Crosley Automobile Factory, Richmond, IN - Iconic Factories on Waymarking.com

This plant is where Crosley autos were manufactured from 1939 through 1942. These were smaller, economical vehicles with many innovations for the time. There was a sister plant in Marion, IN, which produced the cars after the war. The plant now houses a variety of tenants, including a company that manufactures CDs and DVDs. There are two major buildings here; both are quite large. The one pictured is the older one.

The first cars were introduced in 1939 and sold for under $350, and weighed less than 1000 pounds. Some of the innovations of later Crosleys included the first car with disk brakes, slab sides, overhead cam engines in an inexpensive car, and a motor made from stamped sheet metal parts. Using a concept used to make some aircraft engines, the CoBra motor was brazed in a furnace and weighed only 133 pounds, and producing 26 HP. Some models got 50 MPG. One of the 1948 models was called the Sport Utility though it was not a hulking suburban assault vehicle. The last Crosley car manufactured was in 1952. I have seen some of these cuties and they are way cool.

Powel Crosley, Jr. was a very industrious individual, whose companies made a number of notable products. He did not seem to invent many things, but had a knack for making improvements to existing designs. He would often purchase the patents from the inventor and run with it. Early products included radios, automobile radiator cap flag holders, and tire repair devices. He also had some quirky ones, including an electric cap to regrow hair and an air conditioned bed.

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Crosley Radios were perhaps his most recognizable products. He also manufactured refrigerators, including a rather strange device known as the Iceyball, which used no electricity.

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Crosley also made a number of products for the war effort in the 1940s, including radios, generators and proximity fuzes. The fuze was considered to the third most important product of WW2, and Crosley's company made some very important manufacturing innovations for this device.

Powel also owned the Cincinnati Reds and WLW, a powerful AM radio station in Cincinnati. At one time it ran 500,000 watts and could be heard throughout the United States and many other parts of the world. Many famous entertainers past through the studios of WLW, including Rosemary Clooney, Red Barber, Red Skelton, and The Ink Spots.

One of his companies built and operated a high-powered shortwave station during WW2 for the government, to counteract propaganda coming out of Japan and Germany. The station became part of Voice of America. Hitler once referred to the station in a speech as "those liars in Cincinnati." It has since been shut down. The location has a waymark and one of my caches.

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The Crosley name is still used by some manufacturers of consumer appliance and radios, though these are not related to Crosley’s former companies.

Here is an interesting link for Crosley car collectors with a number of cool pictures in their albums:

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Product manufactured here: Crosley Automobiles Address: 1767 SHERIDAN STREET Richmond, IN USA USA USA 47374 Web Page: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/25/2018 stevepre2 visited it 07/30/2015 BuckeyeFinnigan visited it

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