Adaptive Reuse at U-Haul Moving & Storage of Logan Square

While coin operated vending machines may now seem like a part of the distant past, they were once commonly used to sell all kinds of goods and products, including fortunes and songs. La hermosa fábrica de Mills Novelty Company y el edificio de las oficinas administrativas albergaron a uno de los fabricantes de máquinas operadas con monedas más importantes del mundo. Mortimer Birdsul Mills fundó la compañía en la década de 1880, aunque Mortimer compraría su primera patente oficial para un máquina expendedora con monedas en 1891. The groundbreaking patent allowed the customer to reconfigure what was sold in the vending machine and have it dispense like a typical coin slot machine. 

The company would also later become popular for their slot machines and jukeboxes, which were produced inside the Fullerton Ave manufacturing plant in Chicago beginning in 1926. It is rumored that the building and company had ties to the infamous mobster, Al Capone, during this era.  It is speculated that Capone may have used the Mills Novelty manufacturing operations to assist with shipping illegal booze around the country during the Prohibition period. The building had both a private ice cream parlor and barbershop added to the rooftop, perhaps to entertain the whimsy of a particular notorious gangster. Remnants of the barbershop and parlor still exist to this day and can be seen from the street side, appearing as tower additions to the rooftop facade.

In 1944 the company changed its name to Mills Industries Incorporated and the slot machine division would become owned by the Bell-O-Matic Corporation. The Bell-O-Matic Corporation was the world's exclusive distributor of Mills Bell Products, and they adopted the playful slogan "It's a Jewel of a Bell, this Mills Jewel Bell". U-Haul acquired the building in July of 1999 and opened for business in 2002 after the first phase of renovations were complete. The renovations included a stunning conversion, featuring 1930s bank-style decor for the center's showroom.

Abierto para prestar servicios a los clientes de U-Haul desde 2002, este centro se construyó mediante la reutilización adaptada de un edificio abandonado. La reutilización adaptada promueve los trabajos de relleno con el objetivo de consolidar comunidades, lo que aporta los siguientes beneficios a este lugar:

• Se evitó la producción y el transporte de 224 toneladas de metal
• Se evita el vertido de 32,756 toneladas de concreto nuevo
• Se evitan 34,187 toneladas de escombros por construcción y demolición

Los programas de eficiencia energética y de reducción de desechos en estas instalaciones proveen los siguientes beneficios estimados para la comunidad de Chicago cada año:

• Se ahorran 361,454 kWh de energía anual
• Se evita la emisión de 14,338,225 lb de gases de efecto invernadero

• 

  Producción de acero A la fecha se evitó la producción y entrega de 224 toneladas largas (203 toneladas cortas) de acero

• 

  Energía Se ahorran 361,454 kWh de energía anual

• 

  Concreto A la fecha se evitó el derrame de 32,756 toneladas largas (29,724 toneladas cortas) de concreto nuevo

• 

  Emisiones Se evita la emisión de 14,338,225 lb (6,503,776 kg) de gases de efecto invernadero

• 

  Escombros del vertedero Se evita la creación de 34,187 lb (31,023 kg) de escombros por la construcción

• U-Haul Moving & Storage en Logan Square
• What Do U-Haul, Ice Cream and Al Capone Have in Common?
• Chicago Moving Tips