The opening event of Ford Motor Co.’s new world headquarters could have been a formal, stuffy affair with a buttoned-down corporate vibe.
Instead, the  Dearborn-based automaker chose to make the official dedication of the 2.1-million-square-foot building on Sunday, Nov. 16, feel as close to a family reunion as possible.
Ford invited its family — aka, the public, with its many generations of metro Detroiters’ connection to Ford’s 122-year history — to take a free, self-guided tour of the new world headquarters at Oakwood Boulevard and Village Road, just across the street from the Henry Ford Museum.
As hundreds of people poured in starting at 11 a.m. Sunday, the party was on.  Outside, Motown hits played on loudspeakers. Papier-mache Big Heads from Detroit’s America’s Thanksgiving Parade — Rosie the Riveter, Detroit Lions great Barry Sanders, Detroit Tigers iconic slugger Miguel Cabrera and more — served as photo props for guests.
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Visitors formed a line for donuts and cider, while families with toddlers headed for a bouncy house and bouncy slide. Everywhere you turned, new Ford vehicles and a  community car show of classic vehicles showed off the Ford brand.
And the dress code? It wasn’t easy to spot a suit. Nearly everyone was bundled into casual, Michigan-appropriate coats to ward off the chill, from Ford executive chair Bill Ford, Ford CEO Jim Farley and master of ceremonies and former WDIV anchor Devin Scillian to Ford retirees, Dearborn residents and design buffs.
Inside, those finishing the tour paused to admire touches like the vibrant wall near the Oakwood entrance that is covered with raised circles, representing Ford’s car colors from the Model T days to the shades of today.
The reviews for the structure were overwhelmingly positive. “First class. It’s really a beauty,” said George Bobrowski, 87, an engineer in product development who spent more than three decades with Ford.
“I thought the building was fantastic. It was very impressive,” said Ken Leitch, a 43-year Ford veteran, now retired, who worked in power train engineering.
Mark Topping, a retiree with 32 years at Ford, echoed those sentiments. “The building is huge. It’s just massive,” said Topping. “It definitely has a lot of attributes that are up to date now for the future of building cars.”
Among many things that impressed Topping on the tour was the cafeteria. “I was really amazed,” he said, adding that “it looked like it had a thing where they grew some of their own lettuce.”
He was referring to Gallery Hall, a huge food court featuring seven different restaurants run by chefs, where some of the greens for salads are grown and picked fresh in-house.
For current Ford employee Achraf Houeidi, a program manager in product development, taking his family to the opening — like the new HQ itself — was a forward-thinking movie. “My kid wants to become an engineer, and he obviously wants to work for Ford… He really loved the atmosphere, which is one of the big things we’re trying to target for the younger generation.”
What did Houeidi’s son Kayan think was the coolest part of the tour? “The cars….the Mustangs,” said the nine-year-old, who already has a good eye for vehicle style.
Sunday’s visitors included Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, who called the world headquarters a sign of “Ford’s strong commitment” to Dearborn and the Detroit region and to remaining a a global leader.
The only thing Ford may need is a summer repeat of Sunday’s get-together. Praising the new HQ as “unique,” retired Detroit and Southfield public school teacher Mike Terrell, who worked for Ford in his younger days, added with a laugh, “I expected to be able see a little more of the building, especially standing outside for 45 minutes in the cold.
Added Terrell, “But I’m glad I came. I think it’s worth seeing.”
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.

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