Found out the original Armstrong factory in Lancaster, PA had a bowling alley in the employee rec room

I was reading this old trade magazine from 1965 at my local library and it had a whole article about the plant. They said the workers could bowl on their breaks to test the floor durability. Kind of wild to think about, right? Anyone else stumble on a weird piece of flooring history like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_michael24d ago

Ever hear about the old Sears warehouse in Chicago? They had a full size basketball court on the top floor. Not for the workers though. They used it to test how the floor held up under constant jumping and running. Makes you wonder how many places had these weird hidden stress tests built right in.

sean_hunt6124d ago

Wait, was that the Sears Tower or a different warehouse? I remember reading they used the basketball court in the old catalog building for employee breaks, not stress tests. @the_michael, that place had a ton of weird stuff like a running track and a pool. A lot of those old company buildings had full rec areas to keep people on site all day. The testing thing makes sense, but I think the courts were mostly for morale.

wells.brooke11d ago

Was that the same building with the indoor running track? I read they built a ton of those old industrial spaces to handle crazy loads, so testing with a court is pretty smart. Makes you look at every big empty floor differently. Wonder what other stress tests are just hiding in plain sight.