The Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Factory Building was the original Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory constructed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1906. The factory was located at what is now 3700 W. Juneau and it was regularly expanded with additions in the early 1900s. It was added to National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1994.
Harley-Davidson's first location was a backyard shed where William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson built three motorcycles in 1903. Arthur Davidson's father was a cabinet maker and he constructed the shed in the Davidson backyard: it was 10 ft × 15 ft (3.0 m × 4.6 m). In 1904 the shed size was doubled with an addition and the fledgling company produced 8 motorcycles. In 1905 the shed size was doubled again with another addition. By the end of 1905 Harley and Davidson applied for and received a loan to build a factory. They purchased land at what is now Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and began constructing the 1906 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Factory Building. [1] In 1906, Harley and the Davidson brothers built their first factory on Chestnut Street (later Juneau Avenue). The first Juneau Avenue plant was 28 ft × 80 ft (8.5 m × 24.4 m). [2]
The original factory was at the current location of Harley-Davidson's corporate headquarters. [3] In 1906 the company produced 50 machines in their new factory. [1]
The building was continually expanded to meet the demand with construction occurring often. The company also rented factory space in other Milwaukee locations. The demand for Harley-Davidson motorcycles was growing each year: In 1909 they produced 1,149, motorcycles, in 1911 5,625, in 1912 3,852, in 1913 12,966. Motorcycles were produced at the original location from 1903 to 1973. [4]
By 1909 the machine shop occupied 5,760 sq ft (535 m2). The building was considered modern in 1909 but by 1913 it was inadequate based on the increased demand for Harley-Davidsons. The company razed the structure from April 17 to 23, 1913, and began building a larger factory which would be open by June 1913. In 1913 Motorcycle Illustrated published an article on Harley-Davidson constructing their 8th building on the property. It was a 6-story structure with 40,320 sq ft (3,746 m2) of floor space designated for the machine shop and the building was 90 ft × 64 ft (27 m × 20 m). [5] The structure was built at a cost of US$100,000. [6]
The original 1906 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Factory Building site was added to the Wisconsin Historical Society Register of Historic Places on January 1, 1989, and added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1994. [7] [8]
Harley-Davidson, Inc. is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with its historical rival, Indian Motorcycles. The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, periods of poor economic health and product quality, and intense global competition to become one of the world's largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following. There are owner clubs and events worldwide, as well as a company-sponsored, brand-focused museum.
Milwaukee, officially the City of Milwaukee, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is the 31st largest city in the United States, the fifth-largest city in the Midwestern United States, and the second largest city on Lake Michigan's shore behind Chicago.
A softail motorcycle intentionally looks like vintage motorcycles with a rigid hard-tail frame that has a triangle of steel tubes at the rear axle, like on a bicycle frame, but on a Softail these tubes are actually a triangular swingarm, with the shock absorber(s) hidden, as opposed to clearly visible regular twin shocks on both sides of the rear wheel on standard bikes. Since the introduction of the Harley-Davidson FXST Softail in 1983 as a registered trademark of the Motor Company, softail has become a genericized trademark for other models of cruiser motorcycles with rear suspensions hidden for retro style reasons. This was done even though the rear wheel was often hidden behind bags or exhaust pipes.
The Harley Owners Group (HOG) is a sponsored community marketing club, operated by Harley-Davidson for enthusiasts of that brand's motorcycles. The HOG is "the grandaddy of all community-building efforts," serving to promote not just a consumer product, but a lifestyle. The HOG has also served to open new revenue streams for the company, with the production of tie-in merchandise offered to club members, numbering over one million strong, making it the largest factory-sponsored riding club in the world. The Harley-Davidson community was the prototype for the ethnographic term subculture of consumption, defined as "a distinctive subgroup of society that self-selects on the basis of a shared commitment to a particular product class, brand, or consumption activity."
