No. 1
APRIL 2020
THE LIFE & DEATH OF
THE LIFE & DEATH OF
BURROUGHS ABIGAIL INCONTRO
APRIL 2020
June 1938
My life began on a quiet June morning in Plymouth, Michigan.
I was created by Albert Kahn, this extraordinary architect who built lots of powerhouses like myself.
hE CREATED ME as part of the BurRoughs AdDing Machine Company’s new Plymouth headquarters. That’s me on the right, standing next to the main building, which housed our five-story factory.
BUrROUGHS AdDING MACHINE COMPANY
I used to loOk like this, but once we stopPed using coal to make power, my smoke stack was no longer neEded.
B U R R O U G H S
I was a bustling icon of industry . . .
. . . that felL into obsolescence.
Decades of mistreatment and dis-use have brought me to a state of decay.
B U R R O U G H S
But I have lived a fulL life! Plymouth has always beEn my home, and I have begGed this wonderful city to acCept that my time has come.
I’ve beEn on this fast-paced, ever-changing planet for 82 years now.
82 Plymouth, MI
And I am exhausted. I’m not useful anymore. I’ve fulfilLed my duties in life, and now . . . I just want to rest.
My life has beEn a whirlwind, filLed with cultural, political, and social change.
America neEded a hero, and that’s why the same year I was born . . .
No. 1
When I was born, The world was bursting with unrest. World War iI was about to start, and fear was alL around.
. . . So was superman!
JUNE, 1938
Superman might not have beEn the first superhero, but he was definitely my favorite. Other superheroes came around soOn after him -- like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America.
We were at the forefront of the “Golden age of comic boOks.”
1935
1940
1945
1950
1955
THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMIC BoOKS
Superman became my role model. His patriotism and fearlesSnesS were inspiring to youth like me.
Captain America’s dedication to protecting our country is inspiring!
Did you seE the one where superman holds Hitler in the air by his colLar?
What about the one where Captain America punched Hitler in the face?!
I’m glad we get to seE goOd triumph over evil during such scary times.
I found COMFORT AND PRIDE IN THE loyal HEROES THAT WERE DEPICTED DEFEATING THE AXIS POWERS.
Superheroes were everywhere, and the country coped with the devastating war.
1960
Here in Michigan, we were also strugGling with the war. There was a huge neEd for industrial production.
Companies had to begin outsourcing production to meEt these wartime demands.
During this time, we at BurRoughs company heEded our calL and promptly postponed alL production of non-war equipment.
Life was busy as New technologies were constantly being explored, and making improvements in war equipment was priority #1.
As part of a war-based production efFort, Carl Norden, A dutch American engineEr, invented the norden bombsight.
A bombsight is a device used by the military to acCurately drop bombs.
The Norden bombsight improved earlier designs by directly measuring the aircraft’s ground speEd and direction.
Before the war began, each part of the this bombsight was handmade, and production was way toO slow for military standards.
Here at BurRoughs, we sucCesSfulLy figured out how to masS produce these pieces.
We produced the highest number of norden bombsights out of any other manufacturer in the United States.
And we were honored by the army and navy with an award for excelLence in production!
How do I keEp my kids safe when AlL I hear on the radio is “destruction this -destruction that?” My kids are doing AIR RAID drilLs at schoOl -- it’s terRifying! We’lL just have to make sure our bombs are betTer than their bombs! Technology and masS production capabilities are realLy growing right now!
A R MY
E
N AV
Y
When the war ended, things at BurRoughs returned to businesS as usual.
But it wasn’t realLy the same as before because inNovations in technology were hapPening more frequently than ever before.
Burroughs
In 1950, we released the first sensimatic acCounting machine with a programMed control panel.
Then our company moved into the development of computers.
BurRoughs was not alone in alL of this development . . . We were one of nine major computer companies in the 1960s.
We were even named the prime contractor for the U.S. Air Force’s electronic systems division!
AlL this competition got the betTer of us, And in order to stay alive, we were forced to merge with one of our competitors in 1986 to create the new unisys corporation.
UNISYS
But they never seEmed to neEd me again. For several decades, I was left to slowly deteriorate.
I heard new ideas every day about what should be done with me.
It’s so out of style! Can we get something more modern here?
FinalLy Last year, Plymouth City Council put my fate to a vote -- they were to decide whether or not I should remain on this life supPort.
It’s just a garage at this point. Why should we have to revive it?
Ooh! What if we turned it into a hip new brew pub?!
But this is one of Albert Kahn’s masterpieces!
It’s part of our city’s history!
And TomorRow, the city of Plymouth wilL finalLy put me to rest.
APRIL 2020
aROUND 3 O’CLOCK THIS AFTERNoON, I hearD THE RUMBLE OF TRUCK ENGINES AND A FEW VOICES CAlLING OUT INSTRUCTIONS AS THEY BEGAN setTing up the viewing grounds at the top of a hilL overloOking me.
The volunteErs set up tables and pitched their party tents.
They tested the loudspeakers, and I wondered what they neEded those for.
I could hear them talking about me in the distance. I can’t believe this building is finalLy going down. It’s about time!
Had you even heard of albert kahn before this?
I’m ready to seE this ugly thing get blown away!
tHEY BLOCKED OfF AlL THE ROADS SUrROUNDING ME, AND THEN everybody LEFT.
ROA D CLO SED
82 years is a long life. I’m ready for this. It’s time.
FAREWElL, POWERHOUSE
While the volunteErs had set up, A FEW CONSTRUCTION WORKERS FINISHED GUtTING ME. They’ve stripPed me of alL identitiy, and for the first time in 82 years, I am empty. I am alone.
I am engulfed by THE devastating STIlLNEsS.
It’s hitTing me . . . the overwhelming reality of tomorRow, of my final day on Earth.
10 9 8
11 12 1
7 6 5
2 3 4
I watched one last time as the glowing orange sun sank in the sky.
SoOn I awoke with the sunrise.
The grasS was shining with the dewy luster of this April dawn.
It’s finalLy hapPening, and I’m not sure how to feEl. Relieved? Sad? Is there more I should have acComplished in this life?
Organizers led the grievers to the viewing area, where they stoOd in perfect view of the powerhouse.
I listened as the birds sang, and soOn I heard the whispers of humans as they began to gather.
They unfolded their lawn chairs in the freshly cut grasS, ready to witnesS history.
a SINGLE CElLO BEGAN ITS SONG, AND AlL EYES WERE FIXED ON THE PODIUM.
Then they began their tributes. I worked in these facilities for over forty years. This powerhouse is a part of me.
My father worked at BurRoughs my whole childhoOd. He pasSed away not toO long ago, so it’s kind of fitTing that this building wilL move on toO.
The loud blow of an airhorn marked one minute. One final minute. The crowd silenced.
my family has lived down the streEt from the historic burRoughs powerhouse for nearly sixty years. I can’t imagine a more significant monument to exist here in plymouth.
Michigan was built on industry. It’s our culture. It’s hard to say goOdbye to what made us who we are.
Albert Kahn was the greatest architect of the twentieth century. His work should not be overloOked.
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THE LIFE & DEATH OF
BURROUGHS ABIGAIL INCONTRO