Really cool people we have met along the way

Alex Attard is a creative man with boundless energy. A former body shop owner, he has spent the last 30+ years creating a 1900’s village on his nine acre homestead in Farmington Hills, Michigan. It started with a chicken coop that was on the property when he purchased it. He liked how it looked, so he took it to the back and turned it into the stable. It went on from there.

Using recycled materials, he has recreated many of the shops of the early days of the last century. Alex’s remarkable building collection includes a bank, church, jail, saloon, stable, livery, blacksmith shop, general store, Chinese laundry, outhouse and a dentist office. The indoor and outdoor displays include scores of antique cars, buggies, a train, wagons, farm implements and artifacts. Goodies inside the buildings include signs, pedal cars, light fixtures, trench art, trucks, car emblems, keychains, toys, appliances, and much more. WHEW! I think you could walk through these barns every day for a month and see new things each time.

The “African Queen” is docked next to one barn. Upstairs is a pirate’s lair, complete with complete with a ship’s wheel and treasure chests filled with “gold” coins and “jewels”. Walk around the property and you’ll come across a cemetery, a dinosaur and a train. There are little surprises tucked everywhere you look.

And then there are the vehicles. From a 1913 (?) Princess (the car I wanted to take home), to a Franklin, from a 1930s Auburn convertible to a Crosley, from a Dodge Brothers truck to an Austin Taxi Cab to.... over 100 of them were spread throughout the property.

Each building had its own unique feel to it. The accessories gave them a fun reality. During a car club visit last summer, a few club members were found behind bars in the jail. Other club members were found behind bars of a different nature. It’s a good thing his barns were not “antique stores” because I would have gone broke buying all the cool things I saw!

The neat thing is unless you knew his place was there, you’d never notice it driving down the road. What a wonderfully creative mind Alex has! I've had the good fortune to visit Alex's on several occasions. His collection is more than just buildings full of things behind glass, this was an experience on many levels.