American Crucible Revisited

It was kind of a shock to read that the former American Crucible building on Oberlin Avenue in Lorain burned down back on March 10. The fire is still under investigation to determine if it was arson.

Once again, Lorain loses a former landmark, and its landscape undergoes a dramatic change.

I did a post back here on American Crucible, which featured a 1947 article highlighting the firm’s products. As it noted, “Whether it’s a refrigerator, a yacht, an army combat plane or a battleship, if there’s a bronze part, it’s probably related to Lorain.”

Here’s one of its products, depicted in a 1931 ad on eBay. It’s for Master Traffic - Control Equipment.

And this postcard – also on eBay – features the American Crucible ‘Promet’ brand tin or lead bass.

American Crucible Article – April 25, 1947

During all the years that I lived in Lorain, I’probably passed this building at 1305 Oberlin Avenue, just north of the railroad tracks, thousands of times. Of course, many of you recognize it as the home of American Crucible.

But I never knew what was manufactured there.

That’s why I was happy to find the article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on April 25, 1947. It provides a capsule summary of what the company did – which is manufacture bronze parts.

A few of the employees are mentioned in the article, including C.H. Herzer, general manager and secretary-treasurer; William Horan, metallurgist; and Miss E. B. Kolbe, laboratory technician.

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My copy of Our Town – The Story of Lorain (published in 1953 by Lorain City Schools) has a nice paragraph on American Crucible. It reads:

The American Crucible is one of the city’s younger industries. It was originally organized in Elyria in 1919. It came to Lorain after the Hoffman Heater Company moved from its plant near the Nickel Plate Railroad tracks. The plant includes a foundry, machine shop, pattern shop, core shop, melting room, receiving and shipping rooms in addition to the general offices. In normal times the company employs about seventy-five men. The company produces bearings of bronze and brass. It specializes in transportation bearings which are used by automobile and plane manufacturers. The bearings may range in weight from a fraction of an ounce to several tons. They may be smaller than a jewel in a watch, or so large that one cannot be loaded in an ordinary freight car.