Inside a Chicago Woodshop - Untouched for 65 Years

Last year we visited the Butler Street Foundry, a metal shop located on the Southside of Chicago in the shadow of Comiskey Park. We met the owner, John Lamonica, at a Craftsman event and besides being an artisan metalworker he also works closely with kids and inspires them to learn how to weld and shape metal. At his shop he gave me a crash course with the plasma cutter which is an amazing tool.

John was gracious enough to give me a tour of his metal shop which was an ode to how metal working has been done for centuries. The shop served as one of the key rebuilding centers after the Great Fire in 1871. There were no computers or digital machines in sight and the heavy machinery was all operated on hydraulic systems.

The highlight of this tour was getting a peek into the wood shop which functioned as a small addition to the metal work but had ceased production in 1947. Fortunately for me the wood shop had never been cleared and according to John, almost everything was left as is.

These photos don't do this place justice and I can still smell the musky scent of a variety of wood and years of dust and dirt. One of my favorite photos is of a 48-star US flag that still hangs from the wall near some front doors which had been replaced but still bear a Chicago tax stamp from 1930.

Here are some photos from the metal shop.

Timothy Dahl | Comments () |

Kat Helms

Wow, those are some really nice pictures. I love looking at old equipment, even though I rarely have and idea what I'm looking at.

My grandfather started a machine shop years ago here in upstate NY, but I never got a chance to look around inside it (he died when I was only 9 or 10). You've inspired me to start asking around to see if any family has any old pictures of it while it was in operation.

Donna

I love this post. I recently did a post on my grandfather's machine shop, which was still intact until the early 1990's. It was originally built by my g-grandfather and everything was run on a line shaft. So much of the skill that the earlier workers had, has been lost to technology. Here is a link to the post if you are interested. http://isthisloadbearing.com/2...

Karen Clark

This looks amazingly like my father's 3rd generation iron/steel/fasteners warehouse in central Illinois! He and my mom still work in the building, too. It is called Pana Iron Store. :) I think I will forever have great memories of exploring the aisles as a kid, and the look, feel and smell of things... like the original wooden-brick floor. This post takes me right back there! Thanks!

vera

I like your pictures) thanks for sharing))

Jeff_Williams

I've processed tons and tons of rebar and other iron with a Piranha iron worker. The one I use is exactly like the one in the picture. One of the baddest machines in the shop.

Charles & Hudson

John actually fired up the Piranha for me and I can attest to its power. It's the most brutish hole punch ever created.

HomeConstructionImprovement

Great photos Timothy! That's one awesome shop....I'm fairly jealous!!

Charles & Hudson

More awesome to look at than actually own and operate - I'm sure your workshop is 100x more efficient. But there's nothing quite like these old tools.