City in Sound; Speedway Wrecking Co.

This is Jim Hurl, but bringing you the city and sound. There's a big thunderous sound that's often heard in this town of ours. It's the sound of a thousand pound iron ball crashing into a brick wall. It's the identifying sound of the house record in action. And in Chicago, house record is a big business and an important one. When a city gets to be over 125 years old, a considerable part of it needs face lifting. And one of the biggest of Chicago's face lifters is the Speedway Racking Company. It's been doing business here for a long time. We start the story with a man who started the business, President Jack Coco. Parkman, can I come into your office here? You're Jack Coco, the boss of this business. You've been in business how long in this town? Since 1922. Uh, with Speedway Racking. Since 1922. Well, we, uh, we named Speedway Racking, we built it ourselves. Well, you build it right up from scratch to it. What did you start out with, Jack? With some folks. Just a few trucks. Were you originally first a wrecking, uh, business, or were you an excavator? Pauling.

Pauling. Pauling equipment in Chicago. That's right. You know, you said that you started in 1922. That was after World War I. See, I wasn't World War I. Yeah, I understand you parked a truck down to the corner of Randolph and Watten, went in and enlisted in the United States Army. That's true. Did you come back and get that truck after the war? No, I caught a bus up and told me to come up and get his truck. I'm going away. Well, Jack, from, uh, from the time that Speedway started with a few trucks here in Chicago, what, uh, as you remember was the first job that you did that was actually a wrecking job. Can you remember that far back? That's, um, good many years. Well, we did the capital building, a 22 -story building down on Randolph's state, that's the old Masonic temple building. That was right down in the heart of the loop. Yeah, it was, I know from, uh, state. That one you started

to wear from the top down, and you start to bottom and work up. Not a kid now, yeah? I just wondered, could you ever record building that way, starting to bottom? Yeah, uh, that capital building was one of the great many people in Chicago were very familiar with. It was the landmark. Yeah, it was the old Masonic temple when it was, uh, the first skyscraper in the United States. And that was the tallest building. Was that a tech job? Well, it was 60 days. We'd done it 60 days around the clock. Nobody believes you could do it. No, no, there was a lot of gambling going on. You see every time you go by and see it was one story down, the second story, you know, but we did it on 59 days around the clock. You know, a lot of people talk jack -a -boss, feedway, wrecking company, tearing down buildings, just a sort of a routine, heartless operation, but actually, I've seen this company trucks and cranes and operations as some of

our biggest fires around Chicago. Well, it's part of speedway to do things like that. We know endless chases. We don't go out for that. We just, we have enough equipment, enough men, and if it comes in emergency, that is very expensive to do. We do it. Jack, do you feel that this is a worthwhile endeavor? What was all right for me? Well, it's all right for the city, too, isn't it? This is an important part of the city. Sure, as you, you, you after, if you got building 70, 80 years old, you got to come down there. It's just part of that thing. It's just like an old street. When the street is worn out, it's like the old cobblestone streets we used to take down a wall of a chabin' old. They put a new pavement in there. I mean, that's the same thing. I mean, the same thing as an old building. Hey, your Mr. Ellen Bulley, you're in the contracting business. That's right. Your family's been in the contracting business for a long

time here, right? Well, since, since 1892 in Chicago. And you've been involved in building some of the biggest buildings in the city? Some of the biggest and some of the finest. What was the biggest building that your company put up, Mr. Bulley? Either you or your father? Well, you mean from the size or from dollars? Well, let's put it from your point of view. Whatever you think was the, the gave you the most satisfaction. The University of Chicago men's residence halls. Beautiful building and addition to Chicago residents. 14 buildings tied together out at the University of Chicago. What, what about some of the big buildings that you put up downtown? Well, the Northern Trust, we built the additions and did all the work at the Northern Trust. We have since 1929, I think. And you've got some work going on down there now? Yes. And that's the reason, perhaps, you're over here at Speedway to talk to, Jake Kolko is

