315 West Water Street

Flint, Genesee County

Designation and Designation Date

• Marker, erected 1978
• National Historic Landmark, listed September 2, 1975
• National Register, listed September 2, 1975

Associated Person(s)

• William Crapo Durant

Significant Date(s), Notes

• 1895, building erected

Significance Statement

From 1895 to 1913 the Durant-Dort Carriage Company Office Building, situated near downtown Flint, served as a focal point for William C. Durant's promotional activities in the carriage and automobile business. Here, he built the Durant-Dort Carriage Company into one of the nation's largest manufacturers of horse-drawn vehicles and directed the early destinies of Buick, the foundation of General Motors. The Durant-Dort Company played a significant role in financing not only Buick but General Motors and Chevrolet as well.

In 1908 William Crapo Durant founded General Motors. Durant envisioned the creation of a large company that would manufacture not one but several makes of automobiles, as well as parts for them, and he set up the General Motors Acceptance Corporation for consumer financing. He was also responsible for bringing Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., and Charles F. Kettering into General Motors and for GM's acquisition of the Fisher Body Company and Frigidare.

For information about any of the programs described on this site, write the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office, Michigan Historical Center, P.O. Box 30740, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, MI 48909-8240, or call us at (517) 373-1630.