AutoWorld was an indoor theme park in Flint, Michigan, United States, developed as a tourist attraction for its host city. It opened as Six Flags AutoWorld on July 4, 1984, and closed for the first time just six months later, closing permanently in 1994 before its demolition three years later.

On the grand opening of AutoWorld, then-Governor James J. Blanchard said it would trigger "the rebirth of the great city of Flint." However, former mayor of Flint, James W. Rutherford, attributes the idea for AutoWorld to Anderson. A second possible origin for the idea of AutoWorld is Harding Mott discussing the need for the Flint community "to get its pride together" because "after all, [Flint is] one of the main centers in the history of automaking."

Over the next decade, between 1970 and 1980, several other plans and designs were commissioned, playing roles of varying importance to the development of AutoWorld. In 1978, C. W. Shaver & Company, Inc., developed a plan to create "a National Institute to demonstrate the impact of the automobile" and "a people-attraction in downtown Flint centered around the automobile." The project was called "A National Institute of Automotive Science and History (AutoWorld)."

In 1980, the C. S. Mott Foundation and the FACI received a market support update from Hammer, Siler, George Associates, which included updated projections based on their initial study of 1976. This updated plan "retains an automotive theme but incorporates many theme park elements" and states, "AutoWorld will contain several rides and shows as well as highly participatory displays and a wide variety of retail and restaurant outlets." AutoWorld was to contain elements of a theme park but on a smaller scale, indoors, and with more attractions for visitors of all ages. This plan included attendance projections and predicted that residents of Flint would comprise the majority of AutoWorld attendees based on projections from other similar theme parks.

The final plan for AutoWorld came from Randall Duell Associates, and Recreation Consultants of Santa Clara, headed by David L. Brown, completed a Feasibility Study of AutoWorld for FACI. The plan revealed that projected attendance for the first year would be 750,000 and approximately 1 million for the next year. produced by award-winning experience designer Bob Rogers and the design team BRC Imagination Arts, celebrated three decades of automobile mobile industry advertisements, from the early days of television advertising and into the 1980s. The short film, which continues to be in distribution for educational purposes, exemplifies how the automotive industry has long been a master of creating and manipulating images of desirable lifestyles to sell a product.

Closure

In December 1984, AutoWorld announced it would only be open on weekends throughout the rest of the winter. In January 1985, investors closed AutoWorld completely. Initially, there were efforts to keep AutoWorld in operation. There were efforts, planned for May 1987, to open AutoWorld with "weekend only operation with seasonal operation as a theme park and festival center."

Although AutoWorld would open for several brief periods throughout the following years, Michigan's depressed economy continued to scare away tourists and investors. AutoWorld closed permanently in 1994. After the closure, there were several proposals for redevelopment, including a casino, but that plan was rejected in 1994.

AutoWorld was featured in the 1989 Michael Moore film Roger & Me. Footage of AutoWorld being demolished was shown in Moore's 1997 film The Big One.

References

  • Information On AutoWorld
  • "They needed more thrill" -- Looking back at 25th anniversary of Flint legend, AutoWorld
  • WJRT-TV Original Report on AutoWorld Opening (re-aired July 2009)
  • Listen to NPR report on AutoWorld as failed magic bullet for Flint