Naah... Not the greatest of shots, but I kind of like this building. It was built by a complete woo-spewing crackpot named Alfred Lawson. Still, aside from his odd religious-economic-baseball-playing proclivities, the guy was, in fact, a pioneer in the field of aircraft travel. So, depending on which end of the check-in line you're standing, you can either thank or curse the goofy man.
We used to play here when we were kids, and the abandoned building, still housing a few old Depression-era machines, was occupied by the homeless town drunk we affectionately called "Tooth" because, well... he only had one. Unfortunately, all the airplanes were gone by the time we got there; otherwise, I'm pretty certain my childhood could have been considerably more tragic after piloting a stolen airliner straight into Lake Michigan at the other end of the street.
-DP
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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 7/02/2008 01:01:00 PM
I LOVE old buildings like this. When was it built? Is that a historical marker I see? What type of Depression-era machines--office equipment, manufacturing?
ReplyDeleteI bet you weren't prepared for a press conference, were you?
Beth
Wow, I'd have never guessed that this was an airplane factory. Way cool, particularly so as you got to play around it for some time way back as a kid. Yeah, probably safer for kids withOUT the ancient airplanes. (Imagining Chitty Chitty Bang Bang inspirations right now.)
ReplyDeleteActually, according to the Historical Marker, the factory ran from 1919 to 1922, and when we played there in the early to mid 1970's, there were ancient belt-drivel drill-presses and lathes and whatnots.
ReplyDeleteWe never made it into the offices to see what kind of stuff was there. But, the machine shop was fun.
Anyway, here's a closer shot of the information on the Marker:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpoem/2628868491/sizes/l/
I don't mind the interrogation, Beth. It's all fine and dandy. Just, you know, don't whip me or anything. I'll tell you whatever you need to know.
:)
Thanks,
Dan
oops... Belt-DRIVEN...
ReplyDeleteAlthough, belt drivel machines creates a much better image.
It was fun playing there. The building actually goes back several hundred feet. And, I think there were other buildings on the lot way back in the day.
-Dan
Thanks for the extra info! So Lawson coined the term "airliner." Cool, something else to file away for my next game of Trivial Pursuit!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I didn't have to break out the thumbscrews. I still haven't hosed down the iron maiden from the last session, so you wouldn't have had to worry about that!
Beth