JACKSON, MI - Built around 1910, the 14,000-square-foot building at 615 Hupp Ave. was once a mecca for automobile assembly.

It passed from manufacturer to manufacturer, eventually becoming a Jackson Citizen Patriot storage warehouse. By summer 2019, though, Ted O'Dell hopes to have the building fully restored to its industrial heyday.

After the $1.4 million restoration, the space will be the Hackett Auto Museum and reception space.

"The sign on the door says, 'This place is worth saving,'" O'Dell, project leader, said. "And I honestly believe that. There's so much incredible automotive history in this building."

The location's automobile legacy started around 1911 with the Standard Electric Automobile Company, producing a closed, coupe-brougham model known as the Model M and another called the Runabout.

They could go about 100 miles in between charges.

"It's amazing to think Jackson was making an electric car 100 years ago," O'Dell said. "And there's one left, it's in the (Lemay-America's Car) Museum in Tacoma, Washington."

The building later housed the Lewis Spring and Axle Company, Argo Motor Company, Briscoe Motor Company and Hackett Motor Company. At one time, it was owned by David Buick, founder of Buick Motor Company.

O'Dell already has 12 cars and an airplane - a Pietenpol which runs on a Model T engine - for the public museum. The current selection includes a Model A, Model T, a 1913 Cartercar, a 1948 Frazer Manhattan and a 1966 Mustang.

While many of the 13 vehicles tapped for the museum are Michigan made - including from Detroit, Highland Park, Ypsilanti and Pontiac - none were manufactured in Jackson. O'Dell hopes to change that.

"I'm trying to put together a small collection of cars significant to Jackson," O'Dell said. "I want this to be the permanent home."

O'Dell is also interested in displaying vehicles from Lloyd Ganton's Ye Ole Carriage Shop - which has 18 Jackson-made vehicles in Spring Arbor.

Most vehicles will be pre-war aged, but this particular Mustang has special meaning to O'Dell.

"It was my first car that I ever bought," O'Dell said. "When I was 16 years old."

He sold the car to some friends when he went off to college. When the couple who bought it got divorced, they offered the car back to O'Dell.

Developing history

O'Dell is seeking local, state and federal funding help for the construction project, which he hopes to begin in the first quarter of 2018.

He wants to restore the building, exposing the original turn-of-the-century skylights, garage doors and windows, and sealing the original walls.

"It has fantastic bones," O'Dell said.

Besides automobiles, O'Dell is collecting other insignia to enhance the aura of the space. He already has an original city of Detroit light pole, which once stood in front of Henry Ford's original factory. O'Dell's hoping it will fit inside the Hackett Auto Museum.

He also wants to add throwback gas pumps, fire hydrants and neon signs. O'Dell, who's backing away from his role as a consultant in Lansing, already has a house full of operational antiques - from wind-up record players to coffee grinders.

"I always felt I was born 100 years too late," O'Dell said. "Ever since I was a kid, my favorite car was a Model T Ford."

Once it's ready to go, the museum will be open from Tuesday to Sunday. Tentatively, it will cost $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for kids.

"I think it's important to save history so we pass it on to the next generation," O'Dell said. "It's the old saying, 'If you don't know your history, you'll be doomed to repeat it.'"