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Old 05-05-2007, 09:00 PM
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drh4683 drh4683 is offline
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Motorola Inc. This is where your TV was made! Franklin Park, IL

If you are familar with Motorola TV's then you are also familar with the address you see on the back or sticker of just about any pre 1975 motorola consumer product (TV radio, phono.) "Motorola Inc. 9401 W. Grand Ave Franklin Park, IL"

This is the main assembly plant that I visited today, May 5, 2007. The plant is still up and standing but will soon be rehabed into "The Grand Lofts" as you can see in the sign up on the front office of the plant. So the building will not be demolished, just turned into living space. I suggest you visit thegrandlofts.com and you can read a brief history of what this building was all about. Franklin Park is still a very nice suburb, mostly industrial like most of Chicago.
The plant on Grand Ave is only a couple miles west of chicago. In the beginning photos you see the Front main office of the plant. Next you see the NW sides of the plant. As the photo progress, I take photos as I walk south on Edington St. untill I get to the south side of the plant, then I walk east taking photos of the south side, water tower and then walk north on the east side of the plant, untill I finish at the north end. Take a good look at the water tower photos. You can see what once read "QUASAR" on the tower through the rust. You can tell it was even painted over at one time too. Throughout all this photo shooting, I did not see the motorola logo or anything to do with motorola or quasar anywhere inside or outside of the building other than what you can see on the water tower.
I went to an estate sale on Odell st. in chicago today which brought me close to the Motorola plant. I just happened to find a Box for a vintage Motorola quasar color TV in the basement. No TV, but the box was cool and took it. In the living room was a mid 80's quasar TV. I would be willing to bet that the people who lived in that home worked at the motorola plant.
Heres the description for each of the 46 photos, Enjoy:
Photo 1: Front View (North end) of Motorola Office at 9401 W. Grand Ave.
photo 2: West side of office
photo 3: SW side of office
photo 4: NW side of plant. (The office is attached and part of the plant)
photo 5: Office and employee enterance, NW side of plant
photo 6: inside view through window at NW side.
photo 7: west side of plant
photo 8-12: Inside view of plant through auxillary door on west side. Each photo is a different view continuing to the south
photo 13-14: SW side of plant
photo 15: View looking NE
photo 16: Inside view through SW enterance looking N.
photo 17: South end, loading docks nearest the west
photo 18: South end, loading docks, nearest the east
photo 19-20: Inside view through loading dock overhead door.
photo 21-22: Water Tower NE side
photo 23: SE end of building
photo 24: Water tower, west side
photo 25: SE end of building
photo 26: Water tower, SW end
photo 27: Water tower, West end
photo 28: Inside view of building through door window on SE end of plant
photo 29: E side, looking SW
photo 30-31: Mechanical Room, view through door on E side.
photo 32: NE end of building
photo 33: E view of office and plant
photo 34: E end of office
photo 35: NE end of plant
photo 36: Parking, under office, looking to the west.
photo 37: NE end of office
photo 38-39: N end, front Main enterance
photo 40: Sign in front of building, looking to the west
photo 41: Intersection of Grand Ave+ Edington St looking NW.
photo 42: NE end, looking SE off Edington St.
photo 43: NW end at Grand and Edington st.
photo 44: Grand and Edington looking E
photo 45: Front of building
photo 46: Front of building with a Motorola color TV box found at an estate sale just down the street from the plant!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg moto1.jpg (54.7 KB, 89 views)
File Type: jpg moto2.jpg (50.5 KB, 75 views)
File Type: jpg moto3.jpg (50.8 KB, 34 views)
File Type: jpg moto4.jpg (40.9 KB, 29 views)
File Type: jpg moto5.jpg (63.5 KB, 69 views)
File Type: jpg moto6.jpg (34.7 KB, 41 views)
File Type: jpg moto7.jpg (53.7 KB, 24 views)
File Type: jpg moto8.jpg (58.3 KB, 38 views)
File Type: jpg moto9.jpg (34.6 KB, 24 views)
File Type: jpg moto10.jpg (40.2 KB, 20 views)
File Type: jpg moto11.jpg (61.1 KB, 56 views)
File Type: jpg moto12.jpg (46.9 KB, 36 views)
File Type: jpg moto13.jpg (48.8 KB, 34 views)
File Type: jpg moto14.jpg (46.9 KB, 13 views)
File Type: jpg moto15.jpg (48.4 KB, 20 views)
File Type: jpg moto16.jpg (49.3 KB, 47 views)
File Type: jpg moto17.jpg (49.6 KB, 21 views)
File Type: jpg moto18.jpg (37.8 KB, 21 views)
File Type: jpg moto19.jpg (38.8 KB, 54 views)
File Type: jpg moto20.jpg (32.7 KB, 22 views)
File Type: jpg moto21.jpg (37.4 KB, 62 views)
File Type: jpg moto22.jpg (41.3 KB, 31 views)
File Type: jpg moto23.jpg (51.1 KB, 22 views)
File Type: jpg moto24.jpg (52.7 KB, 94 views)
File Type: jpg moto25.jpg (51.0 KB, 27 views)
File Type: jpg moto26.jpg (51.6 KB, 59 views)
File Type: jpg moto27.jpg (28.3 KB, 38 views)
File Type: jpg moto28.jpg (59.6 KB, 38 views)
File Type: jpg moto29.jpg (54.2 KB, 17 views)
File Type: jpg moto30.jpg (57.3 KB, 66 views)
File Type: jpg moto31.jpg (64.3 KB, 65 views)
File Type: jpg moto32.jpg (56.0 KB, 23 views)
File Type: jpg moto33.jpg (39.2 KB, 16 views)
File Type: jpg moto34.jpg (51.0 KB, 65 views)
File Type: jpg moto35.jpg (31.0 KB, 19 views)
File Type: jpg moto36.jpg (42.8 KB, 64 views)
File Type: jpg moto37.jpg (70.4 KB, 21 views)
File Type: jpg moto38.jpg (62.9 KB, 42 views)
File Type: jpg moto39.jpg (44.1 KB, 25 views)
File Type: jpg moto40.jpg (97.9 KB, 28 views)
File Type: jpg moto41.jpg (42.1 KB, 27 views)
File Type: jpg moto42.jpg (56.0 KB, 19 views)
File Type: jpg moto43.jpg (64.9 KB, 28 views)
File Type: jpg moto44.jpg (61.5 KB, 15 views)
File Type: jpg moto45.jpg (61.4 KB, 50 views)
File Type: jpg moto46.jpg (66.8 KB, 94 views)
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  #2  
Old 05-05-2007, 09:55 PM
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N9ZQA N9ZQA is offline
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Doug -

Great pictures and a great story too. I've got a Motorola B/W console from the mid-1960's. It was interesting to see the building where it was built.

Thanks!

Jim
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Old 05-05-2007, 10:51 PM
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Great pictures Doug!
Can't you just imagine the assembly lines that were in that space cranking out all those TVs!

Their history site says about the VT-71: "More than 100,000 units sold in one year"
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Old 05-10-2007, 02:00 PM
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Thanks for all the fine pix of the place where I used to work!

That building used to have a visible crack running diagonally across the upper south corner of the east side - and a corresponding crack through the floor in the men's room - I felt a little apprehensive using the last stall - but apparently it still hasn't fallen off.

The water tower must have had the Quasar logo painted over a long time ago. When Matsushita bought out the Motorola consumer products division, they painted "Quasar" two or three times around the water tower - but the painters got the wrong orientation, and from the HQ building it looked like
"sar Qua". They repainted it in a couple of days, just in time for the press party.
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Old 05-10-2007, 04:16 PM
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My gawd. Someone who worked there is on this board. Somebody who actually worked in a tv factory. I hope they remove your head when you die, and save it in a jar like on futurerama. Oh to hear your memories!
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Old 05-10-2007, 07:44 PM
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Who in the world is going to want to live there? I mean, is housing space so limited?
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Old 05-13-2007, 10:33 PM
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I just drove by there on Friday morning, I never new it was where Motorola built there Quasar TVs. Motorola had a TV plant in my home town of Quincy, Ill that was open for all of maybe 4 years before it was closed when Quasar was sold off. Now parts of the factory there make up warehousing for local business and I think some Harris Broadcasting office space.

BTW, I almost went to go work for Panasonic next door to the building on Grand Ave, by the railroad tracks. It was Panasonics industrial unit that made pick and place circuit board assymblers. Looks like Panasonic had invested alot of money there before moving out. Now come to think about it i vaguely remember a Quasar wherehouse near the back of the complex.

The nice thing about this remodel job is they aren't demolishing the building, like they did down the street on 25th and North Avenue where the old Zenith TV plant was. Its sad to think about all the manufacturing jobs that have disappeared around here over the past 10~20 years.
- Mike
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Old 05-13-2007, 10:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pioneernut
I just drove by there on Friday morning, I never new it was where Motorola built there Quasar TVs. Motorola had a TV plant in my home town of Quincy, Ill that was open for all of maybe 4 years before it was closed when Quasar was sold off. Now parts of the factory there make up warehousing for local business and I think some Harris Broadcasting office space.
Wow pioneernut, Quincy is your hometown?? very cool. That's where I lived before moving to MN. Quincy is a great town for people interested in Broadcast Equipment and Engineering, as both Harris and Broadcast Electronics have manufacturing facilities there, and there's a third company called Glenayre Electronics (formerly Quintron) that builds switching and head end equipment for the telephone industry.

The former Motorola facility in Quincy, is now a distribution warehouse for K-Mart, and there are a few businesses and if I recall correctly even a gourmet restaurant that occupy the office space.
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Old 05-13-2007, 11:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matt_s78mn
Wow pioneernut, Quincy is your hometown??
Wow what a small world. My whole family still lives there, great small town. I try to get back there about once a month so the Grandparents get some time with our son. About 10 years ago I met my wife here in the Chicago area, with her family here I and my job, I can't really move back. Not sure when you lived there, but I used to work at Music World back in 87~89', thats where I got my addiction to all things Pioneer Its also where I got my disdain for Bose

- Mike
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Old 05-13-2007, 11:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pioneernut
Wow what a small world. My whole family still lives there, great small town. I try to get back there about once a month so the Grandparents get some time with our son. About 10 years ago I met my wife here in the Chicago area, with her family here I and my job, I can't really move back. Not sure when you lived there, but I used to work at Music World back in 87~89', thats where I got my addiction to all things Pioneer Its also where I got my disdain for Bose

- Mike
Yea, it really is a small world. Unfortunately I was there like 10 years after you left. Do you recall the RF Communications Technology program that Harris had in cooperation with JWCC? I attended and graduated from there. It was a great program. I wish they hadn't ended up killing it off
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Old 05-13-2007, 11:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by old_tv_nut
The water tower must have had the Quasar logo painted over a long time ago. When Matsushita bought out the Motorola consumer products division, they painted "Quasar" two or three times around the water tower - but the painters got the wrong orientation, and from the HQ building it looked like
"sar Qua". They repainted it in a couple of days, just in time for the press party.
Did you work there when the PBS documentary was being filmed? I couldn't believe some of what the employees had to put up with!
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Old 05-14-2007, 10:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matt_s78mn
Yea, it really is a small world. Unfortunately I was there like 10 years after you left. Do you recall the RF Communications Technology program that Harris had in cooperation with JWCC? I attended and graduated from there. It was a great program. I wish they hadn't ended up killing it off
Actually, yes, I remeber a coworker was in the program back around 87' if memory serves me correctly. He probably graduated around 88' Unfortunately, I can't remember his name. I officially left Quincy in 89' when I went off to college.
- Mike
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  #13  
Old 05-14-2007, 02:50 PM
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Motorola had an older factory on 4545 Augusta Blvd. in Chicago, I assume they closed this plant when they moved to Franklin Park. I was there about a year ago and it was now a seating company. It's nice to see that it is still something related to manufacturing instead of lofts.
This was where my Motorola UHF converter was made. I belive this plant was used until the mid 1950s?

If you are intersted, there is a picture of the factory in its present state on the second page of this thread:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=82229
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Old 05-16-2007, 08:59 AM
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I must have one of the last Quasars made there......this is the one that I picked up from Captain Moody last December. It's (of course) the works-in-a-drawer. Stamp on the back says made in June 1975. There's also a sticker on the back that says Manufactured by Quasar with the same Franklin Park address.

It is model # WU 9182 LW-1

Works great, as Moody knows his stuff.

Would upload a photo of it, but I'm not good at shrinking it down to size to fit the requirements.

Those photos and descriptions were very interesting viewing, DRH.
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Old 05-16-2007, 10:22 AM
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Motorola Inc

While I was a senior in High School (1977), my electronics instructor arranged for two of us students to participate in a 2 day educators trade show in the Seattle area. I was one of two selected for the priviledge. We were only told that we would be paid for our services. The job turned out to be assembly of a Motorola educational kit color TV (works in a drawer) on the trade show floor, in full view of attendees. Apparently they saw the money that Heath, NRI, and others were making in the educational market and wanted to cash in.

We didn't get very far. The set was a combination of hand wired high voltage and power supply, with the "works" drawer being a seperate, mostly prewired, component. There were negative comments about our lack of progress when we got back to school. But we got paid, by being allowed to keep the tools that we used. I still have the tools.
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