about the work that they're doing to take down parts of the old structure so that you can merge the two together, is that right? That's an all I'm mostly, you know what I mean? This is on a bank down in Watsikil, Illinois, that I'm over here to see him about today. We're building an addition to a bank down there. And is he going to do the excavating? I hope so. Another phase of the Speedway operation. That's right. You're the vice president of Speedway Ranking, right? Yes, that's so. Your name is Henry Bussey? Henry Bussey? Mr. Bussey, I'd like to talk to you about the size of Speedway if I may. It's a pretty big company. You want the size in terms of the amount of equipment? That would be very interesting. I think they would give us a good picture of Speedway, because we came into the garage out here. So a lot of trucks lined up, but that's only a start, isn't it? Well, that's only a part of it. We try to keep that to a minimum. Naturally, the more equipment we have out in the field, why the more business we're doing. But when we have, when there's

so much equipment in this business, where so much heavy equipment is required, there is a certain amount of it that's going to be in the shop all the time, no matter how busy you are. Some of it will be in here. The maintenance is quite a problem, because the work is heavy, and naturally repairs are needed. Let's start with the biggest equipment you have. And I suppose that's those big cranes that we saw out on the job over at the quarry station today. The biggest that we have right now, and now we have had larger cranes that were bought for a specific job. But those cranes were so big that they were not adaptable to city work. The size of a rigged for city work is determined by the height of the viaducts for one thing. And the facility with which you can move it around, there's

no use to have a rigged for city work that you can't move around the city. Well, not all of your cranes are self -propelled, though. No, well, yes, they're all self -propelled, but they're not all truck -mounted. Other two kinds is a truck -mounted crane, and there's a caterpillar or a crawler rig. Crawler rig moves on its own caterpillars. The other rigs are more mobile. They move on their own power on the streets. On the crawler rigs, you need a trailer, a heavy trailer to move them. I gather there's other tightly big equipment that you use, for example, in excavating, besides the... Well, some of these rigs, some of the biggest rigs, are convertible. They can be made into a shovel, which is just what the word implies, a scoop. They can be made into a backhoe, or as some people say, a pull shovel, which goes down this way. It comes up towards the rig. Now, some of them are convertible, from a shovel to a backhoe, or to a crane. A crane is the rig that has the long boom on it, on which you can

use either a hook or a clamshell bucket. And there's still another attachment that goes on a rig that is converted to a crane, and that's what they call the fair leads for a drag line. Now, a drag line is where, with a long crane boom, they throw the bucket way out into the area to be excavated, and they pull it back with a cable from the lower end of the deck of the crane. And it's called a drag line, so some of these rigs are... Three were convertible. Yes, three or four ways. And what else do you have besides that? Well, let's see, of course, the heavy trucks. We have them all away from the big 22 -year -old trucks. 26 -year -old trucks. 26 -year -old trucks. 26 -year -olds. And we have a 10 -year -old. We have a 15 -year -old. We have them down to small and seven -rate -yard. We have numerous service trucks, and various kinds. Now, you've got

this equipment spread out not only all over Chicago, but all over the United States, as a matter of fact. We have done work in every area of the United States, and we still do, and we're ready to do it at any time. We have had so much work in the Chicago area in recent years in connection with superhighways, slum clearance, housing authority, the normal amount of wrecking that goes with expansion of the city, so that we haven't had to go out too much away from the Chicago area in recent years, but we're prepared at any time to go anywhere. Uh, pardon me. You're Mr. Altkitt, is that right? Yes, sir. I'm Altkitt. Commonwealth Edison County. What did your job with Commonwealth? I'm a supervising construction engineer. Well, Mr. Altkitt, I noticed you were looking over these blue prints here, and are these the blue prints of this quarry building? Uh, yes, they are. These are the prints of the building that's to be tore down. The

building's approximately 465 foot long, and the members' building has covers about a five -block area. And the approximately 175 feet wide. Now, this includes a lot of different things, doesn't it? This is just one big empty building. There are a lot of things in it, a lot of different types of construction involved in the building. Well, and that's right, original intention of this building, and which it originally was as a generating station, which become outmoded, and then was converted to a warehouse. How long ago was that? Oh, that's, well, the building was put up in 1908. Well, what was the reason that it was decided to tear the building down now? It's about lived as usefulness as a warehouse. It's about lived as usefulness as a warehouse. Too costly, too many maintain, and it's not laid out properly for a warehouse. Now,

