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AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Flint MI

Address: 509 Harrison St
City: Flint
State: MI
Zip: 48506
County: Genesee
Number of visits to this page: 39785
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General Information:

I have the address at 509 Harrison St (U of M Flint Early CDC) as it was on the lot next door according to a 1983 aerial photo. The geodesic dome structure with the fins on top is unmistakable in the 1983 photo. Even though that was not the exact address when the place was open, I will use it for reference purposes as the empty lot where AutoWorld was has no address.

I visited AutoWorld not long after it opened, I was excited to see it but was also pretty disappointed when I did. Most of the exhibits seemed to be cheap, many of them just pictures or plaques with a few videos. Not too many actual cars were in the place from what I remember. The area where they re-created downtown Flint was kind of cool as well as the indoor Ferris Wheel. I think they could have executed the idea better and given more time, it could have succeeded. Unfortunately it was closed after a few months of operation. Many ideas were considered to either re-open or re-develop the attraction as the articles below attest to. None of them came to fruition.

In 1984, the $70 million AutoWorld theme park opened in Flint, Michigan, amid much fanfare and hoopla. Situated on nearly seven acres of land downtown, the park was supposed to draw 900,000 visitors every year and help revive a dying inner city. It had the enthusiastic support of city and state officials and many big-name Flint citizens. Half the $70 million it took to build the facility came from federal, state, and city governments. Sixteen years later, nothing remains of the park. Closed after less than two years of sparse crowds, and then later demolished, the site is now part of the University of Michigan's Flint campus.

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Info Updates:
3/12/2008 - Don Hargraves
I actually worked at Autoworld during the summer of 1985. At first I worked at the outdoor portion of the park (where they had put in some rides and a theater with Warner Brother Cartoon Characters), then spent some time inside what was the IMA Auditorium. That portion had a couple of theme rides, the IMAX theater and a two-story ramp that had little displays of the effect of the Automobile on people's thoughts, culture and entertainment.

For me, the best parts were the Imax and a ride on the third floor (sorry, I don't remember its name) that depicted the automobile from the viewpoint of a horse i the early 1900's. The cars were in various states of disrepair, immobilization or confusion, as were their drivers, and the horse's haughty commentary made for droll descriptions. Sadly, the last month or so they replaced the tape with a stereotypical rural hick voice, thereby ruining the ride.

Sadly, Autoworld was badly designed as a destination. Stuck in the middle of a bad area of Flint nowhere near expressway access, limited into a space too small for a real park and with too much depending on it, the place was closed up after two years. They tried to make the IMAX theater work, but even that failed and old IMA Auditorium was eventually imploded so that UofM Flint could expand.

I had even gone to the IMA Auditorium a few times in the seventies. Was a nice place to host a show (or a revival).
 Photos:44
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1983 Photo
1983 Photo
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1985 Photo
1985 Photo
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Old Artifacts
Old Artifacts
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Old Brochure Front
Old Brochure Front
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Old Brochure Inside
Old Brochure Inside
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Old Photo
Old Photo
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Old Photo
Old Photo
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Old Photo
Old Photo
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Old Photo
Old Photo
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - As Old Flint Ima Before Conversion To Auto World
As Old Flint Ima Before Conversion To Auto World
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Demolition Blast
Demolition Blast
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Demolition Blast
Demolition Blast
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Demolition Blast
Demolition Blast
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Demolition Blast
Demolition Blast
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Demolition Blast
Demolition Blast
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Demolition Blast
Demolition Blast
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Animated
Animated
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1984 Article On Opening
1984 Article On Opening
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1984 Article On Opening
1984 Article On Opening
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - June 1984 Article
June 1984 Article
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - June 1984 Article
June 1984 Article
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1984 Review From Lansing State Journal
1984 Review From Lansing State Journal
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1984 Review From Lansing State Journal
1984 Review From Lansing State Journal
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1988 Article On Boblo And Autoworld
1988 Article On Boblo And Autoworld
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1988 Article On Boblo And Autoworld
1988 Article On Boblo And Autoworld
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - July 1983 Article Free Press
July 1983 Article Free Press
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - July 1983 Article Free Press
July 1983 Article Free Press
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1981 Article That Dicusses Ideas Never Implemented
1981 Article That Dicusses Ideas Never Implemented
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1984 Livingston County Daily Article
1984 Livingston County Daily Article
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1985 Article About Re-Opening
1985 Article About Re-Opening
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1985 Article On Autoworld
1985 Article On Autoworld
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1985 Article On Closing
1985 Article On Closing
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1985 Article On Price Drop And New Attractions
1985 Article On Price Drop And New Attractions
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1985 Cut Rate Deal
1985 Cut Rate Deal
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1987 Article About Re-Open That Never Happened
1987 Article About Re-Open That Never Happened
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1988 Article On Museum Idea
1988 Article On Museum Idea
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1988 Article On University Idea
1988 Article On University Idea
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1993 Article On Potential Development For Site
1993 Article On Potential Development For Site
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Six Flags Opening Ad
Six Flags Opening Ad
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Current Aerial Now An Empty Lot
Current Aerial Now An Empty Lot
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Sept 1983 Article
Sept 1983 Article
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1983 Aerial Photo In Context
1983 Aerial Photo In Context
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - 1983 Aerial Photo
1983 Aerial Photo
AutoWorld (Six Flags AutoWorld) - Now An Empty Lot
Now An Empty Lot
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