Abandoned Motorola Headquarters (2020)(abandonedspaces.com)
abandonedspaces.com
Abandoned Motorola Headquarters (2020)
https://www.abandonedspaces.com/industry/motorola.html
214 comments
Archaeologists have found inscriptions referring to the cult of "Six Sigma", which is hypothesized to be a primitive form of ritual statistical magic.
@pfdietz the battered remnants of the cult of "Six Sigma" looks strangely like post Soviet abandoned building triumphalist wall writings, albeit with western typography
Back in the U6σR
I used to work for a Motorola-owned company. Digital Six Sigma brings back a lot of “belt training” memories
Skimming your comment I read “ritual sadistic magic”. Funny how the mind wanders
“Ritual statistical magic” is even more genius: Future civilizations will look down on us for believing that statistics were part of science, not not seeing the hand of the cleric in making them up, just like we look down on middle ages for believing anything monks pretended to translate from the Bible, which in fact they made up.
Many years ago I picked up a book on six sigma. First page was all about how you attack anyone that disagrees with six sigma.
Okay so this is a cult.
Put the book down and spent remaining career avoiding anyplace that mentioned it.
Okay so this is a cult.
Put the book down and spent remaining career avoiding anyplace that mentioned it.
Well there were lots of whips involved: White Belt, Yellow Belt, Green Belt, Black Belt and Master Black Belt.
At first I did read satanical magic and I chuckled.
Or perhaps stochastical magic
[deleted]
Several black and green "belt" like accessories were found, which we hypothesize were used for sacrificial strangulation to the statistical deity.
David Macauley's _Motel of the Mysteries_ is the model for all funny/profound archaeology of the present, I'd say.
https://wearethemutants.com/2017/12/06/david-macauleys-motel...
https://wearethemutants.com/2017/12/06/david-macauleys-motel...
This book looks great. I just ordered it, thank you for mentioning it.
Hotel of Mysteries is totally worth it whether you are 35 or 8.
HR wall slogans are cringey when still drying on the wall. They are even cringier in a ruin.
Gives you another perspective on the hieroglyphs on walls in ancient Egypt though if you imagine them being put there by enthusiastic religious branding consultants, and inducing just as much eye rolling from the citizens of the day…
Lololol. I've never thought about it that way.
But it's true. Citizens of those ancient Egyptian cities probably did roll their eyes at some of the wall hieroglyphs.
Especially because the pharaohs exaggerated their victories.
And the priests probably made up ridiculous stories of what their gods "did" and "accomplished"
Some citizens were probably just as incredulous as we are today.
But it's true. Citizens of those ancient Egyptian cities probably did roll their eyes at some of the wall hieroglyphs.
Especially because the pharaohs exaggerated their victories.
And the priests probably made up ridiculous stories of what their gods "did" and "accomplished"
Some citizens were probably just as incredulous as we are today.
> Especially because the pharaohs exaggerated their victories.
Ramses II exaggerated even his defeats, that is, he claimed that as his victories. For example the famous wall relief of Ramses II slaying the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh. https://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/tour_hall/ramesses_ii_scen...
In reality it was a terrible defeat and it allowed the Hittites to limit Egypt sphere of influence to no further West than Canaan.
Ramses II exaggerated even his defeats, that is, he claimed that as his victories. For example the famous wall relief of Ramses II slaying the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh. https://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/tour_hall/ramesses_ii_scen...
In reality it was a terrible defeat and it allowed the Hittites to limit Egypt sphere of influence to no further West than Canaan.
Of course they were. They state the human leaders were gods and immortals, yet why are they writing these things on their burial chambers?
"The manager of a fruit-and-vegetable shop places in his window, among the onions and carrots, the slogan: "Workers of the world, unite!" Why does he do it? What is he trying to communicate to the world?"
Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 1978
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/1979/...
Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 1978
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/1979/...
it's plausible but I have a feeling that cultures in those days had a lot more meaning, I may be wrong though
The most cringey one to me is the Philips one "Let's make things better". Funny enough their slide down into relative obscurity started right after introducing that slogan. Up to that point they were one of the powerhouses of technology.
Today they are still active in Medical, TVs and light, a faint shadow of what they used to be.
Today they are still active in Medical, TVs and light, a faint shadow of what they used to be.
You mean its corporate ghost (aka brand name) is still active in these things. Afaik they've divested everything apart from medical.
Light is definitely theirs as well, and even though the TVs and white goods are made abroad they are still just as much Philips's creations as Intel is making CPUs.
Edit: this comment is false. Please ignore.
Edit: this comment is false. Please ignore.
no it’s not. Philips Lighting is split of into a new brand: Signify. They pay to use the Philips name (e.g. for Philips Hue).
Totally missed that, my bad!
(Given that this is in my country and in my field of interest that's a pretty good indication of how big of a miss this is, so thank you for the correction.)
(Given that this is in my country and in my field of interest that's a pretty good indication of how big of a miss this is, so thank you for the correction.)
After 2004, they ditched that slogan and started using "Sense and Simplicity" as their new slogan.
I remember after that their consumer electronics got really, really bad. Basically all their products were just... not finished. The firmware on most of their devices was just terribly buggy, and features advertised on the box where sometimes not even available. I remember having an MP3 player where selecting the FM radio mode would just crash the device. Never did they release a firmware version that would enable FM radio mode. I had to carry a small metal pin in my wallet, just to be able to use the reset button behind a tiny hole in the side of the MP3 player. I usually had to reset it once or twice a day.
I also had a media streamer that did not work at all out of the box, it just didn't support any of the advertised codecs. And I had a Phlips TV that would reliably crash when switching from TV mode to Teletext mode.
Living in the Netherlands, I felt kind of obligated to choose Philips over brands such as Samsung. However, many times I found myself returning a Philips appliance, and buying a Korean/Japanese made alternative instead.
Never, ever again will I trust them for consumer electronics.
I remember after that their consumer electronics got really, really bad. Basically all their products were just... not finished. The firmware on most of their devices was just terribly buggy, and features advertised on the box where sometimes not even available. I remember having an MP3 player where selecting the FM radio mode would just crash the device. Never did they release a firmware version that would enable FM radio mode. I had to carry a small metal pin in my wallet, just to be able to use the reset button behind a tiny hole in the side of the MP3 player. I usually had to reset it once or twice a day.
I also had a media streamer that did not work at all out of the box, it just didn't support any of the advertised codecs. And I had a Phlips TV that would reliably crash when switching from TV mode to Teletext mode.
Living in the Netherlands, I felt kind of obligated to choose Philips over brands such as Samsung. However, many times I found myself returning a Philips appliance, and buying a Korean/Japanese made alternative instead.
Never, ever again will I trust them for consumer electronics.
Philips in the Netherlands and Thomson in France went the same way (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson_(marque)) - after being major manufacturers of consumer products, they are now licensing their consumer brand to third party manufacturers.
Basically they are banking on their previous glories and advertising.
Sometimes you can spot the exact same product from a noname manufacturer, it's just missing the right sticker.
Basically they are banking on their previous glories and advertising.
Sometimes you can spot the exact same product from a noname manufacturer, it's just missing the right sticker.
Telefunken, too.
Same here, every Philips device bought after the mid 90's was junk. At some point they even couldn't make vacuum cleaners that worked or fridges that didn't fail completely within the warranty. Which is also why plenty of the bigbox outlets stopped offering their stuff, the quality was just incredibly bad.
