1905 Allis Chalmers Corliss Steam Engine - Holland, Michigan USA
Posted by: theHostas
N 42° 46.108 W 086° 04.664
16T E 575454 N 4735517
Steam engine on display in Holland
Waymark Code: WM141HH
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 03/28/2021
Views: 1
From sites listed below:
This 1905 steam engine powered factories in Holland, Mich., for more than half a century (with a four-year break during the Great Depression). It now sits as a monument to the city's industrial heritage.
Parked in the middle of a well-tended flower bed sits an antique Allis-Chalmers steam engine -- just like the one that was showcased at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.
That's where some Holland businessmen saw it and bought one for their city's Bush & Lane piano factory.
Steam power drove the piano plant for almost a quarter century, until the music stopped abruptly in 1929.
The steam engine sat idle until 1933. Then, the New Deal put Americans, and the old Allis-Chalmers, back to work. This time, the 350-horsepower steamer was harnessed to the belts and pulleys of the Baker Furniture Co. It ran two shifts a day for an additional 26 years, before it was finally retired in 1959.
A few years ago, some civic volunteers cleaned the rust off that old Allis-Chalmers engine, gave it a fresh coat of paint and propped it by the side of the road, as a symbol of their city's industrial heritage.
The plaque states:
1905
Allis Chalmers
Corliss
Steam Engine
Bush & Lane Piano Co
1905 - 1929
Baker Furniture Co
1933 - 1959
In Recognition of
Holland’s Industrial Heritage
Installed on concrete pedestal in 2003
Located at the Intersection of South Waverly and 32nd Street
NPR reference
Holland MVP reference
Deviantart reference