as a construction engineer, in this case, you put your other hat on, you've got your destruction hat on. That's right. How do you go about making plans for the raising of a building as big? Well, the starting of that is originated down our whole executive group, and from there it goes to our engineering department. Then they write up the specifications, draw up the plans of what they want, have removed. Then it's sent out to the contractors for bids, for demolition. After the successful bidder has the job, why then the construction department takes over, and supervises the demolition work. How long is this job going to take? Oh, it should take about four months. Long job. A tough one. You're a milled rotten bird of speedway, aren't you? That's right. I know you're busy on this job. You're the boss over here in this area, aren't you? I'm a super fan of test. Yeah. Now, it seems to me that watching the work that's been going

on out here, that they're not actually tearing down this whole building. No, there's a small section that remains in place, what's they call the distribution center, and that in the future probably is going to come down. But at the present time, we're just taking down about 90 percent of the structure. Well, to take down 90 percent and leave 10 percent, must be an even more difficult, particularly, job than taking down 100 percent of the building, isn't it? In other words, you've got to be pretty careful that you don't get that big ball knock over the 10 percent. Well, we don't use the ball on that 10 percent. We're using a gang of men to disconnect the building, and that part that is to remain is separated distinctly from the general part of the wrecking. You mean, as far as your work is concerned? As far as our wrecking work is concerned, it is separate and distinct from the portion that's to remain. When you get up close

to that 10 percent, you put the men in, they do it by hand. They do it by hand, and they disconnect. You say that you don't use the ball on the part that's up close to the building that's going to remain, but you do use that type of demolition in the major part of the operation, right? Well, actually, the ball is probably 40 to 50 percent of the work. The balance of it is concerned chiefly with the tortsmen or burners to cut the steel and free it, and then it's turned over in portions. What do you call that? The crane out there, milked it, run to the ball? Yes, that's a crane. As a matter of fact, there are two cranes there. One is doing the structural steel removal, and the other one is doing the concrete removal. Who's up there in the concrete removal crane, George Michaels? Well, George Michaels on the structural steel, and Barney Simmons is on the other crane, which is doing the concrete removal.

Hey, you're a Bud Rutberg, aren't you? That's right, Jim. I thought I know you're the general superintendent for Speedway. You're not always on this job. Why do you have to buy your day? Well, this is one of the routine jobs that I make a stop at every day, or maybe even twice a day, Jim. How many jobs do you have going around town right now? At the present time, we have a half a dozen or better, in various locations all over the city, including Berwin. Now, I was just talking to Milt about this job, and I was not quite clear from inside there in the shed what it looked like. So from out here, we can certainly get a good picture of this huge building, and what you're doing to it. Could you tell me actually Bud, what's going on here? Well, as you notice here, Jim, we've got men working up on the wall, where we're cutting the wall down to a parapet height, above the section of the building that is to remain. This building here that we're looking at at the present time was the old turbine room, which we are disconnecting free of the section that is to remain. Next to it, as you notice, to the north there. That's right. North of that wall was the old boiler room,

which we are working on at the present time, and adjoining that was the old train shed, which was a two -floor structure. That's where the cranes are working at the present time. Where are these bricks coming from that are dropping down around us here? These bricks that are falling down are part of the wall, which is to remain. We are taking down the wall above a given height, that is to form the wall that stays in place for the piece of the job that we don't touch. Now, is this the most difficult type of job you do? Well, I wouldn't say it's the most difficult. I mean, we've had more difficult jobs, but this is a rough one, if you know what I mean, because of being a steel and concrete building. No, there's not only have to worry about the concrete structure. You have to worry about the steel skeleton inside of it. That's true. What's the biggest job you've done around town that you don't remember, bud? Well, we've done quite a number of wrecking jobs. I mean, there's no job. There's actually what you

call small, no job that's too big. I mean, we handle them all. Grand Park Garage, Michigan Boulevard was one of the largest excavating jobs that I can remember in, well, no, the first one actually, the largest one that I can remember was Susay and Marie Michigan. The MacArthur locks. Is that so? That's right. That was done during the World War number two. That's another phase of speedways operation. Is our excavating? That's right. You were digging actually the ditch for the lock itself up there. Well, we were actually doing the widening and deepening of the lock for the bigger boats to come through. During the years you've been working, but on the job, you seem quite a change in the face of Chicago, haven't you? We sure have. A lot of old buildings coming down, a lot of new structures going up in their place. Yes, I think it's about time that they're doing it too. I mean, a lot of old buildings that are really dilapidated that should have come down and they are coming down now. Well, this is a phase of

Chicago's phase lifting, which you play a very important part. Well, we hope to do our part, and we hope we like to see a lot of this work going on because it keeps us going. That's a good reason. That's one of the best. George, this is the first time I've ever been up in the cab with you. I've talked to George Michael the good, many times. How do you operate this thing? Well, I guess you just have to get used to it, I've been on it a lot enough, I guess. I've been on it for about 30 years. This is a little, you've got to use a little judgment, so things don't fall on you. What are these controls you have here, George? Down in front of you. Well, the left side is the swing, and the right side is the hoist. Here she comes. Whoa, there she goes. You know, it's just cut nice, it all fell apart. Sure did.

