Throwback Thursday – Dupli-Color Office & Production Plant

For this weeks trip through the Epstein wayback machine we visit 1961 Elk Grove Village for the opening of the Dupli-Color Office & Production Plant. This elegant example of mid-century modernism featured glazed brick and structural glass curtain wall construction within a simple, but beautiful, landscaped setting.

Although the images we have from 61 are in black and white the Dupli-Color signage on the exterior elevation featured a rainbow of colors reflecting the work that this pioneer and major manufacturer of automotive touch-up paints, aerosol paints and specialty paint items.

In addition, each of the interior surfaces of this plant, including equipment, piping, floors and ceiling, were painted in a wide array of colors. Kinda sounds Wonka-like no?

The building was home to not only the administrative functions and production operations for Dupli-Color, but also housed multiple research and product testing laboratories and finished good storage space.

For those of you curious, this building no longer stands. Airgas, a distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases as well as a product line of safety products, welding equipment, specialty tools, and MRO products, recently built a new facility on this site after Dupli-Color was purchased by Sherwin-Williams.

Groundbreaking photo showing (from left to right) our project engineer, Joseph A. Vedra, Sigmund E. Edelstone, the president of Dupli-Color, and our former chairman, Sidney Epstein.