
As soon as there were automobiles, Eatonville welcomed them. Here’s a shot of the Universal Motor Company that sold Fords. You can barely see the cars inside, but you can easily see the top-of-the-line tires of the day.
I believe this store was run by Harold Pravitz.
Here are a few interesting Ford facts:
1908 – The first 1909 Model T was built at Ford’s Piquette Ave. Plant
1909 – The Model T came in first place in the New York to Seattle race, 4100 miles in 22 days and 55 minutes averaging 7.75 mph.
1910 – Model T production moved to Ford’s Highland Park Assembly Plant, also known as the ‘Crystal Palace’ because of the vast expanse of windows.
1913 – Ford implements the moving assembly line at its Highland Park Assembly Plant, reducing chassis build time from 14 hours per car to just 1.5 hours
1914 – Henry Ford is alleged to have proclaimed, “You can have and color you want, as long as it’s black.” From 1914 to 1925 the Model T was only available in black.
1917 – The 2 millionth Model T Ford rolled off the line on June 14th.
1919 – Ford introduced an electric starter for the Model T which meant owners no longer had to crank the engine to start it.
1921 – The 5 millionth Model T Ford rolled off the line on May 28th.
1924 – The 10 millionth Model T Ford rolled off the line on June 4th. Famed ford racing driver Frank Kulick drove it from New York to San Francisco on the Lincoln Highway, the only coast-to-coast highway at the time. (Per www.modelt.ca)
Photo courtesy of then Christensen family.
Click on image to enlarge.
3 responses to “Universal Motors”
My best guess for the location of this building is what was Groe St now Center St E next to the real estate office The Eatonville Dispatch was the last occupant.
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Really. I should have recognized it. Thanks!
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The cars in the picture are either 1915 or 1916 Ford Model T.
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