Chicago, IL: I. S. Berlin Press

(Satellite, even the Best Buy that was on the northeast corner is gone)

We have already seen Lakeside Press and Cuneo Press buildings. Chicago sure did do a lot of printing. This printing company was founded in 1919. It moved from printers row in 1949 and expanded in 1961 with a curved side to accommodate the ramp of the expressway that was also being built. "I.S. Berlin Press printed children’s books, advertising literature with colored pictures, and other products using the lithography process." [ChicagolandMuseumViews]

ChicagolandMuseumViews

Kathy Malawski Johnson posted the question: "Does anyone have a photo of the 'I. S. Berlin Press' building?"
Gilbert Jimenez I. S. Berlin Press at Kimball/Belmont. Closed 1977. Now the site of the former Best Buy and Below Zero store. 

That clock tower was iconic.

On 8/12/71 at 4 am, Playboy Bunny Lorraine Kowalski, 29, plunged to death from the 90th Floor apartment of Marshall Berlin, 45, vice chairman of the printing company. (In the Hancock Building [ForgottenChicago comment])
He said she "just fell through" the 1/2 inch thick double pane window of his apartment. 
An engineer said the windows could withstand 85 lbs of pressure per sq ft, with a 2.5 safety factor -- more than 200 pounds psf before breaking. 
Berlin refused to take a lie detector test.

WayOutWardell Flickr 1966 Photo

Northeast corner of Kimball & Belmont, A. Epstein & Sons, architects. Demolished in the late '70s and replaced with a shopping center.

As a kid, I was fascinated with the clock tower that was lit in blue.

Bel Bowl is visible in the background (on Belmont just before the expressway), which was replaced in the early 90s with a grocery store that quickly closed.

[Morning rush hour on the Kennedy or an accident?]

TrolleyBuses [ForgottenChicago comment]

Rand McNally has been printing since 1856 so this is another company's map.

The link has expired

Re: vintage photos of logan square / avondale

Posted by: fleurblue ()

Date: March 27, 2010 02:26AM

On the Northeast side of the Belmont/Kimball intersection there was a very large printing company, I.S. Berlin Press. I can't find any references on the net but I do remember it took quite a while to demolish the place as it was built for the weight of the printing machines. The building came right up to the sidewalks on both streets, as I recall.

[ForgottenChicago]

A Flickr photo of the demolition

This building was demolished to make way for a shopping center because the company had moved to Carol Stream.

American Litho

As of May 2011, Berlin Industries, Inc. was acquired by American Litho, Incorporated. Berlin Industries, Inc. provides Web offset commercial printing services in the United States. The company produces catalogs, newsletters, self mailers, post cards, magazine and newspaper inserts, buck slips, and brochures. It also offers database management, prepress, printing and bindery, equipment list, and direct mail services. Berlin Industries, Inc. was formerly known as I.S. Berlin Press and changed its name in 1976. The company was founded in 1919 and is based in Carol Stream, Illinois. Berlin Industries, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of AO Smith Corp. [Bloomberg]