I grew up in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago. Avondale had a lot of industry. It seemed like there was a factory on almost every block. It’s no wonder Avondale has been referred to as the neighborhood that built Chicago! My parents both worked at factories. My Mom worked at Beltone hearing aid factory at Addison and Kimball and my Dad worked at Continental Can Company around Belmont and Cicero. Still, the factory that stood out to me the most was I.S. Berlin Press. It was a large building complex that was located on the Northeast corner of Belmont and Kimball. It was designed by A. Epstein and Sons architects.
Chicago was the the center of the printing industry when I.S. Berlin was located there in 1949. It had previously been located in the Printer’s Row neighborhood since it was founded in 1920, but was relocated to Avondale to make room due to the construction of the Congress Expressway.
I.S. Berlin Press printed children’s books, advertising literature with colored pictures, and other products using the lithography process. Manufacturing companies like I.S. Berlin were the base of the post-World War II industrial economy in cities like Chicago. When the plant first opened on Belmont and Kimball in 1949 they emplyed over 500 workers. A major $2.5 million expansion was made to the facility in 1961. This new addition was designed to reflect the curved shape of the new Northwest (Kennedy) Expressway built at the same time. The clock at the top became a true Avondale landmark. Growing up, I remember looking at the clock from my back porch window to check the time and it was also where we looked on the Fourth of July to view the fireworks.
I.S. Berlin was demolished in 1977 following a decline in the manufacturing industry which cost Avondale and other industrial Chicago neighborhoods thousands of jobs. It was replaced by the Kennedy Plaza Shopping Center.