And given how much goodwill that brand had it is very impressive how fast it was run into the ground. I still see their TVs for sale here, and medical devices and some stuff for infants.
And given how much goodwill that brand had it is very impressive how fast it was run into the ground. I still see their TVs for sale here, and medical devices and some stuff for infants.
That was about the time, IIRC, that they went on a mission to make everything as simple to use as a Senseo coffee machine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senseo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senseo
Sounds a bit like MAGA, only the latter is more ambitious (and dumb) by using superlatives.
They're not remotely obscure in the medical field. By the numbers, Philips has been a medical devices company for a long time.
They have been slowly getting out of the consumer business for a long time. They just recently spun off their remaining consumer appliances business after having spun off lighting some years ago.
They have been slowly getting out of the consumer business for a long time. They just recently spun off their remaining consumer appliances business after having spun off lighting some years ago.
Always ask yourself: Is this good for the company? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5rB63Mzc8
On my startup’s wall, I have the top cringy slogans of my customers. In the middle sits:
“We advance humanity.”
I guess the message is, don’t take yourself too seriously, most of where companies succeed is happenstance. It still takes a moment to all visitors to understand that it can’t be serious.
“We advance humanity.”
I guess the message is, don’t take yourself too seriously, most of where companies succeed is happenstance. It still takes a moment to all visitors to understand that it can’t be serious.
I think I saw that in Doom: Enternal. And yeah it wasn’t the good guys saying that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Eternal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Eternal
In case anyone is wondering, the "propaganda slogans" on the walls are the Motorola "common values":
We are innovative. We constantly create ingenious solutions to the real challenges of today, tomorrow and beyond.
We are passionate. We meet every challenge with energy and determination, always pursuing ever-higher standards.
We are driven. We keep it simple by focusing on what matters most so we can seize opportunities with speed and confidence.
We are accountable. We stand behind the work we do, the contributions we make and the high business standards we maintain.
We are partners. We succeed together because we respect all individuals and value contributions from colleagues and customers alike.
We are innovative. We constantly create ingenious solutions to the real challenges of today, tomorrow and beyond.
We are passionate. We meet every challenge with energy and determination, always pursuing ever-higher standards.
We are driven. We keep it simple by focusing on what matters most so we can seize opportunities with speed and confidence.
We are accountable. We stand behind the work we do, the contributions we make and the high business standards we maintain.
We are partners. We succeed together because we respect all individuals and value contributions from colleagues and customers alike.
I'm pretty sure that Motorola had a very high Dilbert Index.
This strip was a direct reference to some things in Motorola:
https://dilbert.com/strip/1995-03-02
https://dilbert.com/strip/1995-03-02
> structures
Multiple sacrificial altars surrounded by balconies from which the faithful could watch.
Multiple sacrificial altars surrounded by balconies from which the faithful could watch.
If you haven’t read it already, you might enjoy Motel of the Mysteries[0] where an archeologist from the future stumbles upon the ruins of a present days motel and speculates over its use and the artifacts found within.
[0]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108831
[0]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108831
I love this sort of blend of urban exploration and archeology. I actually made a video game about it, inspired by the "sublime" of uninhabitable (yet comfortable) exurbs of midwestern USA: https://q-andrew.itch.io/anemoiapolis
[deleted]
Sorry for the expression but "holy shit!".
I worked in Motorola for 10 years from the late 90's. I was based in Europe but travelled to Schaumburg every two months or so (or to Phoenix).
It is really a shock to see this place abandoned - last time I was there (15 years ago) it was very much alive.
It has been a long time since I had such a nostalgic squeeze of heart.
I worked in Motorola for 10 years from the late 90's. I was based in Europe but travelled to Schaumburg every two months or so (or to Phoenix).
It is really a shock to see this place abandoned - last time I was there (15 years ago) it was very much alive.
It has been a long time since I had such a nostalgic squeeze of heart.
The whole story as presented in the article and comments here is a bit misleading. None of these buildings were "abandoned", at least not in any practical sense. The buildings documented here were old (from the 70s I believe) and full of asbestos and things like that and had really outlived their usefulness, and the very large piece of land they occupied had become extremely valuable. The buildings were still fully occupied when the company decided to sell the campus and relocate to new headquarters in downtown Chicago and move manufacturing to a new facility in Elgin.
Once sold, the company moved out. Shortly after, demolition began, and that's when these pictures were taken. The damage is from demolition, not from the normal "abandoned for 10 years deterioration" you see on those Urban Explorer Youtube videos. People worked in these buildings just a few years ago, and a lot of them had been remodeled somewhat recently and were actually pretty nice inside. The 6-story building with the large atrium was newer than the other parts and is still there and the new owner/developer is hoping to continue to use it as an office building (last I heard anyway).
Motorola also still occupies the 14-story building that used to be the world headquarters as well as another large building on the property. The real story here is much more mundane: a big company sold off some valuable real estate as part of a move to chase a younger workforce in downtown Chicago (jury's still out on that decision, especially with a more WFH-focused future).
Once sold, the company moved out. Shortly after, demolition began, and that's when these pictures were taken. The damage is from demolition, not from the normal "abandoned for 10 years deterioration" you see on those Urban Explorer Youtube videos. People worked in these buildings just a few years ago, and a lot of them had been remodeled somewhat recently and were actually pretty nice inside. The 6-story building with the large atrium was newer than the other parts and is still there and the new owner/developer is hoping to continue to use it as an office building (last I heard anyway).
Motorola also still occupies the 14-story building that used to be the world headquarters as well as another large building on the property. The real story here is much more mundane: a big company sold off some valuable real estate as part of a move to chase a younger workforce in downtown Chicago (jury's still out on that decision, especially with a more WFH-focused future).
Similar reaction here. I was an intern there for a couple summers in the late 90s. At the time it was full of life and activity - all the hallmarks of a successful corporation. Never imagined seeing it in this state.
As a French, the company was vastly different to what I was used to. But not only that: when travelling to Schaumburg I was staying in the Embassy Suites on the other side of the road and I remember, jetlagged, waiting for 6 am for the breakfast to be served.
There was also a big mall a bit south (I forgot the name) , very much different from the ones we had at home (staring with the fact that you drove around the mall, and not walked inside.
Good memories.
There was also a big mall a bit south (I forgot the name) , very much different from the ones we had at home (staring with the fact that you drove around the mall, and not walked inside.
Good memories.
> There was also a big mall a bit south (I forgot the name) , very much different from the ones we had at home (staring with the fact that you drove around the mall, and not walked inside.
I'm not sure what you mean. While Woodfield has a rather large parking lot, it was definitely the case that the vast majority of people parked and went inside. You couldn't get to the Apple Store, for example, without going inside. You could get to the anchor stores on the ends from the outside, but you'd often shop there, then go into the mall to get other things. (Or at least my spouse and I did that frequently.)
I'm not sure what you mean. While Woodfield has a rather large parking lot, it was definitely the case that the vast majority of people parked and went inside. You couldn't get to the Apple Store, for example, without going inside. You could get to the anchor stores on the ends from the outside, but you'd often shop there, then go into the mall to get other things. (Or at least my spouse and I did that frequently.)
