The Dearborn Inn, Autograph Collection, is located in Dearborn outside of Detroit and unveiled a second phase of renovations in mid-October. These updates followed an earlier transformation, which commenced in March and featured a reimagining of the existing 135 guest rooms and all public spaces (including the two on-site dining concepts, Clara’s Table restaurant and Four Vagabonds cocktail bar and lounge). The second batch of renovations touched on the hotel’s three ballrooms and also launched 18 guest accommodations housed within standalone Colonial-era homes inspired by notable figures throughout American and literary history, including writers Edgar Allen Poe and Walt Whitman, Civil War Unionist Barbara Fritchie, and Founding Fathers Patrick Henry and Oliver Wolcott.
“In this second phase of updates, each of the three ballrooms—the Dearborn, Alexandria, and Fairlane—were all existing venues that underwent extensive renovations by the Ford Land design team,” says Joleisha Bradley, general manager at the hotel. Ford Land is the real estate development and management arm of Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. “Each space was modernized and refreshed to meet today’s event needs while still preserving the property’s historic charm.” The Dearborn Ballroom offers 7,560 square feet of function space for up to 800 people, the Alexandria Ballroom has 3,444 square feet for up to 350, and the Fairlane Ballroom features 3,188 square feet of space for up to 300. Also available are a collection of smaller meeting rooms and a private dining room at Four Vagabonds.
“The transformation reimagines Dearborn Inn’s historic legacy for today’s planners, pairing its rich heritage with over 17,000 square feet of newly refreshed, highly flexible event space,” says Bradley. “As a meetings destination, the hotel offers a unique balance of history and innovation, inviting planners to be inspired by the American innovators by which the hotel itself was built.”
Dearborn Inn was originally constructed in 1931 by Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Co., and welcomed a slew of well-known figures throughout its lifetime, from Walt Disney and Orville Wright to Norman Rockwell and Bette Davis.
