Art
This blueprint shows the ground floor of a billiard table factory in Chicago—a thriving industry that employed thousands of skilled workers. The layout reveals how late 19th-century manufacturers organized labor, machinery, and materials to produce goods that filled American homes and gathering places.
Art · Full story
You step onto the factory floor: sawdust hangs in the air, the whine of saws cutting wood, the smell of varnish and glue. Men move between stations—some shaping slate beds, others stitching leather pockets, still others assembling legs and frames. The rhythm never stops; production must meet orders from saloons, billiard halls, and family parlors across the country.
Reflect
What kind of work would you want to do, and what would the space around you need to have?