> "On September 20, 2019, at around 2:30 PM CDT, a man drove a black first generation (2001-2008) Chevrolet TrailBlazer LT through an entrance door of Sears and began driving through the store and into the main concourse of the mall, crashing into kiosks, Clarks, International Diamond Company, and multiple other stores, seemingly targeting Forever 21 and other adjacent stores.[40][41] The driver was taken into custody by responding police near the center of the mall's first level without further incident. The identity of the suspect was not immediately released. No injuries were reported, but the mall was temporarily on lockdown due to the incident as well as concurrent, but unfounded, reports of an active shooter.[42][43] The mall was evacuated about one hour after the incident.[44]
The man, later identified as Javier Garcia of Palatine, Illinois, was charged with terrorism as a result of the incident; he appeared in court on September 29, 2019, and was denied bond. He appeared in court again on October 1, 2019, and was due back in court on January 27, 2020.[45][46][47][48][49] Garcia's family spoke out arguing that Javier is not a terrorist and that he has schizophrenia, though a police investigation shows evidence that Garcia's attack was premeditated, with investigators releasing – in part – that Garcia "searched 'Woodfield mall,' the aerial view of the mall and mall premises 124 times between 9/19/19 at 14:38 and 9/20/19 at 12:55."[50] Garcia has since also been charged with an unrelated arson case from September 8, 2019, in his hometown of Palatine.[51]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodfield_Mall#Car_incident
The man, later identified as Javier Garcia of Palatine, Illinois, was charged with terrorism as a result of the incident; he appeared in court on September 29, 2019, and was denied bond. He appeared in court again on October 1, 2019, and was due back in court on January 27, 2020.[45][46][47][48][49] Garcia's family spoke out arguing that Javier is not a terrorist and that he has schizophrenia, though a police investigation shows evidence that Garcia's attack was premeditated, with investigators releasing – in part – that Garcia "searched 'Woodfield mall,' the aerial view of the mall and mall premises 124 times between 9/19/19 at 14:38 and 9/20/19 at 12:55."[50] Garcia has since also been charged with an unrelated arson case from September 8, 2019, in his hometown of Palatine.[51]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodfield_Mall#Car_incident
Woodfield Mall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodfield_Mall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodfield_Mall
It's amazing that neither the article nor any of the comments so far mention that Google bought part of Motorola, for its 10,000 patents. Then sold it a few years later.
I was in Google Patents and I interviewed people for the position of "acquirer of patents." This was a period when they actually thought the "throw weight" of your patent portfolio really mattered in cross-licensing deals. Most of those patents were utterly worthless in any sort of deal.
I was in Google Patents and I interviewed people for the position of "acquirer of patents." This was a period when they actually thought the "throw weight" of your patent portfolio really mattered in cross-licensing deals. Most of those patents were utterly worthless in any sort of deal.
I remember reading about that! Strange times.
My dad worked for a division of Motorola that was bought by Google and it sure felt like, during that time, if you were working for Motorola you could be laid off at a moment's notice.
Google stock was eventually included in his compensation package, though. I can imagine that eased some of the worry.
Google stock was eventually included in his compensation package, though. I can imagine that eased some of the worry.
Precursor to the NFT craze..
It's not relevant to the article, which is about real estate. Also, the article mentions the split into two companies. Google bought Motorola Mobility, but the headquarters went to Motorola Solutions.
> This was a period when they actually thought the "throw weight" of your patent portfolio really mattered in cross-licensing deals. Most of those patents were utterly worthless in any sort of deal.
Could anyone expand on this? Sounds interesting, and I know little about it.
Could anyone expand on this? Sounds interesting, and I know little about it.
I think what he is referring to is when two mega corps would get into an IP dispute, the lawyers would bring the patent portfolios to the table. It would not be feasible to actually read through them all, so the agreement would be "surely in my large stack you are violating something and surely in your large stack we are violating something." So then you would weigh or measure the height of the stack, and the owner of the smaller would pay some royalties to the owner of the larger.
This is an exaggeration of course, but perhaps not far off the mark.
This is an exaggeration of course, but perhaps not far off the mark.
> "This is an exaggeration"
Ya think? Maybe when a big company is threatening a rube. If two big companies are making a deal, you can be damn sure that they use all available software to analyze each other's portfolios, and then read, manually, the ones that seem important. And get their legal counsels for the relevant divisions to read them, too, although they probably already know them.
Cross-licensing deals are immensely complicated. You have to think about indemnifying the partners, in particular. I actually sat in the Apple v. Samsung trial for one day, because Google was indemnifying Samsung, as they frequently do for Android partners.
A big problem with Motorola was: they actually make the hardware, so Google was being sued directly. The patent infringement suits are usually against the company that makes the device.
Cross-licensing deals are immensely complicated. You have to think about indemnifying the partners, in particular. I actually sat in the Apple v. Samsung trial for one day, because Google was indemnifying Samsung, as they frequently do for Android partners.
A big problem with Motorola was: they actually make the hardware, so Google was being sued directly. The patent infringement suits are usually against the company that makes the device.
Search for the "smartphone patent wars". There was a few year period when basically everyone involved in the industry were suing each other for pretty much anything. Even user interfaces.
The graphs of who was suing whom are hilarious by today's standards,.
The graphs of who was suing whom are hilarious by today's standards,.
That included a row over the generic concept of a tablet, where in defense the Samsung lawyers brought up prior art ... from the Kubrick movie "2001: A Space Odyssey". The astronauts in the movie are using something that looks just like a tablet.
When Blue Origin sued SpaceX over a patent on the concept of landing a rocket stage on a ship, SpaceX showed a Soviet movie with a scene where (fictionally) just that happens.
You don't patent a "concept." You patent an invention.
I'm not familiar with that particular case, but I really doubt that a clip from 2001 was dispositive of anything. Unless the patent really was as broad as "a flat computing device."
I'm not familiar with that particular case, but I really doubt that a clip from 2001 was dispositive of anything. Unless the patent really was as broad as "a flat computing device."
This was a design patent, not a utility patent. That means they patented the look of the tablet, meaning the non-functional parts. They did not have a patent on the "concept of a tablet."
I guess I can go look up that design patent now. It's entirely possible that 2001 did anticipate the look of the iPad, but we can also look at the record of the trial to find out how this played out.
I guess I can go look up that design patent now. It's entirely possible that 2001 did anticipate the look of the iPad, but we can also look at the record of the trial to find out how this played out.
If you know how to find the outcome of this particular legal argument I'd be very happy to read it :). I was studying at the time and a lawyer that was teaching us the basics of copyright and patent law told us about the then ongoing case.
Also, yes, you're right, forgot some key details after the 10 years. Can't believe it was that long ago.
Also, yes, you're right, forgot some key details after the 10 years. Can't believe it was that long ago.
here's some of it:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4178089/apple-inc-v-sam...
I know this case continued up to at least 2015, since that was when I went to watch for a day. When I went, there were some utility patents at issue.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4178089/apple-inc-v-sam...
I know this case continued up to at least 2015, since that was when I went to watch for a day. When I went, there were some utility patents at issue.
[deleted]
Not just their patents, but also their cellphone division. My understanding was that the Motorola phones were going to be Google's flagship devices for Android.
So I bought one, and I really liked it - I got regular OS updates (unlike many Android licensees), the phone had a gorgeous walnut veneer back, and it fit well in my hand. Nice.
So I bought one, and I really liked it - I got regular OS updates (unlike many Android licensees), the phone had a gorgeous walnut veneer back, and it fit well in my hand. Nice.
Motorola phones are still the best Android phones. Way better that Samsungs / Xiaomi / Huawei phones with heavily tweaked (for the worse) devices.
I had a few and then switched last time to a Nokia 6.1 which is simply brilliant (the industrial design for a cheap end of mid-range is amazing - as is the build quality).
If anything Nokia cocked up, they made a phone so good I haven't seen the need to upgrade and since it's AndroidOne I'm still getting updates.
I had to laugh at the clear piss take of the Jonny Ive Apple videos - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmJitfThItk at the time it got my attention and they are that tough.
8000 miles on a motorcycle handlebar mount and it looks like it came out the box.
If anything Nokia cocked up, they made a phone so good I haven't seen the need to upgrade and since it's AndroidOne I'm still getting updates.
I had to laugh at the clear piss take of the Jonny Ive Apple videos - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmJitfThItk at the time it got my attention and they are that tough.
8000 miles on a motorcycle handlebar mount and it looks like it came out the box.
I had a Moto X (2014), and I had a very similar impression. The launcher was very minimal and AOSP-like. It was also one of the first Android devices that had always-on listening for a trigger word (Hello Moto X?). I always found that almost magically useful at setting alarms when I was already in bed.
I had a peak-motorola era moto G - it was fast, up to date, devoid of bloatware, and the camera was of incredible quality for such a cheap phone. the only downside was it was flimsy and met an early death at the hands of my merciless kitchen tile
If they sold the original moto g with a modern CPU and RAM, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. That really was the perfect android phone.
Yeah, I remember the phone that had real wood as its case. That was a nice idea. You would think that would have more success.
I always thought those big patent acquisition deals were as a mutually assured destruction tool in a potential patent fight. If sued they would have something to countersue with somewhere in that massive pile of vague patents.
It is being demolished now. The company doing the demolition must be very proud of destroying things, because they make drone & time-lapsed videos of it:
https://johlerdemolition.com/portfolio-items/motorola-schaum...
Edit: I meant this in a positive tone, not a negative. I'm glad they take pride in their work.
https://johlerdemolition.com/portfolio-items/motorola-schaum...
Edit: I meant this in a positive tone, not a negative. I'm glad they take pride in their work.
Why shouldn't they take pride in their work? Its honest and important work. Not every building can/should be preserved, tearing down these structures is important to remove dilapidated safety hazards and/or build something new
I didn't mean it negatively. I wrote it with a smile. They should take pride in their work!
A few years ago they were demolishing a building across from my office. They had various demolition equipment, mainly big backhoes including some equipped with grabbing. They were taking their time ripping stuff apart, and then sorting through what they'd broken off to separate out all the rebar and other metal.
What I liked was, at the end of each day, the crew lined up all the equipment and put each in what I would call a "majestic" pose, like with its arm looking purposeful. I thought it gave a cool, and professional look to the construction site, and showed they obviously cared about what they were doing, to clean up and pose the equipment, vs just leaving it where it was when the shift ended.
What I liked was, at the end of each day, the crew lined up all the equipment and put each in what I would call a "majestic" pose, like with its arm looking purposeful. I thought it gave a cool, and professional look to the construction site, and showed they obviously cared about what they were doing, to clean up and pose the equipment, vs just leaving it where it was when the shift ended.
It’s their job to destroy things, why wouldn’t they be proud?
I’m proud too when I refactor bad code.
I’m proud too when I refactor bad code.
Deleted 5000 lines of code from a project yesterday! And I am feeling very good about it :)
One weird trick to increase code coverage.
I, too, delete entire projects!
Are you proud enough to provide drone footage of the refactor?
Screen capture, Nope. Drone footage, yes!
sometimes I wish I could
Random tangent: This is the most bizarre thing I've seen in a while. At the bottom of the page is a "Protected by Recaptcha" logo that follows the page around. Clicking on it does nothing and no Recaptcha is displayed. What is it supposedly protecting and how is it doing that protecting if no Captcha is displayed? (I browse privately and am constantly hit with Captchas, but this one didn't prompt me.)
Recaptcha version 3 doesn't need to show you a CAPTCHA. It just calculates a score in the background, and of course it's up to the website to determine what to do with this score.
Fascinating. Motorola has been part of some very significant things in history (not just because I'm multi-Amiga owner).
From my outsider view, it seems the companies who really invest in R&D make the best things happen. Unfortunately the best doesn't always mean the most long term successful (depends on many many more factors than just the quality of the product).
I would love to see a world where it was fashionable for companies to proudly devote 20+% to R&D. It seems instead like R&D is 2% at best, and marketing (or legal... patents) is 18%.
From my outsider view, it seems the companies who really invest in R&D make the best things happen. Unfortunately the best doesn't always mean the most long term successful (depends on many many more factors than just the quality of the product).
I would love to see a world where it was fashionable for companies to proudly devote 20+% to R&D. It seems instead like R&D is 2% at best, and marketing (or legal... patents) is 18%.
For a commercial company the aim of R&D is to ship competitive products. You can spend a lot of R&D and do plenty of cool stuff but if you don't ship products you'll go under all the same.
For instance Xerox was doing plenty of cool and innovative stuff with GUIs and the mouse but then it was someone like Jobs (and Bill Gates) that turned that into a hot product. Where's Xerox now? Where's Apple?
In engineering we too often forget that sales and marketing are crucial.
For instance Xerox was doing plenty of cool and innovative stuff with GUIs and the mouse but then it was someone like Jobs (and Bill Gates) that turned that into a hot product. Where's Xerox now? Where's Apple?
In engineering we too often forget that sales and marketing are crucial.
Xerox: I was there. I just published a book [1] about that, written as historical fiction but all facts are accurate. The idea is, you can put yourself into the story without knowing how it turns out. In particular, you can see how something like that can happen.
[1] www.albertcory.io
[1] www.albertcory.io
At least Xerox is still alive and a industry leader in printer business.
This last point is key in the modem connected world.
Before internet, you marketed by being in the right places with the right people. Now you have to have a global internet strategy and compete with companies who have nothing but marketing (and funding).
Before internet, you marketed by being in the right places with the right people. Now you have to have a global internet strategy and compete with companies who have nothing but marketing (and funding).
Motorola couldn't do software very well. And software became increasingly important in all the fields they competed in.
It turned out to be easier to take a company that was great at software, and turn it into a cellphone company, rather than trying to take a cellphone company and make it great at software.
It turned out to be easier to take a company that was great at software, and turn it into a cellphone company, rather than trying to take a cellphone company and make it great at software.
Motorola wasn't just some cellphone company. The car radio went into production there after Galvin hired Wavering and Lear. He later changed the name of the company to name it after that product. The automotive alternator was invented there (by Wavering). They made the 6800, 6809, 68k, and POWER/PowerPC processor lines used in various lines of Apple, Tandy, Sun, Amiga (later Commodore Amiga), SGI, HP, IBM, Momentum, and Raptor Engineering computers (the POWER/PowerPC was a partnership with IBM and Apple but largely designed at Motorola). Neil Armstrong spoke into a Motorola transceiver from the moon.
Motorola broke up into way more than two companies over time. It sold its TV business to Matsushita in 1974. Motorola bought General Instruments and became the largest builder of set-top devices in the world and also spun off ON Semiconductor in 1999. Later this home products division would largely end up sold to Arris. Freescale Semiconductor split off in 2003 then later merged into NXP in 2015. Further spinoffs and department selloffs include Iridium, what became General Dynamics Decision Systems, and Cambium Networks.
