Arnold, Schwinn & Co. The World Cycles.

[cyclingday]

One of my favorite threads is;
Bicycle Shop Decal/Stickers.
I like the “where is it now” component of that thread, and the ability to Mapquest the location, to see if there is anything recognizable about the location anymore?
So I was looking at an old correspondence envelope from the original location of Arnold, Schwinn & Company,
The World Cycles at 254 W.Lake St. Chicago, Illinois.

The address number has changed over time, but I was pleased to see, the building is still there.

It’s getting pretty faint after all these years, but if you look really close, you can just barely make out, The World Cycles, sign that was painted on the top of the west side of the building.

I’m not sure what the preservation status is for this building, but it looks like it’s currently available for sale or lease?

Hopefully its status as the original manufacturing facility of Arnold, Schwinn & Company, will mean something to its new owners, and it can be somewhat preserved for the future.
Either way, it was fun to take a trip down memory lane via the map feature on my IPhone, and scope out the ancestral home of Arnold, Schwinn & Company, The World Cycles.
I wonder what Ignaz would’ve thought about IPhone’s and Carbon Fiber Bicycles?

 

[Freqman1]

Mart, I visited in 2020 just before I deployed to Afghanistan and was given the grand tour by the owner of the building, renowned Chicago architect Pat Fitzgerald. I took the opportunity to get pics of the Model 22 where it was born. The first floor is occupied by his firm and he sub-lets space to other firms. The second through sixth floors have been turned into luxury condos. As you can see on the first floor he has retained some of the original machinery from the factory as his goal was to maintain the integrity of the original building. He wanted to buy the Model 22 but I had already verbally committed to you. I believe he bought the bike Jesse found and was going to have it restored. He did buy a pair of really nice G&Js to display in the building. He's also a motorcycle guy and the bike shown is in his office.

See post #8

Sunday's Show and Tell ...5/31/20 | General Discussion About Old Bicycles

Happy Summer everyone. Don't forget your mask. Let's see what relics you've found from the past week. Whether, it be bike related or not. Please, include pictures as we do love pictures! Picked up this Hawthorne tank for a project. Thanks Gabor. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

thecabe.com

 

[cyclingday]

That’s fantastic!
Thanks, for the post Shawn.
I knew you had been there, so I was hoping you could contribute to this thread.
I talked with Patrick Fitzgerald right after I bought the Model 22 from you, and he has since sold the building.
He still owns the 1896 model that he got from Jesse, but hasn’t done the restoration on it yet.
That is one of the reasons I did the google earth search on the building, as I was curious if anything had been done with it yet?
I don’t know how often they update those satellite images, so the currently available pictures may still be from several years ago.
That World Cycles painted sign on the west side of the building, is slowly fading away, much like the company itself.
But for the hobbyists that keep the flame alive, eventually the brand will be as faded as that side of the building that faces the setting sun.
Pat is a neat guy to talk to about that building.
He said that he thought the welding and fabrication was done on the ground or basement floors, and that the paint was done on one of the upper floors.
He said you could still see the remnants of paint in the old wood floors where the paintwork was being done.
It’s so cool that the building is still intact from so long ago.
Hollowed ground for Schwinn deciples from around The World.

 

[blue72beetle]

What year did Schwinn move out of that building?

 

[Freqman1]

I believe they moved about 1901 to a new facility

 

[GTs58]

Some history on that building and Schwinn.

Davis-Rankin Building

chicagology.com

History on the new Schwinn factory......... https://chicagology.com/skyscrapers/skyscrapers178/

Chicago Tribune, October 23, 1901

Iver C. Zarbell has let the contracts for a two-story bicycle factory, 157×225 feet, to be built at 947-961 North Forty-Third avenue, for Arnold, Schwinn & Co., at a cost of $20,000.

 

[cyclingday]

Some history on that building and Schwinn.

Davis-Rankin Building

chicagology.com

View attachment 2205147


History on the new Schwinn factory......... https://chicagology.com/skyscrapers/skyscrapers178/

Chicago Tribune, October 23, 1901

Iver C. Zarbell has let the contracts for a two-story bicycle factory, 157×225 feet, to be built at 947-961 North Forty-Third avenue, for Arnold, Schwinn & Co., at a cost of $20,000.

Fabulous information!
Thank you, @GTs58, for the post.
Much appreciated!

 

[Mercian]

He said that he thought the welding and fabrication was done on the ground or basement floors, and that the paint was done on one of the upper floors.
He said you could still see the remnants of paint in the old wood floors where the paintwork was being done.

I was reading recently that old time carriage makers ( Studebaker?) in the 19th century had their paint shops on the top floor.
This was to prevent dust from the other manufacturing processes on site getting into the paint.

Best regards, Adrian

 

[Schwinn Sales West]

I was reading recently that old time carriage makers ( Studebaker?) in the 19th century had their paint shops on the top floor.
This was to prevent dust from the other manufacturing processes on site getting into the paint.

Best regards, Adrian

Since the volatile solvent fumes rise, it was also likely for fire safety with all of the sparks on the lower floor.

John

 

[Schwinn Sales West]

It's pretty cool what they have done retrofitting these old factory buildings. Schwinn's 217 Jefferson St offices were made from two warehouses. They tore one side down to make the parking lot, and the other half got a new glass front wall and elevator. The Oak Beams in the ceilings were huge. The entire inside of the building had been sand blasted, wood, brick walls, everything. You could never touch a wall in your suit without getting a big red brick mark.

The building was one block from the Elevated Train. That thing makes a racket all hours of the day and night. I cannot imagine living in an elevated building and looking out your window and having the Elevated Train go by.

Thanks to those that have posted to this thread.

John