Aluminum And Brass Foundry Fire And Explosion 1913.

This is the original photograph from the Buick Research Gallery. This view is facing east with the Pere Marquette main line in the distance.

This view (that I crudely) colorized was for detail purposes during my research.

July 23, 1913.

A view inside the old aluminum and brass foundry at Buick that was known as #15. This building was attached at the north end of the #03 forge plant. This view is facing south. The angled building (below) with box cars on either side was part of the area destroyed in the 1913 fire. The photo after the fire (At top) shows the area just beyond this angled section. The angled area farthest north does look to be made entirely of wood as Chrysler stated. This view is facing south-west. That is factory #12 at the right. These two photos are from around 1909.

April 16, 1910.

These are articles published in various trade journals of the time following the fire and explosion at the Buick factory on January 17, 1913. In the book "The Life And Times Of An Automotive Genius" by Vincent Curcio (published in 2000), that tells the life story of Walter Chrysler and includes much about the early years at Buick, he places the date of the fire as January of 1917. He states that the article (showing 1917) was from "The Horseless Age" trade journal. I have read that particular article and it is 1913, so it must have been a typo in Vincents book. This information had me more than a bit confused for some time. I'm just glad that this mystery has finally been solved. They did not rebuild at this same location as was stated in one of the articles. The posting before this one (the pickling room) shows this area as a steel storage lot. I'm thinking that this was when the brass & aluminum work was moved (temporarily) into factory #12 until the new foundry could be built.

This is from “The Life And Times Of An Automotive Genius” by Vincent Curcio, published in 2000. This book chronicling Walter Chrysler’s life and also early career at Buick is showing an explosion and fire in 1917. The New York Times article says this happened in 1913.

 Link: Aluminum And Brass Foundry Fire And Explosion 1913.  News from 1925 explaining heat treat at Buick. 1913 fire

This angled building with the box cars on either side was the area destroyed in the 1913 fire. This angled area which is the north-end of the forge building does look to be made entirely of wood as Chrysler stated. This view is facing south-west. That is factory #12 at the right.

This 1917 advertisement is supposedly Buick. After much study I think the area to the left in the photo  above this one (between #03 & #12) That could be factory #11 in the background. That would make this a north facing view.

Industrial & Hamilton Avenue 1913

Full Panorama 1913.                                                                                                                                          

Looking north up Industrial from Hamilton.

This view of the #4 Oak Park fire station is taken from the south west. Just across Industrial avenue you can see Buick factory #4 the old W.F. Stewart plant.

This is just another view of #4 station showing the last two fire horses in Flint in 1916. Last horse drawn fire wagon in Michigan was in 1922. Read the story below called the Passing of the horse.

THE PASSING OF THE HORSE. Original link for this story.

At the center is the W.F.Stewart body factory,at this time Buick #4. Next to #4 at the left is the Buick garage, bldg #08. Directly south on Industrial in the distance is the original A.C. spark plug factory. The building at center right with the steeple is the Oak Park fire department. Just right of the fire station are the horse stables. At the extreme left is a small portion of the Weston-Mott office and beyond that in the distance is the first Buick office on Hamilton. This photo was taken from the roof of the Industrial Bank located on the north west corner of the intersection of Industrial ave & Hamilton ave.   

This advertisement from the Civics and Commerce (shown above) just about says it all concerning the future of the horse.  

Original Forge #03 Before And After 1913 Fire.

This is the northern end of the forge/brass and aluminum foundry plant facing south. This is the same area shown from the outside in the photo below. This structure burnt in a fire and explosion in January of 1913.

Link for more on the fire including a photo.

This view from the north is looking across Division st. at the area between factories #12 and #03 forge around 1911.

Notice the hammer-man lighting his pipe from a glowing piston rod.

