1946 was a year of tumult and excitement in the Motor City. The Allies had prevailed in World War II, in no small part due to the extraordinary efforts of Detroit's industries. The year also marked the 50th anniversary of the American automobile and the 150th anniversary of the raising of the flag over Wayne County. Detroit   was booming and filled with justified pride. This enthusiasm culminated in the Automotive Golden Jubilee.

The Golden Jubilee was a salute to the city's wartime industry and its transformation to peacetime bounty and abundance. The Jubilee planners arose from the business community, especially the auto industry, and they planned the massive celebration in just two months. The Jubilee was full of flashy cars, futuristic technology, celebrities, and entertainment representing all of the city's ethnic groups.

The economy was in the midst of difficult adjustments from wartime production back to a peacetime consumer economy. Strikes were militant and rampant, especially in the heavy industries of the Midwest. Detroit's unresolved racial tensions and social growing pains seemed more profound than other cities in the industrial belt.

The Jubilee was to be a gala event on the scale of a world's fair, which would demonstrate to the entire world Detroit's civic unity and continued prosperity. This is the forgotten story of the awe-inspiring twelve-day spectacle which amplified Detroit's strengths and some of its weaknesses.

upper left and right:
The planners of the 1946 Automotive Golden Jubilee went to great lengths to promote the event. Banners, radio announcements, and promotional stunts caused a stir across the country.