Arnold, Schwinn & Company was established in Chicago in the last quarter of 1895. Over the years the company rented, purchased, and built several facilities in Chicago. This is the ninth in a series of posts about head office and factory locations in Chicago.

Story of my Confusion

Several years ago I began research into the locations of Arnold, Schwinn & Co. I have relied upon the internet to find sources of information. At first I toke all that I read as being correct. But as I read more I became confused about Schwinn Plant No. 1 and Plant No. 2. Which plant was built where and which plant was built when?

The first website I read which started my confusion was:

In 1901, Schwinn moved its offices to North Kostner Ave. In 1908, they built a new factory on North Kildare Ave.

http://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/2017/02/schwinn-bicycle-factory.html

As I did more research over the years I found that the construction of the building on North Kostner Ave. did not begin until 1910. The construction of the North Kildare Ave. building was begin in 1901.

Several other internet sources also have the same or similar incorrect statements about these two buildings. Where are these bloggers and authors getting this incorrect information about the first two buildings built by Arnold, Schwinn and Co. at Kildare ave. and Kostner ave.?

Original Source of Erroneous Information about Kildare and Kostner buildings

Upon later investigation I found two sources for some of the incorrect information about the first two buildings built by Arnold, Schwinn and Co. at Kildare ave. and Kostner ave. Both sources originate with the Chicago Historical Society.

The most popular source that is quoted was published in 2004 in the “Encyclopedia of Chicago”. The entry in the alphabetic listing of the dictionary is entitled “Entries : Arnold, Schwinn & Co.” This entry is one paragraph of 17 sentences. I will quote part of the entry:

about 30 different bicycle makers were concentrated along Chicago’s Lake Street. In 1901, Arnold, Schwinn & Co. moved its offices to North Kostner Avenue, where it stayed until 1986. By 1905, the company had become one of the leading firms in the industry. Many of its bicycles were sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co., the giant Chicago-based retailer. In 1908, Arnold sold his interest in the company, and a new factory was built on North Kildare Avenue in Chicago. Even during the Great Depression, the company still managed to build more than 100,000 bicycles each year;

Encyclopedia of Chicago. https://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2556.html

The second source from the Chicago Historical Society is from their publication “Chicago History” Volume 4, published in the fall of 1975. The article in entitled “When Chicago was Wheel Crazy”, by George D. Bushnell, and begins on page 167. There is one paragraph about Ignaz Schwinn and I will quote two relevant sentences from page 169:

The enterprise prospered, and the company bought the March-Davis Bicycle Company in 1899
at a receiver’s sale, moving to its site on Chicago’s western edge.
In 1908, a new factory was built on adjacent land at 1718 North Kildare Avenue.
It is still used as part of the company’s assembly plant.

Chicago History, vol. 4, Fall 1975 “When Chicago was Wheel Crazy”, by George D. Bushnell

Both Chicago Historical Society sources and blog town-and-nature describe a new building in 1908 at North Kildare Avenue.

Correcting the errors

I will start with the 1975 “when Chicago was Wheel Crazy:

• March-Davis was purchased in 1901, not 1899.
• The North Kildare building was begun in 1901, not 1908

Second, the Chicago Encyclopedia’s Arnold, Schwinn and Company:

• Chicago bicycle makers were not concentrated on Lake Street.
• In 1901, Arnold, Schwinn & Co. moved locations to the March-Davis location on North 44th Avenue between North and Wabasnia Avenues, not to North Kostner Ave. (Which implies the 1910 built factory at Cortland Street and North Kostner Ave.)
• The new factory on North Kildare Ave. was begun in 1901, not 1908.
• According to the Schwinn Reporter, during the depression years 1929 to 1933 Schwinn bicycle production was less than 50,000 bicycles and in 1934 less than 100,000 bicycles. The bicycle production claims are fantastic.

Finally, the author of towns-and-nature.blogspot.com appears to have read one or both of the Chicago Historical Society published articles. The two sentences quoted are partial cut-and-pastes from the Chicago Encyclopedia.

Other articles which source the Chicago Encyclopedia

First, Schwinn in Chicago https://www.instagram.com/77flavorschi/reel/DExPqUOxSh0/

Great enthusiasm by the presenter, but repeats incorrect information.

Second, Ask Geoffrey of WTTW television https://news.wttw.com/2021/02/11/ask-geoffrey-schwinn-bicycle-company . Also this link https://news.wttw.com/2015/09/02/ask-geoffrey-sept-2

Summary

Earlier in this series I documented the two Arnold, Schwinn & Company buildings on Kildare Avenue and Kostner Avenue. I give the dates of building and the old Chicago addresses.

Why the confusion of theses two buildings.

First, most of the writers are in the present day. They remember the Schwinn Bicycle Company with offices at 1856 North Kostner Avenue. Many assume that this was the original Arnold, Schwinn & Company location when the company moved to west Chicago.

Second, the March-Davis location on 44th Avenue, the first Schwinn built factory on 43rd Avenue and the second Schwinn built factory on Cortland Street and 44th Avenue are all in the same locale in west Chicago and I think there is a tendency to simply lump them all together.

Third, when Arnold, Schwinn & Co. moved to west Chicago in 1901, the city of Chicago was using a confusing building address scheme. Between 1907 and 1913 the city of Chicago revised building numbering and street names. Some people may not have reconciled the locations under the two schemes.

Readers who want more information about Arnold, Schwinn & Co, which is better researched and therefore more accurate should go to: https://chicagology.com/chicagobicycles/ and https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/schwinn-bicycle-co/

Chicagology.com uses many sources from the 19th Century and early 20th Century.

In closing I will note that many of the histories of Schwinn have errors or misleading statements, including “50 years of Schwinn Built Bicycles” which was commissioned by Frank Wagner Schwinn, the son of Ignaz Schwinn. The misleading statement in this book is often quoted, but does not relate to the current topic.

There may be one more post in this series on the Excelsior Motor Mfg and Supply Company which had a building on Cortland Street. This was a company of Ignaz Schwinn but was not connected to the bicycle business.