Growing up in the city meant that you had to go to the suburbs
to go to the big box stores. It was not until large commercial
properties were later redeveloped could these megastores move
closer to urban life. This area was one of the earlier attempts at
bringing the megastores closer to the city. The land was formerly
the home of Union Switch & Signal. It has since been
negatively affected by the newer and larger developments of former
steel mill sites such as the Waterfront and South Side Works.
Union Switch & Signal, founded by George Westinghouse in
1881, is a supplier of railway signaling systems and
equipment.
It operated as an independent company until 1917 when it became a
subsidiary of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. In 1968, American
Standard purchased the entire operation and it later sold to
Ansaldo (now Ansaldo STS), a global supplier of signaling, control,
and automation systems with operations worldwide.
Union Switch & Signal built and moved to new main facilities
in 1995 on Technology Drive. They are the only company to still
make mechanical bells and are also the only company to make 180
degree electronic bells. They were one of the five main contractors
(including Colt, Remington-Rand, Ithaca Gun Company, and Singer
Sewing Machine) to make Colt 45 semiautomatic (M1911A1) pistols
during World War Two. These guns today remain highly sought after
and collectable.
You do NOT need to leave the parking lot surface. If you have
any caching experience, you can take a half star away from both the
difficulty and terrain! Please exercise stealth so that the cache
has a long and healthy life.
Congrats to I Brive a Dus on the FTF!
