January 28, 2016

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Our weekly Throwback Thursday journey through the Epstein archives take us back to September, 1959 for the opening of the Olson Transportation Company Distribution Center in Hodgkins, Illinois. This Epstein designed and engineered 20-acre, multi-facility campus was built to help service the boom in Post WWII highway distribution.

The $1.5M ($12.2M in 2016) Olson facility featured three buildings an 880-foot long, 88-foot wide dock that was able to accommodate 150 trucks, a 23,000 sf office building and a 20,000 sf vehicle maintenance facility (VMF). The truck dock building featured an advanced material handling system for the late 50s/early 60s which included a floor type conveyor, fork lift trucks and an overhead crane. The 2-story office building housed 200 people, featured air conditioning, a full-service kitchen and also provided sleeping quarters for Olson's drivers. And the VMF ensured that all of Olson's trucks stayed in top operating condition.

Located at the southern connection of historic Route 66 (Joliet Road) and East Avenue, Olson operated out of this facility for many years, but alas, this facility no longer exists, having been replaced by a Target.