Motorola broke up into way more than two companies over time. It sold its TV business to Matsushita in 1974. Motorola bought General Instruments and became the largest builder of set-top devices in the world and also spun off ON Semiconductor in 1999. Later this home products division would largely end up sold to Arris. Freescale Semiconductor split off in 2003 then later merged into NXP in 2015. Further spinoffs and department selloffs include Iridium, what became General Dynamics Decision Systems, and Cambium Networks.
Iridium wasn't a sell-off. Motorola was one of the largest investors in Iridium, and lost a vast amount of money when it went bankrupt. Additionally they were deeply involved in its hardware.
The second incarnation of the Iridium corporation we know now is the group of people who bought it at pennies on the dollar in the bankruptcy auction.
The second incarnation of the Iridium corporation we know now is the group of people who bought it at pennies on the dollar in the bankruptcy auction.
Iridium went under because the developing world installed mobile networks, and Motorola had a huge portion of that market.
Accounting tricks aside, they didn't lose money on the downfall.
Accounting tricks aside, they didn't lose money on the downfall.
Iridium was doomed from day 1. The system could only support a small number of subscribers. It was nearly impossible to recoup the capital expenditures given the capacity of the system.
Yes, and even the legacy business (which makes radios for emergency responders among many other things) has been a great investment. If you bought MSI 10 years ago, you've made just under a 20% annualized return if you reinvested dividends. And ON Semi has been almost as good over the past decade. It's only in consumer cellphones where they did really badly.
Is it common to refer to it as MSI (the stock ticker for Motorola Solutions)? I would think most think of the computer hardware company when they hear that.
That’s the stock symbol for the company. Investors often refer to companies by their tickers.
Yes.
Before the start of the smartphone revolution (circa 2005) the "smartphones" of the time are what we'd call flip-phones now. They were smart in the sense that they could run apps (J2ME, blech), take pictures and such.
Moto had dozens of different models at any given point in time. All running various kinds of (what we'd call today) embedded operating systems, closer to what we'd class as a RTOS these days. Stuff like Symbian. Most / all of them were not that easy to do application development with. And none could really scale up in processing power (multi-core, which wasn't a thing back then), decent TCP/IP networking, and driving a large and complicated GUI.
In one sense, as a leader in the cell phone business, they should have been well placed to make a big splash with smartphones. But none of their software on that side of things was able to transition to that, which is why they adopted Android. To their credit, they did produce some decent Android phones, but because they relied on Google, they were now also competing severely with HTC, Samsung, LG and others.
Before the start of the smartphone revolution (circa 2005) the "smartphones" of the time are what we'd call flip-phones now. They were smart in the sense that they could run apps (J2ME, blech), take pictures and such.
Moto had dozens of different models at any given point in time. All running various kinds of (what we'd call today) embedded operating systems, closer to what we'd class as a RTOS these days. Stuff like Symbian. Most / all of them were not that easy to do application development with. And none could really scale up in processing power (multi-core, which wasn't a thing back then), decent TCP/IP networking, and driving a large and complicated GUI.
In one sense, as a leader in the cell phone business, they should have been well placed to make a big splash with smartphones. But none of their software on that side of things was able to transition to that, which is why they adopted Android. To their credit, they did produce some decent Android phones, but because they relied on Google, they were now also competing severely with HTC, Samsung, LG and others.
I worked in the mobile network part of Motorola. We had smartphones in the lab for testing in 2001. We were all told that they would be on sale by 2003. But that never happened.
All of my interactions with the cellphone division were somewhat negative. You got the impression that they thought of themselves as the best of the best and nothing you could offer was worth their attention. The damned RAZR success probably doomed them for good. I was using the smartphones every single day and was making suggestions for UI improvements and software features. They ignored all of it. Oh well. Everything I suggested became obvious updates once the general public had used the iPhone for a year or two.
All of my interactions with the cellphone division were somewhat negative. You got the impression that they thought of themselves as the best of the best and nothing you could offer was worth their attention. The damned RAZR success probably doomed them for good. I was using the smartphones every single day and was making suggestions for UI improvements and software features. They ignored all of it. Oh well. Everything I suggested became obvious updates once the general public had used the iPhone for a year or two.
What happened with the network / base station side of the business? Moto was doing very well with that in the 1990's. It seemed like that business kind of evaporated, but I don't know why.
It lives on, as a Nokia/Siemens joint venture.
Edit: apparently Nokia bought out Siemens years ago
Edit: apparently Nokia bought out Siemens years ago
Oh, I hadn't realized it also got sold off.
Let's see, what all was sold off:
computer division, analog ICs (Onsemi), digitial ICs (Freescale, NXP), base stations (as mentioned), mobile phones (Motorola Mobility, Google, Lenovo). What did I miss?
It is funny that the Motorola as we knew it is gone, but many of the pieces remain. And others were able to make money using those pieces.
To this day I still fail to understand the corporate strategy behind all that.
Let's see, what all was sold off:
computer division, analog ICs (Onsemi), digitial ICs (Freescale, NXP), base stations (as mentioned), mobile phones (Motorola Mobility, Google, Lenovo). What did I miss?
It is funny that the Motorola as we knew it is gone, but many of the pieces remain. And others were able to make money using those pieces.
To this day I still fail to understand the corporate strategy behind all that.
Large companies are often worth less than the sum of their parts, particularly if there's little synergy between the parts.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conglomeratediscount.as...
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conglomeratediscount.as...
The flip side of that argument is look at how vertically integrated companies like Samsung are. Apple used to buy processors and such from other IC vendors, and now they are doing that in-house.
I don't know how Motorola could have been fixed though.
I don't know how Motorola could have been fixed though.
There are pockets of ex-Moto software engineers that have splintered off from Libertyville and/or Mart that still continue to contaminate the tech scene in Chicago.
I worked with a group of them a few years ago. Their skills were shit but they all walked around expecting managerial positions.
I worked with a group of them a few years ago. Their skills were shit but they all walked around expecting managerial positions.
That's a pretty bold comment for such a large site... did you have any good experiences with other folks from Moto?
In the case of Apple, I think it's especially a case of a company great at products. They did great because they had a great vision of the product.
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.
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.
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.
Their micros remain one of the more successful parts of the business. Naturally they spun that off to avoid those annoying profits.
Hi former neighbor!
For those that are wondering, here is the campus on maps: 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.
For those that are wondering, here is the campus on maps: 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.
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://vimeo.com/308429582
I find it fascinating how all the metal bits are carefully separated and stacked (using big hydraulic claws) for recycling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1aEJFTUmkg
https://vimeo.com/308429582
I find it fascinating how all the metal bits are carefully separated and stacked (using big hydraulic claws) for recycling.
Grew up in Arlington Heights a few years ahead of you. (RMHS '89). Heady days indeed.
Even stranger is the abandoned Motorola complex built way out among the farmlands in Harvard, Illinois.
Motorola has fallen far! When I started a job at a big company in a Chicago suburb, they actually asked for a show of hands "who's from Motorola" and like 17/20 people raised their hands!
Motorola has fallen far! When I started a job at a big company in a Chicago suburb, they actually asked for a show of hands "who's from Motorola" and like 17/20 people raised their hands!
So that Harvard facility -- from what I heard (when I worked for Moto) was that it was built for the main purpose to give to one of the Galvin family members to manage. They built it as an engineering and manufacturing center, and was expecting a bunch of engineers that worked at Libertyville to move out there. Problem is that was during the dot-com boom and people would rather get a different job then relocate to the middle of a corn field (actually a lot of people bought out in Crystal Lake, causing a housing boom there, which later collapsed when the Harvard building was shut down).