Now I get a guy to get up on top and get the concrete down now and clean the steel so they can cut it. Now, George, many times I've talked to you in the past, I've talked to you on jobs where you're doing a different type of work. I remember over at the Provost's furniture company building on La Salisbury, the work you were doing there was turning that wall, as you get to that man, I was trapped down inside. You've done a lot of that, haven't you? Oh, yes. Quite a bit, and the left jobs are a whole lot different in these. There you've got to go a little easy and find the bodies and try not to cut them up. You can clear them so the firemen can get at them, get all the debris away from them. Now, George, our rig is moving along here now. How do you set it into motion so it propels itself along? What do you use, your ship, lever? Well, this here is an independent travel. This is a oil converter. You've got a special travel lever. You can swing, travel, and move and voice and everything, but this one. How big of a crane

is this? This is a two -yard machine, it weighs 65 tons. How long does that move? 110 feet. Is that the biggest one you have? Oh, I've had 150 feet on it. Well, your son, Bob, is also a crane operator, is he? Yeah, he works for his, uh, Vorhofer. He had a 180 -foot boom on over there at the hospital. I'm going to have a third generation of the job, too. It looks like it runs through the family. That's a pretty cool job out here, isn't it? Oh, you tell me. You're saying bad today, but you want to come out? Well, there's really cold out here. What do you do? I'll always give you a fire going, so you can warm up over here. You're right, sir. What kind of work do you do on a job? Well, I'm an all -around man. Do everything, huh? Do a little bit of everything. Is this good work? Sir, is this good work? Bet you're. That's work I'd have long time. So, Marshall, you just finished a job across the river here, didn't you? Well, that's right. We're

just in the process of cleaning up and moving out now. That job involved a smoke stack, because I recall it was involved in an accident over there at the Fisk Power Station. Right. That was the first Sunday of the year. They had already retired the unit across the river from where we're working now. There's a lot of business. And, well, no, it was retired. I understand two or three weeks before the stack fell. And our job was to come in and clean up the remains of it, clean up the hazardous steel, and the collapse roof, take that out, and put it in a safe, orderly condition. I forgot to say, your Marshall Kolko is, I understand your Jack Kolko's son. That is right. Man has started the business and you're following along in his footstep. Well, I don't know, trying. How much of a job was it to take down that stack? Well, with the weather, the weather was one of the major problems we had. It's difficult enough to take something like that down even in the summer, but working in the sub -zero weather that we had during the month of January and the first week or two of February, it was a very ticklish job. Now, from here, we can see four large metal stacks standing up above the station itself, and then

over to the north of that, a concrete stack. Was yours like these metal stacks that are here? ours was about the same height, but actually it was taller because it was setting about 30 or 40 feet on a lower roof. It was a bigger stack. Those are 11, 11 and a half foot in diameter. When our ours was 14 and a half foot in diameter, it was approximately 200 feet. Of course, lots of times in demolition work, you have to take down big smoke stacks on one job, or another. This was a different type of job than those would be, right? When you can take a smoke stack down at standing, it's a lot easier because once you get a routine every day, it just follows a set pattern. When a stack collapses, it's all over the building. It makes it much more ticklish to get rid of. Now, going back to that set pattern, I've seen some big ones come down out of 39th street, and the out of dry, there you took one down. Well, it depends on a type of stack. Some you can actually undermine and shore up and burn them and collapse them that way, where you don't have any room, you have to scaffold and take them down piece by piece. It depends entirely on the type of stack it is, and also the conditions around you. It's up to a

matter of knowing the job at hand, right? Beyond question, the men at Speedway know their business. George Michael, so say the men who work with him, could knock a cigarette out of your mouth with that huge iron ball, and never even give you a headache. Personally, I'll take it on faith. And that's the city and sound. Jim Herbert reporting, George Wilson, at the controls.