Ford receiving calls to return stolen Detroit train station property

Phoebe Wall Howard | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Michigan Central Station clock returns home An anonymous call to the Henry Ford museum revealed the return of the Michigan Central Station clock.

After the return of a stolen clock, callers from throughout the Midwest say they have historic artifacts from the now-vacant, graffiti-covered Michigan Central Station and want to return the lost items to Ford.

"This is like no other process I've ever seen," said Dave Dubensky, chairman and CEO of Ford Land. "We've touched the community in such a way that it compels them to call us and offer things back and even offer money."

He continued, "One individual offered a plaster medallion of flowers original to the train depot. We've had multiple calls about lights, and another individual that has an original fountain from the depot."

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After about two dozen calls involving recovery and refurbishment, Ford is compiling a list of items that might be returned and planning to validate authenticity.

Not all calls involve returning stolen property. Experts in architectural restoration have also reached out in an effort to help.

The 18-story Beaux arts structure, which opened in 1913 and closed in 1988, is no longer a symbol of Detroit's demise but, rather, its resurrection.

Ford announced its purchase of the building earlier this month for an undisclosed amount with plans to restore the magnificent building and house workers, lease space to venture capitalists and develop luxury lofts. Ford hopes everything will be finished by 2022.

The depot will be the hub of an advanced automotive research campus employing 2,500 Ford workers and transforming Corktown, Detroit's oldest surviving neighborhood. It re-establishes Ford in the city of its birth and gives the carmaker a hip location that will appeal to younger engineers and tech workers it needs to be a leader in the future of transportation.

"We're getting a variety of people offering their services, architectural artifact services, who can go out and procure stuff for us, not necessarily original to the building," Dubensky said. "People want to be involved. This individual called and said he had nothing to give but the project is so cool and neat and he wanted to help in some way, did we accept donations? We don’t know how to accept those donations yet. I’ve got to figure that out."

After all, Ford is a multibillion dollar company. And while this project is a Detroit treasure, the Dearborn-based carmaker didn't expect people to call and offer cash.

For now, the focus is tracking down lost treasures.

"We'll go out to arrange pickups, as we did with the (stolen) clock," Dubensky said.

Ford has assembled a "wish list" of items taken from the depot over the 30 years it was vacant, including light fixtures, the clock that hung above the ticket window, ticket window grills, elevator transom panels and decorative ornaments surrounding the large steel windows.

"Lighting is our No. 1 request," Dubensky said. "There are many missing historic elements that tell the story."

He urged the public to come forward with missing items, no questions asked, and call his assistant Donnell Elwood, who can be reached at 313-322-1092.

A stolen clock returned earlier this month was left for Ford with instructions to go to an abandoned lot just 2 miles from the train station. Calls now are coming from metro Detroit, Ann Arbor, Bay City, Chicago and Ohio.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-222-6512 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid