The mission of the Packard Proving Grounds Historic Site

To preserve the legacy of the Packard Motor Car Company through the restoration and preservation of the Packard Proving Grounds, educating future generations about America’s automotive history.

Our History

PROLOGUE
The Packard Proving Grounds Historic Site in Shelby Township, Michigan, is significant because it represents a unique collection of residential and industrial buildings and structures built during the first half of the twentieth century to be used as an
automobile testing facility.

The Packard Proving Grounds is not just a historic site, it is a living tribute to the visionary leaders, enthusiastic hobbyists, groundbreaking restorers, generous benefactors, tireless volunteers and dedicated individuals who have played pivotal roles in preserving its legacy. It honors these remarkable figures and is a testament to their passion, commitment and contributions to making this iconic automotive landmark what it is today.

CHAPTER 1 From an Idea to World War II
The Packard Proving Grounds were dedicated on June 14, 1928. The Packard Proving Grounds Historic Site is one of three automobile museums in the country located on property once owned by the parent automobile company. And is the only automobile museum in the world located on its proving grounds.

The site consisted of: a Gate Lodge and Repair Garage both designed by the renowned architect Albert Khan, a Tank Test building designed by the prominent Detroit architect William E. Kapp, a 2-1/2 mile oval test track, an airplane hangar, water tower and other buildings on over 500 acres.

CHAPTER 2 From World War II to 2002
Chrysler Defense leased the Proving Grounds and tested tanks and other military vehicles during 1944 – 45. Packard Motor Car Company had purchased the Studebaker Car Company and ceased operations at the Proving Grounds on August 15,1956. Subsequent owners were Curtis-Wright, Ford Motor Company and the Packard Motor Car Foundation.

CHAPTER 3 Restoration
The Foundation received the ceremony key on July 9, 2002. The historic site consists of the several buildings and structures now on 17 acres.

CHAPTER 4 Accolades
In 2003, Michigan’s Jennifer Granholm presented the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation to the Foundation, Ford and Shelby Township. In 2005, the Foundation was awarded the State of Michigan Historic Site marker. Two years later, the Packard Proving Grounds was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2016, the Foundation received the Excellence and Preservation Award from the MotorCities National Heritage Area, and the following year the Foundation received the Preservation and Tourism Award from Shelby Township.

CHAPTER 5 Current Wants and Needs
The Foundation is able to host car shows and farmers markets and rent the site for weddings and other private and corporate events. This revenue is enough to pay for the day-to-day operating expenses of the site. But to continue the restoration of the buildings, capital projects and preservation of artifacts, the Foundation relies on donations and grants from supporters. Please go to the website and hit the DONATE NOW button to make your gift. Or, send a check payable to: Packard Motor Car
Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit 501c3 organization.

EPILOGUE
So much of the American automotive heritage has been lost. The Foundation is fortunate to have had the opportunity to save this historic site. Through a series of fortuitous circumstances, it has survived in almost perfect original condition. These were not new buildings dedicated to the past, but ones on the last remaining site that was built by one of America’s greatest companies during the Golden Age of American classic car production. As we look back, we are proud that we have saved this historic treasure.

PPG Restoration Project

PPG History

Our Plan

The Packard Proving Grounds, managed and supported by the Packard Motor Car Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit Corporation, will fulfill its mission through engaging activities such as, but not limited to, the following:

  • Historically accurate restoration of the PPG buildings and grounds
  • Displays of Packard automobiles and memorabilia throughout the PPG
  • Conduct and host educational seminars
  • Provide public access to digital materials covering all things Packard
  • Displays highlighting Packard’s role in WWII’s great American Arsenal of Democracy
  • Engage and grow partnerships with local schools and colleges for automotive, restoration, and architectural programs by providing hands on experiences at the PPG
  • Partner with state and local government on multiple levels to support the community and create awareness of the PPG as part of the Pure Michigan campaign.
  • Partner and leverage synergies with various museums; collections; automobile, aviation, and marine clubs; historical re-enactors; and historical societies to engage the general public through combined events with interactive displays to provide greater historical context and meaning for our guests.
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The Gate LodgeRepair GaragePowerhouseCarriage BarnTank Test CenterWater TowerThe HangarTiming TowerGrounds
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The Gate Lodge

The gate lodge was designed by Albert Kahn and served as the home of site superintendent Charles Vincent, his wife, Lucile, and their three daughters—Corneli, Dorothea, and Roberta. The adjoining garage was used for vehicle testing, while the upper level contained a lounge and five dormitory rooms for resident workers. The building also included a radio room, where Charles Vincent pursued his amateur radio hobby.

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Repair Garage

The Repair Garage, designed by Albert Kahn, was the facility where vehicles were completely disassembled so that each part could be examined. This process allowed engineers to identify failing components, determine the causes, and develop improvements. Such rigorous testing was essential to Packard’s reputation as a producer of premium vehicles.

A defining feature of the building is its innovative roof system, designed to span the space without interior pillars. This was made possible by the “Kahn Trussed Bar,” a steel reinforcement bar with 45-degree flanges that enabled long, unobstructed spans and produced exceptionally strong support structures resistant to fracture or failure.

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Powerhouse

The Powerhouse serves as our office, and was also used as an office for Albert Kahn, the designer of the Lodge and Repair Garage. If you look closely at the outside south wall of this building, just east of the window, you will notice a small door. Inside that door is a small outhouse.

In 1905, Charles Ward built a powerhouse on the bank of the canal basin and furnished Utica with its first electricity. This was the source for the electricity sent up to the Proving Grounds.