Then they outsourced manufacturing (the phones were no longer bullet proof after the outsourcing / offshoring). So they made Harvard a distribution center. They were hoping to also be able to pull workers from Rockford, but that didn't really work out either.
At one point, after Moto sold the building, an investor was going to turn it into the worlds largest indoor water park. That never panned out either.
Then they outsourced manufacturing (the phones were no longer bullet proof after the outsourcing / offshoring). So they made Harvard a distribution center. They were hoping to also be able to pull workers from Rockford, but that didn't really work out either.
At one point, after Moto sold the building, an investor was going to turn it into the worlds largest indoor water park. That never panned out either.
I assumed from the title that this would be the Harvard facility. I never would have dreamed that Schaumburg would be shut down as long as the brand existed. How wrong I was!
The main building was known as IL02, this is where I had my first job interview (the Blue Conference Room!) and afterwards joined Motorola Labs in 2004. The tall building shown was called the Sector Tower, a lot of money was spent renovating it. My colleagues and I would walk up the 6 floors and down after lunch for exercise. Mot Labs had 1000+ people around the world when I joined, was down to ~30 in 2010. How the times change.
Brought to mind the famous video by Dave Haynie about the last days of Commodore and their then almost empty fab in West Chester, PA, just days before the bankruptcy ended it all. If you want an account on how it feels when it's happening, that's probably the video to watch. Contains some interesting vintage technical stuff too.
As an old Amiga user, It makes me both sad and angry every time I watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaTjwo1ywcI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaTjwo1ywcI
Link to the original album for people who just want the pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/25165196@N08/albums/7215771215...
Reminds me of Bell Labs.
https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bell-labs
https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bell-labs
At least that building has been re-imagined and revived as an office, entertainment, housing, dining hub.
https://bell.works/new-jersey/explore/
Not to its full, old glory, but at least it is not abandoned anymore.
https://bell.works/new-jersey/explore/
Not to its full, old glory, but at least it is not abandoned anymore.
The thing I love most of these is how ridiculous the “company culture” looks on those abandoned walls. Like the awards and recognitions in the cabinets that no one bothered to take with them.
How utterly useless those are to company culture is made evident by how pathetic they look now, just left behind and meaningless.
How utterly useless those are to company culture is made evident by how pathetic they look now, just left behind and meaningless.
This building has a special place in my heart. My dad used to work here when I was growing up and would take me there occasionally. I remember going between cubicles and asking people what they were doing, learning to make simple circuits in one of the labs there (simple stuff though, like hooking a battery up to a motor), and generally being fascinated by how fun of a job that looked to be and meeting the sorts of people who did it. I guess it was a good formative experience considering what I ended up choosing as my childhood hobby and later my job! Super weird to see this place again, sad to see what happened to it.
I can't help but feel sad for the loss of engineering innovation. Yes, the pieces of Motorola live on, but there is a certain magic when there are a lot of big pieces working together (like radios, semiconductors, entertainment, Etc)
>it’s like the musings of an explorer who discovered a jungle city abandoned by a mysterious civilization
Disclosure: I have worked in construction.
I dont mean to get too off topic but please dont do this. Wandering abandoned buildings is very dangerous. Roofs and stairs can collapse seemingly for no reason, exposed floor tile can release asbestos, and dry bathrooms without water in the pipes can expose you to potentially lethal concentrations of sewer gasses like methane and hydrogen sulfide that build up in enclosed restrooms with no power to ventilation systems.
If a fire starts, most emergency exits will be barracaded.
Disclosure: I have worked in construction.
I dont mean to get too off topic but please dont do this. Wandering abandoned buildings is very dangerous. Roofs and stairs can collapse seemingly for no reason, exposed floor tile can release asbestos, and dry bathrooms without water in the pipes can expose you to potentially lethal concentrations of sewer gasses like methane and hydrogen sulfide that build up in enclosed restrooms with no power to ventilation systems.
If a fire starts, most emergency exits will be barracaded.
The possible danger is part of the appeal though isn't it? We let people go cave diving and mountain climbing. I mean I'm not advocating for just anyone to go in structurally unsound buildings, trespassing is illegal for a good reason, but part of me appreciates the human curiosity of wanting to see what is inside areas that have been abandoned. Whether its the Paris catacombs, the NY subway tunnels, or a factory in Detroit there is often a good story in the remains.
I’ve been thinking in 50 or 100 years from now, will this be the case for the Apple Starship campus? I’m sure Motorola seemed indomitable at the time of its construction.
i'm not one to wish ill will, but that would be a wicked indoor gokart course
It's just as easy to imagine this being most of San Jose because of drought.
Or this being every corporate HQ because of the collapse of Western Capitalism in the face of global warming.
I'm sure life will go on though.
Or this being every corporate HQ because of the collapse of Western Capitalism in the face of global warming.
I'm sure life will go on though.
> It's just as easy to imagine this being most of San Jose because of drought.
The non-agricultural, non-forestry parts of the California economy can do just fine on desalinated seawater.
The non-agricultural, non-forestry parts of the California economy can do just fine on desalinated seawater.
Most likely global capitalism will thrive in the face of global warming. Creative destruction. All the infrastructure to be rebuilt, the huge projects, warlike government expenditures, replacing the worlds fleet of vehicles, expanding the grid multiple times.
It will be absolutely Faustian…
People were taking too much time between new cars
This is fair. I wonder if that will require a new generation of corporation, though. And the current generation of corporate HQs don't look nearly defensible enough. Something more like the Tyrell Corporation Ziggurat will be needed.
Motorola is maybe a telling of how complacency and pure business leadership can lead to a downfall.
They became complacent, they abandoned their technical leadership for bean counters, and became dust.
Intel was almost going down that road.
They became complacent, they abandoned their technical leadership for bean counters, and became dust.
Intel was almost going down that road.
Motorola probably started slowly downhill after Lear left and Wavering retired.
I suppose it depends on how you define "downfall", but Motorola stock this year is at an all-time high, even higher than its peak during late 90s during the run up to the dot-com boom and when Motorola cellphones were king.
There's been some very hard years in between and it's a smaller company now, but it's actually doing very well by many standards.
There's been some very hard years in between and it's a smaller company now, but it's actually doing very well by many standards.
Not sure Intel have escaped that fate yet. Ditto Boeing.
Bill Gates said that tech companies deserve higher risk premia due to the risk of technological obsolescence (which in short means lower equity price for the same projected future earnings). This story is a good example, IBM is another. Funny to contemplate that given the current prices of tech equity, both private and public.
I was a junior employee at Mot as my first job in the worst period: 2006-2007. I saw someone in his 50s who had been in Mot forever been shown the door very impolitely. We also saw the team in Urbana Champaign let go because of some differences with the upper management at that time. It was possibly the most crucial team to compete with Apple. The environment was crazy with layoffs every three months and you can imagine what would have been going on there. We used to hear about the big sales parties in foreign locations when all of this was going on. Would have loved to know if the CEO at that time had better options.
I had a friend who worked at Motorola back when they had acres of clean rooms... he said he always had to fight the urge to open one of the emergency exits, sneeze loudly into it, and then close the door. ;-)
I feel a bit silly now that I always thought Motorola was an Asian company.
