History
A Waterproof Canopy for the World's Largest Building
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The photo on the front cover of this issue is a skyscraper view of the entrance to the Merchandise Mart on the north bank of the river in Chicago. This shows the new canopy at the entrance which has recently been completed by Geo. B. Carpenter & Co. of Chicago. Manufacturers of canvas goods may also be interested to note the tailored tar-paulin which is fitted over the yacht in the foreground.
In making the awning, the Carpenter Company used a Union Special Samson seamer, Class 38200, which is a big machine with 40 inches of space under the arm. Some idea of the precision required in the seaming may be gained from the following description of problems encountered.
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The first requirement set by the owners of the building was that the canopy must harmonize with the building in architectural appearance. The design which was submitted meets this requirement admirably. As shown in the pictures at the top of the page, the awning top is laid out in seven different planes over a rigid framework measuring 24 feet wide by 28 feet long.
The canvas selected was 28-inch water-proofed material of maroon color on one side and robin's egg blue on the other. The stripes were made by cutting off a one-fourth width of the canvas and turning up the maroon side. Approximately 2,000 yards of two-needle seaming on the Samson machine were used in joining together all of these strips of canvas. Because it was required that all strips should match up in color where two planes came together, the seams had to be made with extreme accuracy. Mr. Kenneth Lewis and Mr. C.B. Leffert of the Carpenter Company report that the Class 38200 machine handled this seaming very successfully.
The canvas selected was 28-inch water-proofed material of maroon color on one side and robin's egg blue on the other. The stripes were made by cutting off a one-fourth width of the canvas and turning up the maroon side. Approximately 2,000 yards of two-needle seaming on the Samson machine were used in joining together all of these strips of canvas. Because it was required that all strips should match up in color where two planes came together, the seams had to be made with extreme accuracy. Mr. Kenneth Lewis and Mr. C.B. Leffert of the Carpenter Company report that the Class 38200 machine handled this seaming very successfully.