You will find a brick powerhouse just west of this building that was built sometime later.

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Carriage Barn

The Carriage Barn may have held other vehicles, perhaps the family camper and other supplies used for maintenance.

The bathroom is original and was used by workers.

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Tank Test Center

In January 1942, the U.S. Ordnance Department leased the Packard Proving Grounds to Chrysler for military vehicle testing. Renamed the Tank Arsenal Proving Ground (TAPG) on January 24, 1943, the site soon added a Tank Test Center, designed by William Kapp, with 15 testing bays, a wash bay, and a five-ton crane.

During WWII, TAPG ran 24/7, completing over 640 research projects, 970 reports, and testing 252 vehicles of 69 types. Tanks logged 570,000 miles and consumed 770,000 gallons of fuel, with suspension and track systems receiving particular focus.

By September 25, 1945, Chrysler and the military had departed, and the facility officially reverted to the Packard Proving Grounds.

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Water Tower

The Packard Proving Grounds needed a water tower to store and deliver water with consistent pressure. What was especially important for the PPG was to have emergency water storage for fire protection.
How it works:

  • Water source: Water is sourced from a river, well, or reservoir.
  • Storage: Water is pumped into the tower when the system has extra water.
  • Pressure: The water’s elevation in the tower creates pressure that pushes water through pipes.
  • Release: Water is released from the tower when needed.
  • Overflow: If the tower is too full, excess water drains out through an overflow pipe.
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The Hangar

The airplane hangar, once located inside the 2½-mile test track, featured a runway leading directly to its 4,000-square-foot building. It was used to develop and test Packard’s aircraft engines.

Under Chief Aeronautical Engineer Lionel M. Woolson, Packard built the first diesel aircraft engine, the Model DR-980. This engine set a record by flying 84½ hours before refueling and earned the prestigious Collier Trophy in 1931.
In 1929, aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh visited the site to test-fly an aircraft powered by a Packard engine.

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Timing Tower and Test Track

The Timing Tower is located next to the 458 surviving feet of test track. The purpose of the Timing Tower was to capture, process, and disseminate critical timing data, essential for evaluating vehicle performance, conducting competitive events, and ensuring safety on the track.

Within the test track are test track pins that helped correlate recorded data to specific locations on the track, improving the accuracy and precision of analysis. Within our collection, we have some recovered pins from the PPG 2 1/2 mile track demolition that were probably recovered by Jon Otman or Carl Altz, or both in circa 2004. The inventory accounts for 65 pins. Some of these track pins are on display in a case within the Tank Test Center.

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Packard Proving Grounds

Between 1926 and 1928, Packard purchased 504 acres in Shelby Township, Michigan, for $175,846 to establish a proving ground designed to test its vehicles under a wide range of demanding conditions. The site featured a 2.5-mile concrete oval racetrack with banked turns, 12 miles of challenging test roads, an airplane hangar, an engineering garage, and a Tudor Revival gate lodge designed by Albert Kahn, which provided housing and dormitories for the superintendent, his family, and some of the onsite workers.

The grounds opened on June 14, 1928, with a race by Indy driver Leon Duray, who set a world closed-course speed record of 148.17 mph. This record made Packard’s track the fastest in the world, a title it held for 24 years until after WWII, when Italy’s Monza surpassed it.

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How it started

  • 1997:

    Packard Motor Car Foundation was founded

    by a group of officers and trustees of the Packard Club (Packard Automobile Classics) as an Ohio non-profit corporation. It was intended to allow donors a way to make tax-deductible contributions to a variety of Packard-related projects.

  • 1999:

    The PMCF became focused on the preservation of the former Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township, Michigan

    In this effort, under the leadership of President Becca Kuehl, the PMCF supported a group of Michigan-based Packard enthusiasts who were mobilizing to preserve a portion of the famous Proving Grounds which had been slated for demolition.  Through extensive negotiations with the owner of the site—Ford Motor Land Development Corporation—the most historic portion of the Proving Grounds was saved.

  • 2001:

    Foundation reincorporated in Michigan as a non-profit corporation

    and the Board of Trustees changed significantly.

  • 2002:

    Foundation took possession of the 14-acre site

    which included the building complex, and a section of the former test track.  The aircraft hangar was moved from the track infield onto this site. The preservation, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of the former Proving Grounds is now the main focus of the Foundation.

  • 2005:

    The Packard Proving Grounds Historic Site is now recognized as a State of Michigan historic site.

    It seems that almost anyone who visits the site becomes taken with the buildings and the automotive, aviation and Arsenal of Democracy history of the site.  The Foundation officers and trustees were fortunate to recruit a dedicated group of local volunteers which has grown in size and commitment over the years.

  • 2007:

    The Packard Proving Grounds Historic Site is now recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.

  • 2017:

    The site has grown to approximately 17 acres of land

    and has become a multi-use facility and destination for events ranging from car shows to weddings and corporate events to a farm market.  Visitors are treated to educational tours of the facility which has broadened the awareness and support of the Proving Grounds far beyond the Packard collectors who started the effort.

In Memorial

Gene passed away on December 22, 2015 at the age of 73. He was well liked and respected within the Packard community, He organized a “glazing” project and replaced the broken windows in the airplane hangar. His family and friends wanted to do something to remember him by. They generously donated to the building of the impressive sign at the main entrance to the site.

This plaque is located in the Gate Lodge garage. It recognizes the four couples who funded the $400,000 retirement of the PPG mortgage.