On the night of May 29, 1946, Mary Grace Simescu, a dark, lithe beauty, waved a wand of neutron-splitting beryllium over a tube of boron, smashing a boron atom, and transmitting an electrical impulse which illuminated a spiraling neon atomic symbol.

She stood in the center of a jubilant throng in Detroit's downtown Grand Circus Park. Flanked by her six princesses, Miss Simescu, "her automotive majesty", inaugurated the first-ever use of atomic power for peacetime purposes, at the same moment commencing a twelve-day spectacle which celebrated Detroit, America's recent World War II victory, and, not least, the 50th anniversary of the automobile.

The centerpiece of the opening night ceremonies was a 65-foot tall sculptural reproduction of the Jubilee symbol, created by Detroit's own futuristic industrial designer, Arthur Radebaugh. Radebaugh's symbol featured three icons of the technological age, sitting atop a giant wheel. In the foreground was the golden silhouette of an 1896 automobile prototype, representing Detroit's glorious past. Immediately behind it, a luminous blue car, amalgamating features of 1946 models, represented the present. Towering behind both automobiles was a symbol of the future, representing pure energy: an "atomic device," an atom in fission.

The symbol was featured on ties, hats, shop windows, official   programs,   and advertisements. On opening night, it served a special purpose. Together with Mayor Edward Jeffries Jr., General Knudsen and George Romney, the Queen stood upon the futuristic sculpture and with a wave of her wand symbolically unified the past and present with the vision of an optimistic future.

top left: Jubilee Queen Mary Grace Simescu extends a tube of boron which had just split an atom of beryllium to furnish the energy necessary to light the Jubilee sculpture.

above right: The official emblem of the Golden Jubilee realized as a sixty-five foot structural reproduction. Its underlying theme was the past, present and future use of energy by the automotive industry for peaceful purposes.

left: The Golden Jubilee Program featuring artist Arthur Radebaugh’s full-color vision of the Automotive Golden Jubilee sculpture on opening night, with downtown Detroit in the background.