UBJ snapshot ORIGINALLY, W.M. THOMPSON’S T-MODEL FORD AGENCY... NOW, FORD’S OYSTER HOUSE & Cajun Kitchen.
From 1913-1924, 631 South Main Street in Greenville housed the first Ford Motor Company dealership in the Upstate, W.M. Thompson’s T-Model Ford Agency. The street level was the showroom displaying the shiny new cars and the floor above was used as workspace for repairs. The top level of the building was used to store Thompson’s inventory from the latest designs from Ford. Ford’s Oyster House opened in May 2011 and operates in the old showroom area. The former workspace
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30 Upstate business | DECEMBER 21, 2012
PRESIDENT/Publisher Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com Senior Vice President Alan P. Martin amartin@communityjournals.com UBJ Associate Publisher Ryan L. Johnston rjohnston@communityjournals.com eXECUTIVE Editor Susan Clary Simmons ssimmons@communityjournals.com Assistant editor Jerry Salley jsalley@communityjournals.com
is now used as the Loft at Falls Park. There is a stairwell inside that used to be a large elevator that moved the cars from the Ford agency’s floor. The support beams and brackets in the Loft space and staple marks in the beams from work orders are still intact from the showroom days. In addition, the stained glass in the windows above ground level are still from that period, as are the wood floors complete with welding burns in the loft space. The side of the building still reads “W.M. Thompson.”
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