By Chicago Lines | DePaul’s TV Project
“The Black Couch is a working studio and art gallery in Hermosa at the old Hammond Organ manufacturing plant. We are a collective of artists and musicians whose mission is to encourage positive community involvement through art and music.
“Every month, we host a variety of events including art showcases, multi-genre music shows, CPS field trips, group painting parties, fundraisers, and film screenings.”
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TheBlackCouchStudio.com.
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From the Encyclopedia of Chicago:
“In 1928, Evanston resident Laurens Hammond founded the Hammond Clock Co. His enterprise had little success until 1934, when Hammond patented an electric organ and began to manufacture the instruments.
“In 1936 he sold more than 1,750 of the 275-pound organs, mainly to churches and households. During the 1950s, when the company employed over 1,000 people in the Chicago area, it changed its name from Hammond Musical Instrument Co. to Hammond Organ Co.
“By the early 1970s, with annual sales approaching $100 million, Hammond had four plants in the Chicago area and employed a total of 4,500 people nationwide.
“During the late 1970s, when organ sales declined, the company was purchased by the Marmon Group, a conglomerate owned by the Pritzker family of Chicago. By the 1990s, Hammond was owned by the Suzuki Group of Japan.”
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From the Chicago History Museum:
“In 1977 The Marmon Group, Inc., owned by the Pritzker family of Chicago, acquired the Hammond Corporation, and the Hammond Organ Company became a division of The Marmon Group.
“In 1986 The Marmon Group sold the Hammond Organ Company to Hammond Organ Australia, PTY Ltd, then owned by Noel Crabbe of Australia, and manufacturing of Hammond organs was discontinued in Chicago.
“Tentative plans called for the manufacturing of Hammond organs in Japan.”
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“Chicago Lines is a television series exploring the people, places and things in the city of Chicago.”
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Posted on May 17, 2016