The power that was Gottlieb

[andypinboy]

Following the thread on "will Williams return?" I came across this pic which I find amazing. This (I guess ) was the hey day for pins (or start of them). Construction began in 1969 - & once built Gottlieb was turning out 300 games per day! The world's population in 1969 was a bit over 3.6 billion, it now exceeds 7.3 billion. This was one bloody large factory.

[Freiherr]

Have a look at Bally 1978 & 1979.
About 165,000 built.
That equates to 225 machines per day, 7 days a week.
Thems were the Golden Years of pinball.

[andypinboy]

I'll have to have a look & see what Bally was pumping out & what size their factory was. Gottlieb's factory was 250,000 sq ft. So at times pumping out 300 machines per day WITH real competitors. Stern pumps out roughly 60, without competitors & had a 40,000 sq ft full facility until it's move (can't find what it is now).

Btw, is it true that the ogre in Stern's Shrek came out of a Happy Meal? It's in a seemingly reputable article, but that sounds a bit off key?

[Retropin]

I'll have to have a look & see what Bally was pumping out & what size their factory was. Gottlieb's factory was 250,000 sq ft. So at times pumping out 300 machines per day WITH real competitors. Stern pumps out roughly 60, without competitors & had a 40,000 sq ft full facility until it's move (can't find what it is now).

Btw, is it true that the ogre in Stern's Shrek came out of a Happy Meal? It's in a seemingly reputable article, but that sounds a bit off key?

Yes, its true. Stern bought up the excess  USA McDonalds Shrek toys for the machine

[Strangeways]

The golden years were 1975 ish to 19982. Constant releases, and just about every game made was successful. Today's manufacturing is nowhere near the sheer quantity and quality.

Here was are 45 years later and we can still buy playfields, plastics sets and just about every part for games of this era.

[andypinboy]

Thanks guys for the info on the history. I guess if Gottlieb began to build this factory (which is massive) in 1969 it would have still been pumping out machines in the early 1970's at least - so certainly in the lead-up to the golden years. Amazing times for the industry - I guess being a bit younger I never realised just how massive it once was.

[4_amusement_only]

When the company changed hands and was renamed 'Mylstar' for 18 months from 83' to mid 85', the company took down that big Gottlieb sign you can see in that illustration that was fixed at the front of their facility for around 20 years. It was hand made and enamelled. The sign had stand offs behind it to allow for red neon lighting. Apparently the birds used to nest behind there and the tube was forever needing to be fixed. So for the majority of the time the sign wasn't back lit by neon as was its intended design. Anyway, They removed the original sign and were going to just toss It away in 83' to make way for the new signage. A bloke saved the sign and has it to this day. I got some pictures of it sent to me a couple years back;

Obviously the chap doesn't have a hobby in photography but there it is. Custom made the old school way and stood proudly at the front for many years. He rekons that you can still see the original outline it created on the brick in front of the building.

[andypinboy]

A4M that's amazing - thanks heaps for sharing that. What a lucky camper - that's pure history. I hope he values it (& kind of hope he never sells it - unless to a museum). Wow.

[Brunswick Brawler]

I believe Gottlieb was sold to Colombia Pictures at about 1979, by D Gottlieb.  I think it was CocaCola that then bought Colombia Pictures in about 82, that they changed the name to Mylstar, and started changing the companies direction.  Mylstar then closed up (sounds like 84), only to have some former employees buy up the stock and factory equipment, and start a new company called Premier.

Premier then closed up in the mid 90s.


...David Gottlieb sold the company at its peak, when pinball was earning more revenue (cash box earnings?) than the movie industry.  The David Gottlieb sale would be one of the best business moves of the century.

[Retropin]

Give that sign to me!!!
Ill restore to original with red neon and ensure no birds can nest... it aint hard 

[greenechidna]

The Northlake address is now a Walmart as far as i can tell from street view.

America in a nutshell.

[scf]

The Northlake address is now a Walmart as far as i can tell from street view.

America in a nutshell.

I had a look too, but found what appears to be a distribution warehouse. Not sure if it is the same building, but it looks a bit too new so I think it isn't. But I could be wrong.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@41.904843,-87.912618,3a,37.5y,180.12h,86.86t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s55WL9pSN1J4QQUYzRnDV_A!2e0!6m1!1e1?hl=en

[andypinboy]

The Northlake address is now a Walmart as far as i can tell from street view.

America in a nutshell.

I had a look too, but found what appears to be a distribution warehouse. Not sure if it is the same building, but it looks a bit too new so I think it isn't. But I could be wrong.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@41.904843,-87.912618,3a,37.5y,180.12h,86.86t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s55WL9pSN1J4QQUYzRnDV_A!2e0!6m1!1e1?hl=en

Yeah US in a nutshell indeed. Surprised it's not a Starbucks. Kind of sad in a way - think of all the people that once worked there, the varied skills (I think Gottlieb produced most of its own parts), & all the games they produced that were enjoyed around the world, & still are to this day.

[Boots]

The Original factory which could easily be argued to have more history appears to still be at 1140-1150 N Kostner Avenue, appropriately the business name is "Classic Midwest Diemold"

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@41.901825,-87.736114,3a,90y,270.04h,73.07t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1st-fJYtaxtjljbRhi77BGqw!2e0!6m1!1e1?hl=en-AU

After a lot of searching I couldn't find any old photos of the factory while it was being used by Gottlieb.

[Freiherr]

Found some nice photos here on some French forum:
http://www.retro-flip.com/t2429-GOTTLIEB-FACTORY-TOUR-IN-71.htm