Robert EVANS: Well, the first job I got with General Motors, it was so long ago. I have been trying to take notes here and trying to straighten it out in my own mind. But, the first job I got in General Motors, I think, was in the last part of 1933. I was 18. I got a job over in Buick in the drop forge. The older men that worked there, like the hammer men and that and heaters, they hired me for a heater, but I ended up running what they called a trim press. The hammer man runs the hammer and forges the forging and in this case it was steering knuckle for a front wheel. I would take it over to another press and lay it in there in the die and step on a throttle and this machine would trim off the excess metal off this forging. So that's what I was doing there. But these guys, the older men, they resented anybody coming in there, any new blood, a young guy especially, see. Back in the drop forge at Buick. I worked there quite a long time, and then in '36 I was able to work better down there, because there was younger men down there, see. They didn't bother you too much. And then they was all getting used to the idea, anyway, that they were not gonna last forever, these old guys. So I worked for this guy down there, and he was younger. I stayed in there until it got hot weather in '36, ‘til it started warming up. Oh, man, it really got hot in that drop forge. I worked right in like a nest of furnaces and, hell, you could throw a bucket of water on the floor?they had brick floors, you know?and the damn water was sweating steam. Now I didn't like that. I thought that was too hot, so I went to the foreman's office and asked for a transfer to something else. So they put me over on Plant 25 at Buick, which is a maintenance plant. They maintain all the other plants, see. That summer they had a program where they was gonna put roof coating on all their own roofs instead of contracting it out to private roofers. They decided to do it their self, because most of it they was gonna put a cold tar on there or a coating of some kind that didn't have to be hot, see. So I worked there the rest of that summer in '36, and I got laid off. Along in the fall, it must have been just before Christmas, Buick called me back. They wanted me to go to work in the foundry like that at all. I called in sick and I told them?well, I didn't tell them. I just called in sick. But in the meantime I heard that Chevrolet was hiring again, so I went over there. That's when I hired into Plant 4, sometime there in?it's hard to keep it all straight in your mind. It was so long ago. But anyway, I went over to Chevy... Link: Factory #37 Heat Treat + Factory Fire Mystery

Factory #03 Lombardi And Fusi

Forge workers 1912. This photo was labeled Lombardi's and Fusi's at the Buick Co. Tony Lombardi is circled. Read his story at age 95 below.

Tony Lombardi's memories at 95 in 1986.

Here's another view inside of the forge shop from the teens.

This view is facing north.

 This view is facing east looking across Industrial Avenue from Rankin Street. This is all a parking lot now and abandoned. The factories in the background are in order front to back factory #12 the sheet metal and brass works at that time. Beyond that is factory #05 the Buick enameling plant. The taller structure in the background is the forge shop #03 where Joe Lombardi would  have worked. His wife is Maria (Fusi) and the little boy is Guido (Guy). 

This view of the Buick Drop Forge is looking north west from Division st. from the location of the Buick gas station. At the extreme left you can see factory #05 with its bridge in view. Factory #03 lasted until the remodel in 1963. This is the future site of the factory #12c annex.

 Links:

Aluminum And Brass Foundry Fire And Explosion 1913.

Pickling Room Building #64.

Buick 1931 And Just For Fun.

Liberty Crankshaft March 1919

Buick Forge Plant #03

Bridge #20

Original Forge #03 Before And After 1913 Fire.

Factory #03 Forge

Factory #03/#30

Factory #03/bldg #30

Factory #37 Heat Treat + Factory Fire Mystery

Factory #03 Inside And Out

Factory #03 Buildings

Factory #03 Buildings

November 1909.






Some heavy forging in the Buick plant. "The year is unknown".










A better way for arranging crankshaft throws.










News reporting that the Buick forge plant in Flint is not yet ready in 1908.










A view of the north-end from the steel yard located directly north of the forge plant.










Same view as below only now it is October 1, 1924. That is the "Pickling" building that was open for business in early 1921 - off to the right.










Looking south-west at the north-end. This photo shows the additions made to the north-end in 1920. You can also see the "Pickling" building - off to the right - is just being built.










A south-east view on September 1, 1920.

Building #03-D view  facing north-east.

Building #03-D being built in 1910. This view is facing north-east.

Same view as shown below, only on October 14, 1920










A view from the south-east across Division st. published in 1919. "I just added some color".










The buildings that made up the early forge plant. The first building of the #03 forge was being built in 1908. Buildings B, C, D and E were built in 1910.  Article from 1910 on construction.










One of the new additions to the factory is #03-E, "the Hardening plant" built in 1910 (see story below).


Links:
Aluminum And Brass Foundry Fire And Explosion 1913.
Pickling Room Building #64.
Buick 1931 And Just For Fun.
Liberty Crankshaft March 1919
Buick Forge Plant #03
Bridge #20
Original Forge #03 Before And After 1913 Fire.
Factory #03 Forge
Factory #03/#30
Factory #03/bldg #30
Factory #37 Heat Treat + Factory Fire Mystery
Factory #03 Inside And Out
Factory #03 Lombardi And Fusi
Early Buick Test Track















January 1919.