Framingham Assembly
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Framingham Assembly was a General Motors factory in Framingham, Massachusetts which opened in 1947. The plant cost $12 million and was one of three new plants that year.
The first vehicle, produced on 26 February 1948, was a Buick, with 23,388 more produced that first year. The factory was used by "BOP" (Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac) and produced 697,574 cars by 1959. In August of that year, it became part of Fisher Body, producing Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile cars.
The factory was repurposed again in May, 1968, changing from separate Fisher Body and Chevrolet Division operations to a combined operation under the new GM Assembly Division, to produce the Chevrolet Chevelle and Pontiac Le Mans. The Buick Skylark and Oldsmobile Cutlass were added in 1970, and the Pontiac GTO was added the next year. In 1981, the Chevrolet Celebrity and Pontiac 6000 were produced, with the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera added for the 1983 model year.
The plant was idled on October 4, 1982, with a single shift recalled on March 14, 1983. The second shift started again on December 12, 1983.
The factory was closed permanently on August 1, 1989. The facillity is now the location of an ADESA automobile, truck, and boat warehouse and live auction site.
Framingham Assembly was located just South of downtown Framingham at Loring Drive and Western Avenue. The address of the ADESA auction site is 63 Western Ave.
Framingham and its closure is largely the result of civic action, it is one of the few sites where political leaders and local citizens were opposed to the operation of an assembly plant. This made the closure of Framingham far easier than other facilities where local leaders and citizens wanted to save jobs and tax revenue.
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- Framingham Assembly is at coordinates Coordinates:
