On the subject of factories standing, Philco at Tioga and "C" street, Philadelphia - sadly vacant =(
Check out where Sylvanias were made 1954-1980;700 Ellicott street Batavia NY. Still making something there. WOW
RCAs 600 N Sherman Drive, Indianapolis...not sure of the Bloomington Indiana plant.

Factories gone - Magnavox was at 2131 S. Beuter rd, Ft Wayne, IN until mid 70s

I do really wish these pictures were still posted, I'd love to see them.

Google maps is really great!
I looked up the various TV plant addresses in Chicago. Admiral on Courtland Street, old Motorola plant on Augusta Blvd. It also shows the Franklin Park plant. That's being turned into residential, condo type housing.

My new stove is a Whirlpool. I bought it specifically because it is Made in USA. It works very well. When I buy a dishwasher, it will be a Whirlpool, too, for the same reason (plus they make good machines at decent prices).

Supposedly, General Electric is starting to make more appliances in the USA again, too.

Mostly their low end stuff. A lot of their higher end stuff, especially fridges, are farmed out to LG or Samsung (can't remember which). I think a lot of their a/c units are farmed out too.

Might as well buy the low-end stuff in that case. It will be superior to the foreign-made stuff even though it lacks the bells and whistles.

Quite right! I think the Roper name was applied to some of the lower end workhorses Whirlpool made. Ask any repairman what washing machine you should have bought in the last 10 years, many answer "a Roper".

The electronic "bells and whistles" on foreign-made appliances do NOT hold up any better...than most flat-panel tv sets do...

My thoughts exactly. I don't care for much of anything that's heavily-optioned anyway.

Whirlpool had several, lower end product lines. Estate was another. The newer models are direct drive. The USA made, top load models are mechanically similar. It's just the extras, like multi-speed motors, selection of rinse and wash water temperatures, etc.
The dishwashers are extremely loud. It was hard to carry on a conversation, when the thing was running.
The real low end Sears washers and driers are badged Capri. They appear to be Whirlpool products. :scratch2:

Greetings gentleman,
I still have the original pictures that I took and posted here back in 2003. I also have newer photos as well and will update this thread with those photos soon. Even though its been over a decade since this thread was created, it goes to show that this thread is still often discovered by those interested in Zenith history which is nice to see.

Doug, I certainly hope you keep this thread going as long as possible, as I enjoy reading your posts and also that your thread is keeping alive the history of the original Zenith Radio Corporation, which went out of business in the late '80s or nineties.

I've liked Zenith radios, TVs, etc. for years, have owned a few of their b&w TVs, have a number of antique/vintage Zenith radios from the '50s-'60s and even one 1980 AM-FM high-performance portable, the R-70. (I do not, however, own any "Zenith"-branded radios made after 1980, although I did own a four-mode Zenith integrated stereo in the early '80s.) I also have a 19" SMS1917SG table model from 1995 that still works. Still has its original CRT as well, and it makes an excellent picture even now, 19 years later. The set is in my bedroom, unused, and has been unused except for occasional testing since I moved here 14 years ago. I now have a 19" Insignia flat screen, which I understand has many LG components; LG parts were used in many Zenith-branded LG flat screens until Zenith itself went out of business for good several years ago. :no:

Anyway, I am still very interested in anything and everything Zenith, reading everything I can get my hands on regarding the company's history. I also have a virtual Zenith "museum" here on my computer, composed of photos of early Zenith TVs and radios from about the '40s through the end of the NTSC CRT TV era. Many of those pictures are still on CDs, waiting to be ripped into the computer. One of these days...

BTW, it's good seeing your posts again. As I said, I enjoy reading them and look forward to seeing more as time goes on. Keep up the good work. :thmbsp:

That C-845 Zenith radio in your Avatar is MUCH more "bark than "BITE". It does have a nice speaker system--but a VERY piss-poor, single 35C5 tube to drive it !! I have one or two just like it around here...and have LONG wondered--WHY Zenith did not make it REAL--with one or even a PAIR of say--6BQ5 outs or P-P 6V6's--THEN--it would have PERFORMANCE--to match its LOOKS !!

I thought the same thing. AM reception that was better than any other US built radio. FM reception, that was better than most, as well. It had the best AFC, that made it easier to tune and hold FM stations, with no drift.
I have an RCA AM-FM table radio from around the 1956 model year. It's rather impressive with the power transformer, 5Y3 rectifier and the 6V6 output tube. The receiver part, just isn't that impressive.
Zenith made several years of that model and were rather pricey. Most people that owned them, used them as daily drivers and were satisfied with the tone quality.

The 845 DOES sound good at LOW volume....BUT if you give it ANY gas at all...it "pukes out", due to the amp clipping. If it had 5 or 10+ clean watts of power--it would NOT do so. with maybe 2 watts MAX_-it is like a tiny 4 cylinder 1980's hamster engine car--trying to go up a big hill with 2 large people in the car.....say a Ford exp.

In fact...a couple of people in my radio club call them "dentist-office radios". Seems they were-and maybe still ARE--often found there. Great sound--as long as you don't "gas it".

Adding a decent amp like a 6BQ5-and cold power supply would have turned a sensitive, good sounding at LOW volume radio--into a WORLD CLASS leader !!