Glad I am not the only one, for some reason I assumed it was Japanese. I think it's because the name really doesn't sound American at all.
According to company legend, the name was a combination of "Motor" and "Victrola"; the company founder Paul Galvin made some of the earliest car radios, and the Victrola brand name was well-known at the time for its phonographs.
I had assumed it was European. I put it next to Qualcomm.
Now that I fact check myself, Qualcomm isn't based in Scandinavia like I thought, but rather San Diego. I guess I just mix all hot-hardware companies of the '90s in with Ericsson!
What next??
Now that I fact check myself, Qualcomm isn't based in Scandinavia like I thought, but rather San Diego. I guess I just mix all hot-hardware companies of the '90s in with Ericsson!
What next??
Well, part of it is now. Google sold Motorola Mobility to Lenovo.
"And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains."
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains."
I recall when IBM left Boca Raton, Florida (where the PC was invented) in the mid-90s. About a year after they left, a few friends and I roamed the abandoned IBM facility [1] and it was odd seeing empty computer rooms sans the raised floors. Some of the resulting pits were six feet deep (2m). Crazy.
[1] https://goo.gl/maps/CKrEbTkRDwWQNc2d8 Yes, it's a huge hexagon shaped building.
[1] https://goo.gl/maps/CKrEbTkRDwWQNc2d8 Yes, it's a huge hexagon shaped building.
This is over by Florida Atlantic University, originally built to be a lot harder to get into than most well-known institutions at the time. Didn't offer much undergraduate, just upper level only for top transfer students.
Things have changed, the campus plus the airport were a former airbase carved out of the wilderness and used during the Cuban Missle Crisis.
Boca was a small resort town on the coast and you had to go way west of town into the boonies before you came upon FAU out in the woods. Go much further west and it was basically everglades after that.
One summer as a teenager a buddy and myself were riding horses about that far west of Boca Lake. Nothing but pines & palmettos for miles, it would not be fun to try and hike it because you need to be up on the horse to see over the palmettos.
But this was not like any other summer. We came upon an unfamiliar clearing.
As we got closer it loomed larger, it was zero vegetation, nothing but dirt with the rest of the woods still there as a wall on the other side of the field.
We rode on out into the cleared land, this was no farm, you could see for miles to the north and south, yes we were in the middle of I-95 on horses, but no worries we were the earliest passenger traffic and there was no pavement or any way to get there by car yet.
Well when they built the IBM location it was widely known to be for secret projects, so it was recognized to be appropriate for it to be like the Pentagon, except of course a hexagon instead.
My grandma wanted me to work there, some of her clients knew some of the secrets, she was a fortune-teller.
I went to the university instead.
Things have changed, the campus plus the airport were a former airbase carved out of the wilderness and used during the Cuban Missle Crisis.
Boca was a small resort town on the coast and you had to go way west of town into the boonies before you came upon FAU out in the woods. Go much further west and it was basically everglades after that.
One summer as a teenager a buddy and myself were riding horses about that far west of Boca Lake. Nothing but pines & palmettos for miles, it would not be fun to try and hike it because you need to be up on the horse to see over the palmettos.
But this was not like any other summer. We came upon an unfamiliar clearing.
As we got closer it loomed larger, it was zero vegetation, nothing but dirt with the rest of the woods still there as a wall on the other side of the field.
We rode on out into the cleared land, this was no farm, you could see for miles to the north and south, yes we were in the middle of I-95 on horses, but no worries we were the earliest passenger traffic and there was no pavement or any way to get there by car yet.
Well when they built the IBM location it was widely known to be for secret projects, so it was recognized to be appropriate for it to be like the Pentagon, except of course a hexagon instead.
My grandma wanted me to work there, some of her clients knew some of the secrets, she was a fortune-teller.
I went to the university instead.
I too went to FAU, but by the time I attended (late 80s/early 90s) they had an undergraduate program in Computer Science. It's odd to think of FAU as being "way west" as it's less than two miles from the ocean and about 2.5 miles from downtown Boca Raton. It's built up since it sounds like you were there last---you now have to drive about 12 miles from shore to get to the Everglades.
If you like this sort of thing. Bright Sun Films[1] on youtube does a lot of the same abandoned investigation content. Often digging a bit into the history of why something was abandoned in the first place.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5k3Kc0avyDJ2nG9Kxm9JmQ
[1] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5k3Kc0avyDJ2nG9Kxm9JmQ
Ugh. That hurts my soul. I used to work there in the late 90s at its peak. door 13. good place, amazing engineers. So sad.
Reminds me of Kodak Eastman Business Park.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Business_Park
Just visiting Wikipedia found out that they weapon grade Uranium in an underground lab... yikes!
Just visiting Wikipedia found out that they weapon grade Uranium in an underground lab... yikes!
If you find any 68040s in there, gimme.
I used to live at International Village apartments near Moto headquarters. In those days MotoRazr craze starting to fade as IPhone was just launched. I remember layoffs were started and bunch of folks were laid off in teams I worked with.
This is exactly why I love the Dark Souls series. They show a world long past it's time. Just enough detail to give you a glimpse of what life was like back in it's prime but not enough to ruin the melancholy.
Beautiful!
Beautiful!
> On the business and entertainment side of things, there will be Top Golf, restaurants, a hotel, and a shopping and entertainment center, all serviced by parking lots to encourage visitors from further afield. The area also hopes to offer concerts, movies, and ice-skating.
A similar thing happened to the IBM campus in Austin. "The Domain" is essentially land that was formerly owned by IBM. I believe there are plans to further develop the remaining site as well.
I found this particular statement really funny, as there's a Top Golf adjacent to the current IBM Austin site.
A similar thing happened to the IBM campus in Austin. "The Domain" is essentially land that was formerly owned by IBM. I believe there are plans to further develop the remaining site as well.
I found this particular statement really funny, as there's a Top Golf adjacent to the current IBM Austin site.
For current status, most or all of the removal is complete - I think there's one empty building that I'm not sure about the plans for.
Counterclockwise from the northwest the credit union is long gone (now "Andigo" and on Meacham) though I think the building is still there, there are some nice looking (and pricey!) apartments along the west side, then there's Top Golf at the southwest corner (which has been in operation for quite some time - pretty sure they were open before the pandemic). South center of the property along the expressway is the area still owned and occupied by a Motorola company. There's Zurich America at the southeast corner, which was the first new construction on the campus several years ago, and another new building ("B") just north and a little west of it that appears finished but I'm not sure it's actually occupied yet - I rarely drive by there during business hours. The east and northeast parts aren't really developed yet, but they're doing a lot of work on the roads around there (Algonquin and Meacham). There's an area of (I think) condos still under construction on the north side along Algonquin, the westernmost buildings are already occupied and they're working east at a pretty decent clip. In the center of the complex is the "B" building mentioned above, as well as the remaining unoccupied old Motorola property.
There's also other construction in the area - one new apartment complex on Algonquin a bit west that's been there for a couple years, IIRC built on vacant land. The single-story office complex directly northwest of the campus was partially removed and is under construction for a new set of luxury apartments or condos, the western half of that complex is also for sale and I wouldn't be surprised to see it torn down and built on soon as well.
My biggest disappointment about the whole thing is that once upon a time there was possibly going to be something called the STAR line, basically a commuter rail line built in the center of 90 running from O'Hare out to Elgin then south. I had dreams of them turning part of the Moto campus into a station and parking for that - would have been great for Schaumburg a decade or two back by providing easy access to the core of Schaumburg's shopping areas when malls were still highly relevant.
