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I grew up in a neighboring suburb to Schaumburg, and in junior high or high school in the late 80's early 90's I remember taking a field trip to the Motorola ca

I grew up in a neighboring suburb to Schaumburg, and in junior high or high school in the late 80's early 90's I remember taking a field trip to the Motorola campus (as well as McDonald's Hamburger University!). Mostly I remember a showroom museum of sorts, where much of the early tech, military field radios I remember mostly, was on display. At the time I was underwhelmed, I think in part because I knew Motorola as a failing microprocessor company, but I was sad I didn't see what appeared to be that museum space in any of the pictures in the linked gallery.

pfdietz 5y ago
There are several drone videos on YouTube/Vimeo of that building, the Galvin Center, being demolished. Top Golf is there now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1aEJFTUmkg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1aEJFTUmkg https://vimeo.com/308429582 https://vimeo.com/308429582 I find it fascinating how all the metal bits are carefully separated and stacked (using big hydraulic claws) for recycling.
vidanay 5y ago
Grew up in Arlington Heights a few years ahead of you. (RMHS '89). Heady days indeed.
kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
Their micros remain one of the more successful parts of the business. Naturally they spun that off to avoid those annoying profits.
kyrra 5y ago
Hi former neighbor! For those that are wondering, here is the campus on maps: https://goo.gl/maps/WdHju125jSbmRbaS9 https://goo.gl/maps/WdHju125jSbmRbaS9. It looks like it's mostly been torn down now (streetview and satellite show it gone). I never visited the campus. My next door neighbor worked there (he was a big RF guy and had a a giant shortwave antenna on his roof). They also employed so many people that they had their own stoplights at their entrance/exit. Plus the city convinced them to do staggered start/end times for their employees as to not flood the roads around the building.
derekp7 5y ago
That would be the Motorola Museum at the Galvin Center (which was their employee training facility). Whenever I went there for my 6-sigma or 5-nines training, I'd take a stroll through the museum and thought it was cool, but sad that it was mostly accessible only to Motorola employees and invited guests (since you needed an access badge to get on campus). I always wondered why they didn't have the museum face a public parking lot with public access.

pfdietz 5y ago

There are several drone videos on YouTube/Vimeo of that building, the Galvin Center, being demolished. Top Golf is there now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1aEJFTUmkg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1aEJFTUmkg https://vimeo.com/308429582 https://vimeo.com/308429582 I find it fascinating how all the metal bits are carefully separated and stacked (using big hydraulic claws) for recycling.

vidanay 5y ago

Grew up in Arlington Heights a few years ahead of you. (RMHS '89). Heady days indeed.

kevin_thibedeau 5y ago

Their micros remain one of the more successful parts of the business. Naturally they spun that off to avoid those annoying profits.

kyrra 5y ago

Hi former neighbor! For those that are wondering, here is the campus on maps: https://goo.gl/maps/WdHju125jSbmRbaS9 https://goo.gl/maps/WdHju125jSbmRbaS9. It looks like it's mostly been torn down now (streetview and satellite show it gone). I never visited the campus. My next door neighbor worked there (he was a big RF guy and had a a giant shortwave antenna on his roof). They also employed so many people that they had their own stoplights at their entrance/exit. Plus the city convinced them to do staggered start/end times for their employees as to not flood the roads around the building.

derekp7 5y ago

That would be the Motorola Museum at the Galvin Center (which was their employee training facility). Whenever I went there for my 6-sigma or 5-nines training, I'd take a stroll through the museum and thought it was cool, but sad that it was mostly accessible only to Motorola employees and invited guests (since you needed an access badge to get on campus). I always wondered why they didn't have the museum face a public parking lot with public access.