centerpiece of its pavilion. Some famous people rode in it, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Telly Savalas and the Shah of Iran.
The tire is not made of rubber, but of polyester resin and fiberglass.
And if the tire were scaled to a car, the vehicle would be 200 feet tall.
After the mass the The New York Times reported Uniroyal offered to give away the $750,000 building to New York – or any other municipality that wanted it – as long as the moving and construction costs, estimated at about $300,000, were covered. would be covered.
New York is over, but Allen Park asked for it.
According to the Free PressIt took 22 trucks to transport it from New York to Michigan, and over time it has evolved from a whitewall tire to a radial tire. There used to be a big nail in it too, but that was the case auctioned and removed.
And there the tire sat next to the highway in Allen Park, Michigan, for most of its life. Since its installation, the giant tire has become so much more than just an advertisement for a tire manufacturer. The 80-foot-tall hoop welcomes both visitors and homebound travelers heading east into the city from Detroit Metro Airport.
I travel a lot at this gig and can attest to the feeling of seeing the huge hoop as proof that I am truly at home. And tons of people will have a chance to see this huge living legend this week as the city is flooded with people for the NFL draft pick. Around 300,000 people are expected to flock to a city with just 670,000 residents.