U.S. Bank Center is a skyscraper located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, noted for being the tallest building in the state of Wisconsin, and the tallest building between Chicago and Minneapolis. Standing 601 feet (183 m) and 42 stories tall, the building has a floor area of 1,077,607 sq ft (100,113.0 m2) and it surpassed the Milwaukee City Hall as the tallest building in both the city and the state. Topped off August 29, 1972, and completed in 1973, it was the headquarters for what eventually became Firstar Corporation from 1973 to 2001. The building was designed by Colombian-Peruvian architect Bruce Graham with James DeStefano of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and engineered by Bangladeshi-American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan. As of 2017, the building is home to the headquarters of Foley & Lardner, Robert W. Baird & Company, Sensient Technologies Corporation, and is the Milwaukee office for U.S. Bank, IBM, and CBRE.
Forest Home Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite. Both the cemetery and its Landmark Chapel are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and were declared a Milwaukee Landmark in 1973.
The Menomonee Valley or Menomonee River Valley is a U-shaped land formation along the southern bend of the Menomonee River in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because of its easy access to Lake Michigan and other waterways, the neighborhood has historically been home to the city's stockyards, rendering plants, shipping, and other heavy industry. It was also a primary source of pollution for the river.
The neighborhoods of Milwaukee include a number of areas in southeastern Wisconsin within the state's largest city at nearly 600,000 residents.
Harley-Davidson engines are a line of engines manufactured since 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by the Harley-Davidson company for use in its motorcycles. Harley-Davidson engines are now made in several locations globally, including York, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Kansas City, Missouri (closing); Manaus, Brazil; and Bawal, India.
The Harley-Davidson Museum is an American museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin celebrating the more than 100-year history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The 12,000-square-meter (130,000 sq ft) three-building complex on 81,000 square meters along the Menomonee River bank contains more than 450 Harley-Davidson motorcycles and hundreds of thousands of artifacts from the Harley-Davidson Motor Company's 118-year history.
William Sylvester Harley was an American mechanical engineer and businessman. He was one of the co-founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company.
Arthur Davidson Sr. was an American businessman. He was one of the four original founders of Harley-Davidson.
The Martin Drive neighborhood of Milwaukee is a residential district on the west side of the city. It is named for the local 19th-century politician Morgan Lewis Martin. Housing development started in the 1920s around two breweries. The area has benefited from local improvement programs and community activities since the 1990s.
Water Street is a prominent historic street and entertainment district in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the site of the city's original building, City Hall, and multiple historic landmarks. Today it is still the major north–south road running through downtown and is home to Milwaukee's Theater District, Water Street Entertainment District, and much of the city's political activity.
William Herbert Davidson was president of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles from 1942 to 1971. His father, William A. Davidson, was one of the company founders and his sons, John A. Davidson was a company president and Willie G. Davidson was a company vice-president.
Kirchhoff & Rose was an architectural firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The partnership began in 1894 between Charles Kirchhoff Jr. and Thomas Leslie Rose.
The Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, is a V-twin softail cruiser motorcycle with solid-cast disc wheels. Designed by Willie G. Davidson and Louie Netz, Harley-Davidson built a prototype Fat Boy in Milwaukee for the Daytona Bike Week rally at Daytona Beach in 1988 and 1989. Fat Boys produced from 1990-2017 are coded FLSTF, and FLFB from 2018.
The Charles Abresch Company was a carriage and wagon factory and an automotive, commercial vehicle and body manufacturer based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Brand names were Abresch and, for trucks, the Abresch-Cramer Auto Truck Company.
Harley Davidson Motor Company Factory No. 7 is a factory building of the Harley-Davidson company in Milwaukee listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places. It was at this plant where the company invented and refined the automated system for casting and milling engine parts and wheel hubs for their motorcycles, which helped to secure the company's position as a leader in motorcycle manufacturing. This factory building was added to the state register on August 14, 2020.
Downtown Milwaukee is the central business district of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
