Chicago, IL: Zenith Plant #1 at 6001 Dickens Ave. west of Austin Ave.

(Satellite, on the north side of Milwaukee's Galewood Yard)

It is a shame when you learn the location of a plant because it burned. In this case, it was a former Zenith plant.

Robert Hartley shared, CFD Photo from NBC-Chicago
The Zenith factory depicted in my novel, "North and Central", is on fire. http://www.nbcchicago.com/…/belmont-cragin-fire-441461533.h…
Martin Vlcek I used to work there in the late 70's as a computer programmer when it was still Zenith.
Truman Eddy after zenith moved nout a guy purchased the building for almost nothibg he had an auto parts reolacment whse, had quite a business. not sure what happened but he went out of business. he would take me on tours of the place, really creepy. up towards austin were the offices, he would rent those out to different people. some small time band would ren there at night and come and rehearse. the place was never full. his company took up to complete whse and he shipped from there.

I included the clump of trees on the left because that is probably where an industrial spur served the plant.

Satellite

1938 Aerial Photo ILHAP

The Milwaukee Galewood Yard that is south of the plant.

MadeInChciagoMuseum
Zenith Plant #1 at 6001 W. Dickens Ave., as seen on a 1937 Curt Teich postcard.
Alonso Zaragoza posted info from this source without attribution.
And it got shared
Francis O'Connor: Irene Gazdziak that’s a lot of jobs that supported Austin neighborhood

Tom McDonald posted two images with the comment:

The Zenith Radio Corporation, originally founded in 1918 as Chicago Radio Laboratory by Karl Hassel and Ralph H.G. Mathews, began in a modest setting on a kitchen table before evolving into a major American electronics manufacturer. Incorporated in 1923 with the backing of Eugene F. McDonald, Jr., Zenith quickly rose to prominence, pioneering innovations like the first portable radio in 1924 and transitioning into television production after World War II. By the mid-20th century, its Chicago operations had expanded significantly, with Plant #1 at 6001 West Dickens Avenue becoming a cornerstone of its success. Employing 2,500 workers in its heyday during the 1960s, this sprawling four-block facility produced radios, televisions, and hi-fi stereophonic phonographs, embodying Zenith’s slogan, “The quality goes in before the name goes on.” The factory, once a symbol of American industrial might and ingenuity, thrived as Zenith led the market in black-and-white TVs and later innovated with color television technology.

However, the rise of international competition in the 1970s and 1980s eroded Zenith’s dominance, leading to financial struggles and a shift in operations. The Chicago factory on Dickens Avenue, which had also served as the company’s headquarters, closed its doors in 1998 as Zenith filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Subsequently acquired by South Korea’s LG Electronics in 1999, the American manufacturing legacy of Zenith faded, leaving the once-bustling Plant #1 abandoned. A devastating fire in 2017 further ravaged the deteriorating structure, reducing it to a hollowed-out shell that stands today as a crumbling relic of a bygone era. Now an eyesore in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, the site remains polluted and challenging to redevelop, haunted by memories of its vibrant past and the thousands of workers who once brought its assembly lines to life.

Anyone used to work here ? 

Instagram @tmcd.chi

Rich Wickersty: I ran a recording studio out of that building from 1998 thru 2012, there were numerous studios there in the early 2000’s but it was shut down when the building owners had a transformer blow and couldn’t afford to replace it so they had no more electricity.

Coincidentally I purchased a B&W Zenith TV in the 70’s when I lived out east and was hooking it up in the studio as a security monitor when I noticed it was manufactured here according to its label.

Don Minnoch: Rich Wickersty I also had a rehearsal practice studio for my band there in early 90’s…there were quite a few

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Street View

The smokestack indicates the railroad spur probably provided coal cars for a power plant. Obviously, this end of the plant was shipping and receiving. I wonder if the truck docks were a remodeling and they originally used to use boxcars on the railroad spur.

Street View

Chuck Edmonson posted four photos with the comment:

THE QUALITY GOES IN BEFORE THE NAME GOES ON

One of Chicago's home grown electronic giants, Zenith became a household name in radios in the early 1930s, as well as pioneering in the broadcast of radio and early television.

 As television really came into its own in the 1950s, Chicago's Zenith Corp. would expand with a new 300,000 square foot facility at 5800 W Dickens [RED ALERT: these photos are of Plant #1 at 6001 Dickens rather than of Plant #2 at 5801 Dickens.] in 1960 in the Belmont Craigin neighborhood. By the 1970s they had close to 12,000 employees in the Chicago area.

 As television production shifted overseas beginning in the mid 1980s, Zenith did likewise until being purchase by Korean based LG in 1994.

 The Dickens plant would be shuttered in 1998 and over the years various parts have been leased out to a variety of industrial concerns.

 Although it would now appear that the 65 year old plant is about to be demolished, about a third of the old building will be redeveloped into a shared commercial kitchen space, partially financed through a $4M loan from J P Morgan Chase.

 Ironically the old logo of Zenith is still faintly visible on the old water tower.

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A photo taken by Harold A. Driscoll in 1998 as part of a set of photos of a circus train parked in Galewood Yard shows the plant still has a water tower with the name Zenith on it.

Keven Richard posted fifteen photos of an "abandoned Zenith factory on Chicago's NE side."

A 2:46 video about this plant (source)

Leo Di Domenico Jr: The other plant is south of plant #1 across the rail yard connected by a tunnel. There was a small gauge rail road that meandered between both facilities connected by that tunnel.

Kathy Lunn Edison: Leo Di Domenico Jr I worked at Zenith mid 60's in cost estimating dept....my dad did also in 50's and 60's and I met my husband there....walked the tunnel a number of times to deliver things to the engineers in plant 1..also the company store was in plant 1...bought our first tv there when we got married....good memories!!

Duane R. Pecci: Leo Di Domenico Jr There was an tunnel between the Dickinson and Austin plants with a tow motor that would transport components back and forth.

Aaron Smith: Worked for Zenith in the late 90s at the Glenview HQ (LG already owned them by then). I don't think they'd changed any of the fixtures/carpeting/desks, etc. since the building opened in 1976.

Duane R. Pecci: I was an Industrial Engineer for Zenith at Plant #1 and later at Plant #6 Austin Avenue and #2 Kostner Avenue. So many great memories as my first job out of college in 1967.

Gordon Reiher: Almost everyone in my neighborhood worked there, unless they worked at Western Electric.