Throwback Thursday – Chicago Steel Service Company

For this weeks Throwback Thursday we visit Chicago, January 1951 for the opening of the Chicago Steel Service Company Office, Manufacturing and Warehouse. This building was located at the northwest corner of Kildare and West 45^th Street in the Crawford Tract of the Central Manufacturing District industrial park. Built for $1.5M ($13.3 in 2014 dollars) this 150,000 sf facility featured a private switchtrack from the Chicago River & Indiana Railroad for Chicago Junction service as well as truck docks off of 45^th street which could accommodate 12 trucks simultaneously.

The manufacturing wing of the building had 25 ceiling clear height which permitted the use of five overhead cranes which ran the full length of the space to facilitate loading and unloading of trucks and railway cars.

This one-story steel frame structure was comprised of brick exterior with face brick and stone trim on the street frontages and the roof was made from precast concrete slabs.

Chicago Steel Service Company was known as the House of Stainless and was located in the CMD district since 1925, this new facility more than doubled their space.

This facility still stands and has been the home of LSI Steel since 1982.