What is the big red thing on 32nd at Waverly?

When my wife and I were still dating, I'd drive to her parents' house to pick her up. Not being from Holland, she gave me some pretty decent directions using landmarks: Chicago Drive to Waverly Road, and turn left at the Speedway and Arby's. Take Waverly south to 32^nd and turn right at the big red thing on the corner. As I began researching for this blog, the thought popped into my mind “What the heck is that big red thing that my dear wife told me about all those years ago?”

With that in mind, I set out to take pictures and get to the root of the question posed above. Somewhat fortunately for me, all the basic information was printed plainly right there on site:

1905
ALLIS CHALMERS
CORLISS
STEAM ENGINE

BUSH & LANE PIANO CO
1905 - 1929
BAKER FURNITURE CO
1933 - 1956

IN RECOGNITION OF
HOLLAND'S INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE

Picture taken by author

There's also a paper on site with the following text:

This horizontal stationary steam engine was originally built by the E.P. Allis Company in 1905. At the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, representatives of the new Bush & Lane Piano Company ordered an engine based on the one that was on display at the Fair for a new factory that was being built in Holland, MI. on 24^th Street and Columbia (Presently Baker Lofts – ed.). It was installed there in 1905 to be the sole power source for all of the machinery in the building.

Picture taken by author

The engine was connected to a “line-shaft” system by a rare rope-belting system that wrapped around the outer surface of the engine's flywheel. The line-shaft system distributed this rotating power supply to the manufacturing areas o the building where a belt on a pulley on this shaft transmitted the power to the individualized machines. Prior to the advent of reliable electricity sources and individualized electric motors on machinery, this was the norm for the era. Many factories across the United States were powered this way during this time period.

Bush & Lane ceased operations in 1929, and in 1933, the facility was purchased by Baker Furniture, and still operates it today. The engine saw service or generally 2 shifts per day, until it was retired from service in 1959. In 1967, it was removed from the factory and displayed near the Baker Furniture Museum, now the site of Freedom Village. When construction began on Freedom Village, the engine was removed and donated to the City of Holland and put into storage. It was restored during the summer of 2003 by a group of volunteers and was put on static display or all to marvel at our industrial heritage.

NPR's Weekend Edition did a bit on the Allis Chalmers engine in 2010, in conjunction with a battery plant opening up that President Barack Obama was present for. The NPR show points out that The Great Depression led to the demise of the Bush & Lane piano factory, then FDR's New Deal put Hollanders back to work in the Baker Furniture factory. There's a unique bit of symmetry there, since the stimulus packages of both Presidents Bush and Obama factored into opening the battery plant that was written about on the NPR broadcast.

Robert Swierenga's book, Holland Michigan offers some contrasting information, but elaborates his point a bit more than the paper tacked up on site. Swieringa says that yes, in 1929, the Bush & Lane Piano Company faced millions of dollars in debts, and was facing the resignation of a well-respected manager (as well as the obvious Great Depresssion). But, he says that the intervention of Arthur Morris of Detroit, noted distributor and salesman of Bush & Lane products, bought $750,000 worth of product and took over management of a reduced workforce (approximately 150 workers) in an attempt to keep the company open. But, in 1930, the plant went bankrupt and ceased operations.

Picture taken by author

Picture taken by author

Works Cited:

Swierenga, R. (2014). Holland Michigan. Holland, MI: Van Raalte Press, pp.897, 898.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128573807