Ford Motor Company. Photographic Dept.

The Ford Rotunda, designed by Albert Kahn, was originally built in 1934 to house Ford Motor Company product exhibits and activities at the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair. After the fair closed, Ford management elected to move the building to Dearborn, Michigan. It opened to the public in 1936 as a permanent exhibit area and a hospitality center for Ford Motor Company Rouge River Plant factory tours. From 1942 to 1952 it was used as office space by successive armed services teams and by Ford executive groups. In 1953 the Rotunda was refurbished as part of Ford's fiftieth anniversary celebration. Renovation included the development of a geodesic dome for the circular inner court designed by R. Buckminster Fuller. In the next nine years the Rotunda drew two million visitors a year. A fire destroyed the building in 1962.

From the description of Ford Rotunda lantern slides series, 1948-1962. (The Henry Ford). WorldCat record id: 55795135