AutoWorld was an indoor theme park in Flint, Michigan, USA, built to make the town attractive to tourists. The theme park opened in July 1984 and closed during its first year. It was originally set up as a Six Flags amusement park venture.
After failed attempts at revival in the summer of 1985 and other attempts at making the complex viable (once even being opened as an indoor golf course), it went bankrupt. The $80-million theme park finally closed its doors January 1985, later reopening for holidays and other special occasions before finally being demolished in 1997[1] at which point the land was sold to the University of Michigan-Flint.
AutoWorld's first area was located inside a big dome, the insides of which were designed to look like long-ago Flint. The first display that one encountered was a small cabin, inside of which was a mannequin. When one pressed a red button on the outside of the cabin, a film was projected onto the mannequin's face. The mannequin was supposed to be Jacob Smith, founder of Flint. The mannequin/film would welcome the visitor to AutoWorld and talk about the beginning of Flint. In the center of the dome was a Ferris wheel, and nearby were a carousel and other attractions.
On the grand opening of AutoWorld, then-Governor James J. Blanchard predicted it would trigger "the rebirth of the great city of Flint."[2]
Outside the dome was an area with a giant car engine, a wall with a rotating display of old brand shields, and an attraction depicting the past, present, and future of automobile assembly. The Industrial Mutual Association Auditorium section had rides that featured robotic puppets, an IMAX theater, and a two-story ramp that exhibited a history of the effect of automobiles in popular culture.
AutoWorld was featured in the 1989 movie Roger & Me by Michael Moore. Footage of AutoWorld being demolished was shown in the 1997 film The Big One, also by Moore. The site is now home to the University of Michigan-Flint's William S. White Building, which houses the nursing program and School of Management.
|
||||||||||||||