Counterclockwise from the northwest the credit union is long gone (now "Andigo" and on Meacham) though I think the building is still there, there are some nice looking (and pricey!) apartments along the west side, then there's Top Golf at the southwest corner (which has been in operation for quite some time - pretty sure they were open before the pandemic). South center of the property along the expressway is the area still owned and occupied by a Motorola company. There's Zurich America at the southeast corner, which was the first new construction on the campus several years ago, and another new building ("B") just north and a little west of it that appears finished but I'm not sure it's actually occupied yet - I rarely drive by there during business hours. The east and northeast parts aren't really developed yet, but they're doing a lot of work on the roads around there (Algonquin and Meacham). There's an area of (I think) condos still under construction on the north side along Algonquin, the westernmost buildings are already occupied and they're working east at a pretty decent clip. In the center of the complex is the "B" building mentioned above, as well as the remaining unoccupied old Motorola property.
There's also other construction in the area - one new apartment complex on Algonquin a bit west that's been there for a couple years, IIRC built on vacant land. The single-story office complex directly northwest of the campus was partially removed and is under construction for a new set of luxury apartments or condos, the western half of that complex is also for sale and I wouldn't be surprised to see it torn down and built on soon as well.
My biggest disappointment about the whole thing is that once upon a time there was possibly going to be something called the STAR line, basically a commuter rail line built in the center of 90 running from O'Hare out to Elgin then south. I had dreams of them turning part of the Moto campus into a station and parking for that - would have been great for Schaumburg a decade or two back by providing easy access to the core of Schaumburg's shopping areas when malls were still highly relevant.
I feel that in 5 years, abandonedspaces is going to have a lot of locations to cover.
We are one and a half years into mass work from home and the idea that everyone in a company would need to jump in their cars and rush to appear on an office floor at 9:00am or something already (finally) seems completely ridiculous. Its like some Jetsons type bad sci-fi fantasy of how the future will work- as if the environment just becomes aesthetically more futuristic while the underlying social patterns are still set in the 1950s.
If you're interested in abandoned buildings and other artistic captures of the darker side of society, check out Artemy Lebedev - a Russian traveller who's been to pretty much everywhere in the world.
https://www.tema.ru/eng/travel/
https://www.tema.ru/eng/travel/
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What a wonderful website. Just spent the last 3 hours reading the different stories. Like a walk through history.
I remember touring the museum there during a visit as a new employee in the early 90s. Only time I ever visited HQ.
It's eerily similar to pictures from Chernobyl or Fukushima, although without the radiation.
Here are some pictures from Fukushima:
https://www.podniesinski.pl/portal/fukushima-8-years-on/
Here are some pictures from Fukushima:
https://www.podniesinski.pl/portal/fukushima-8-years-on/
https://www.instagram.com/lanasator/?hl=en
I recommend Lana’s Instagram. A really fascinating and scary at the same time pics of soviet abandoned building and industrial places.
I recommend Lana’s Instagram. A really fascinating and scary at the same time pics of soviet abandoned building and industrial places.
> UrbanStreet Group and Antunovich Associates set up a joint venture called Veridian which would transform this abandoned site into a thriving urban center. It is anticipated that the first stage of this project will be completed in the fall of 2020.
Veridian Dynamics?
Veridian Dynamics?
Many years down the road, will currently famous Silicon Valley headquarters suffer the same fate?
Super interesting. I grew up in a nearby suburb and when I was younger Motorola was THE company in the area. It felt like nearly all of my friend's parents were employees. It's amazing how quickly they fell off.
Motorola is now a brand of Lenovo ,which is a Chinese company, and Motorola smart phone is also developed in Beijing of China, and producted in Wuhan ,maybe any other city of China.
Motorola is still alive, in another formal.
Motorola is still alive, in another formal.
The radio and emergency services part of company never went anywhere and it's now Motorola Solutions.
This is awesome. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs close to here. I always wondered what it was like on the inside. It’s eerie to see it in ruins. I imagine what energy it would have in its heyday.
They also have a former HQ on the outskirts of, IIRC, Swindon in the UK, which was/seemed abandoned for years. I was used in one of the Brosnan James Bond movies when it was first built.
Yes it was in Swindon. The EMEA headquarters.
What an absolute waste.
The Zurich building on the campus is pleasant on the eyes even thought they are a not so good employer, and they have a Top Golf now (some /s intended).
The Zurich building looks like mega sized shipping containers. (I know - that is the intended design look). My aunt worked for Zuirich for almost 20 years (in the towers), never heard anything extraordinarily bad other than normal employee grumblings.
It's a great landmark from the freeway.
I love the planters inside. Especially in the big open space. Does anyone know any names for the architecture and design choices of that building?
This is very interested. Many careers were started, built, and ended there. Many fond and not so fond memories formed there. Now its wasting away.
I still remember the shock I felt when I saw this complex empty after the recession. That kind of help sync the extent of the recession for me.
See also
https://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/
for more of this type of thing.
https://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/
for more of this type of thing.
I used to live down the road from moto headquarters and always wondered what it was like inside. This was very enlightening.
The lack of people leads me to conclude these are actually screenshots from Unreal Engine.
heh, I worked a the schaumburg HQ in the mid 90s. We had awful problems getting java applets to print cellphone invoices in a ms/sun compatible way. Many thanks to the anonymous coworker who taught me the dot operation in vi there.
Now do the Libertyville office.
How about the Quincy office, near where Wavering worked and near where he and Lear were each born before making the product that would be the name of the company? Even the last little local sales office closed years ago.
As in Quincy, IL? I grew up there and the town still hasn't recovered from the closure.
I moved down to Texas from Quincy about a decade ago. I lived most of my life before that in Hannibal and Quincy. There's a lot of business missing up there. Gardner Denver I think moved their HQ several years ago but kept the plant. Moormans sold. Quincy Soybean still has some work there but sold and closed the HQ. Building Technolgoies closed in Hannibal in the 80s. They never rebuilt the grain elevator at Hannibal after the 1993 flood. Buckhorn Rubber closed about a year ago. They never rebuilt the trainyard at West Quincy after the '93 flood either. I'm not sure if Harris still builds broadcast equipment there or not. I think Knapheide and Hollister Whitney are still doing well.
The Libertyville office is now an "innovation center". I think the manufacturing floor is being used to make EV chargers by a company based in Amsterdam.
https://www.iparkcampus.com/available-space/
https://www.iparkcampus.com/available-space/
This building is similar to that in the second series of Homecoming.
Startup idea: Airbnb for zombies. Buy up abandoned spaces like this, lease them to the undead horde. Payment might be a problem, as brains are not readily convertible to legal tender (perhaps BTC can help here?).
Zombnb.
Zombnb.
Looks like a great parkour spot!
"The future of workplace"
“there were old wall slogans inside that must have been added to motivate and inspire the employees” … “ the tall building had several brick structures on the lower main level. He suspected that those structures probably had plants and ferns in them so that important business clients and employees would be met with a pleasing sight upon entering.” … “Martin Gonzalez also noticed pictures of people using Motorola products that had been left on the walls of the building.”
Indeed, the ways of the people of the Motorola civilization of around 2011CE are mysterious and strange to us. Perhaps the central atrium served some kind of ritual purpose? Were prisoners perhaps thrown off the upper balconies as a sacrifice to their gods? We will never really know.