Former Ford Assembly Plant
In 1950 half of Milpitas still lived on farms.
There were nearly 7,000 acres of farmland,
8,000 acres of orchards and
over 300 acres of dairy fields.On this site on May 17, 1955 the Ford Motor Company opened the Milpitas assembly plant. At the peak of production the plant employed 6,000 people producing 55 cars and 22 trucks per hour.
The plant was closed on May 20, 1983
The Great Mall of the Bay Area began construction
July 5, 1993, and opened to the public September 22, 1994.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical date for this entry is May 17, 1955.
Location. 37° 24.858′ N, 121° 53.977′ W. Marker is in Milpitas, California, in Santa Clara County. Marker is on Great Mall Drive, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1200 Great Mall Drive, Milpitas CA 95035, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Silveira House (approx. 0.9 miles away); Dr. Renselaer Smith Home (approx. 1.3 miles away); Jose Higuera Adobe (approx. 3.1 miles away); First Honeybees in California
this page online
More about this marker. The marker is located within the parking lot of the Great Mall. If one considers the Great Mall Drive something of a circle or loop, then the marker would be located roughly at 7-8 o'clock (with 12 o'clock being due north).
Also see . . . San Jose Assembly Plant (Wikipedia). "San Jose Assembly Plant was a Ford Motor Company manufacturing site in Northern California, the automaker's primary factory in that region from 1955 to 1983, replacing the Richmond Assembly facility. The plant was located in what is now Milpitas, California, United States. Numerous vehicles were produced at the plant including the Ford Falcon, Ford Maverick and Ford Mustang. It was also the manufacturing location for the West coast of the Ford Fairlane, Ford Torino, Ford Pinto, Ford Escort and the short lived Edsel Ranger and Edsel Pacer. Mercury products such as the Mustang-based Cougar, Montego, Comet, Bobcat, Capri and the Lynx were also assembled there. Ford F-series trucks were produced there, nearly from inception of the plant until its closure in 1983." (Submitted on August 17, 2020.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 17, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 255 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 17, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
