Description: Caption reads: "Interlake Iron Corporation." The Interlake Iron Corporation Plant, on Front Street in Toledo, Ohio was built in 1902 by Pickands Mather of the Toledo Furnace Company and was designed to be the most modern pig iron plant in the world. This plant was purchased from Toledo Furnace Company in 1929 by the By Products Corporation, and, the company having acquired several other properties as well, decide to rename itself Interlake Iron Corporation. Though successful for quite awhile, by 1978 Interlake decided to take a write-off for closing the plant in Toledo, as it had exhausted its useful life. By 1986, most of the plant had been dismantled or demolished, and by 1997 it had been completely torn down. The city of Toledo purchased the land and around 2005 extensively excavated and cleaned the site and surrounding area to make way for improvements along Front Street. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F01_011_001
Subjects: Pig-iron; Iron foundries--United States; Industries--Ohio--Toledo
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Robbins & Myers, Inc. was originally established in 1878 by Chandler Robbins and James Myers in Springfield, Ohio, near Dayton. The founders brought varied experiences to the business; Robbins, had been an astronomer and surveyor, and Myers had been a teacher and grocer. Robbins had invested $500 in a gray-iron foundry in 1876, and was joined two years later by Myers. The new owners changed the company name from Lever Wringer Company to The Robbins & Myers Company. The company namesakes initially manufactured castings for agricultural tools and machines, and then broadened into bicycle parts when that industry boomed at the turn of the century. In the late 1920s, they also began to make hoists, winches, and crane motors to increase efficiency on assembly lines. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s the Company's product line expanded to include castings for the motor powered fan. The growing use of electricity prompted Robbins & Myers to develop and manufacture its own line of motor powered fans, which eventually included ceiling, desk, oscillating and ventilating fans, and later acquired the well-known Hunter brand of overhead fans. During WWII, the company switched to making motors for the Norden Bombsight, which measured an aircraft's ground speed and direction for more accurate high-altitude bombing. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F01_007_001
Subjects: Robbins & Myers; Iron foundries--United States; Industries--Ohio--Springfield
Places: Springfield (Ohio); Clark County (Ohio)
 

Description: Robbins & Myers, Inc. was originally established in 1878 by Chandler Robbins and James Myers in Springfield, Ohio, near Dayton. The founders brought varied experiences to the business; Robbins, had been an astronomer and surveyor, and Myers had been a teacher and grocer. Robbins had invested $500 in a gray-iron foundry in 1876, and was joined two years later by Myers. The new owners changed the company name from Lever Wringer Company to The Robbins & Myers Company. The company namesakes initially manufactured castings for agricultural tools and machines, and then broadened into bicycle parts when that industry boomed at the turn of the century. In the late 1920s, they also began to make hoists, winches, and crane motors to increase efficiency on assembly lines. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s the Company's product line expanded to include castings for the motor powered fan. The growing use of electricity prompted Robbins & Myers to develop and manufacture its own line of motor powered fans, which eventually included ceiling, desk, oscillating and ventilating fans, and later acquired the well-known Hunter brand of overhead fans. During WWII, the company switched to making motors for the Norden Bombsight, which measured an aircraft's ground speed and direction for more accurate high-altitude bombing. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F06_007_001
Subjects: Robbins & Myers; Iron foundries--United States; Assembly-line methods; Industries--Ohio--Springfield; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Springfield (Ohio); Clark County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Cutting steel plates, Robbins & Myers. Springfield, Ohio." This photograph depicts an unknown man cutting steel plates at the Robbins & Myers Company in Springfield, Ohio. Robbins & Myers, Inc. was originally established in 1878 by Chandler Robbins and James Myers in Springfield, Ohio, near Dayton. The founders brought varied experiences to the business; Robbins, had been an astronomer and surveyor, and Myers had been a teacher and grocer. Robbins had invested $500 in a gray-iron foundry in 1876, and was joined two years later by Myers. The new owners changed the company name from Lever Wringer Company to The Robbins & Myers Company. The company namesakes initially manufactured castings for agricultural tools and machines, and then broadened into bicycle parts when that industry boomed at the turn of the century. In the late 1920s, they also began to make hoists, winches, and crane motors to increase efficiency on assembly lines. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s the Company's product line expanded to include castings for the motor powered fan. The growing use of electricity prompted Robbins & Myers to develop and manufacture its own line of motor powered fans, which eventually included ceiling, desk, oscillating and ventilating fans, and later acquired the well-known Hunter brand of overhead fans. During WWII, the company switched to making motors for the Norden Bombsight, which measured an aircraft's ground speed and direction for more accurate high-altitude bombing. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F06_016_001
Subjects: Robbins & Myers; Iron foundries--United States; Industries--Ohio; Factories; Steel-works--Ohio--Pictorial works; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Springfield (Ohio); Clark County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Winding small armatures. Robbins-Myers, Springfield, O." This photograph depicts several assembly line workers winding small armatures, an internal piece of a fan, at the Robbins & Myers Company in Springfield, Ohio. Robbins & Myers, Inc. was originally established in 1878 by Chandler Robbins and James Myers in Springfield, Ohio, near Dayton. The founders brought varied experiences to the business; Robbins, had been an astronomer and surveyor, and Myers had been a teacher and grocer. Robbins had invested $500 in a gray-iron foundry in 1876, and was joined two years later by Myers. The new owners changed the company name from Lever Wringer Company to The Robbins & Myers Company. The company namesakes initially manufactured castings for agricultural tools and machines, and then broadened into bicycle parts when that industry boomed at the turn of the century. In the late 1920s, they also began to make hoists, winches, and crane motors to increase efficiency on assembly lines. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s the Company's product line expanded to include castings for the motor powered fan. The growing use of electricity prompted Robbins & Myers to develop and manufacture its own line of motor powered fans, which eventually included ceiling, desk, oscillating and ventilating fans, and later acquired the well-known Hunter brand of overhead fans. During WWII, the company switched to making motors for the Norden Bombsight, which measured an aircraft's ground speed and direction for more accurate high-altitude bombing. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F06_037_001
Subjects: Robbins & Myers; Iron foundries--United States; Assembly-line methods; Industries--Ohio--Springfield; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Springfield (Ohio); Clark County (Ohio)