The story
Henry Ford acquired this Deep Ellum block in 1914 for one of his first auto assembly plants, and the plant stayed until the 1930s. During World War II the company became Mayhew Machine and Engineering Works, which made jeeps, practice bombs and ammunition. Wikipedia says the factory closed in the 1970s.
It opened as a music venue, the Bomb Factory, in 1993. Acts included the Ramones, Sonic Youth, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails and Phish, whose 1994 show is known as Tweezerfest. The first Warped Tour was held in its parking lot on August 9, 1995. It closed in 1997 during a downturn in Deep Ellum. It reopened on March 26, 2015, with Erykah Badu, was renamed the Factory in Deep Ellum in 2021, and got its old name back on March 3, 2025.
What's There Now
It operates again as the Bomb Factory, a music venue.
Everything that was here
- 1993–present · still open
The Bomb FactoryMusic Venue
A Henry Ford assembly plant that built wartime jeeps and practice bombs, then hosted Phish, Nine Inch Nails and the first Warped Tour.
See the map in 1994 → - Date unknown
Mayhew Machine and Engineering WorksFactory
World War II maker of jeeps, practice bombs and ammunition in the former Ford plant.
- 1914–1930
Ford Motor Company assembly plantFactory
One of Henry Ford's first assembly plants, on what was then Williams Street. Source says it stayed until the 1930s.
See the map in 1915 →
Did you know?
Nearby history
Adair's Saloon
Trees
Sons of Hermann Hall
Vitagraph / Warner Bros. building (Robert Johnson sessions)
Old Dallas Central Library
Majestic Theatre
Know something about The Bomb Factory? An old photo, a date, a memory of what stood here before?
Add it on the map