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The Dale Body Company was organized to provide
production bodies for the Allen Motor Co., of Columbus, Ohio. R.I.
Schonitzer, formerly chief body designer for the Racine Manufacturing
Co., was put in charge of the plant which was built adjacent to the
former Peabody Carriage Company plant which was converted into Allen's
Fostoria final assembly plant. The name referred to its location in the
Allen Company's "Allendale Additions," planned automobile community.
E. W. Allen told a gathering of 290 Fostorians,
"We have outgrown our present quarters at Center and North streets and
would like to locate our plant on fifty-five acres of land in
connection with our present body plant, formerly known as the Peabody
Buggy Factory."
The March 3, 1917 issue of the Horseless Age
announced:
“Allen to Have New Body Plant
“A concern to be known as the Dale Body Co.
received great impetus in its organization plans recently when members
of the Fostoria, Ohio, Chamber of Commerce subscribed for $100,000 of
the $150,000 capital stock of the new company. This concern will supply
the Allen Motor Co. and will be a part of the Allen Company's
centralized automobile community on the northern edge of Fostoria. The
body plant will be situated alongside the main Allen factory and will
be under the management of R. I. Schonitzer, designer of the present
Allen body.”
July 1917 issue of Duns’ Review:
“Allen Motor Company Expanding
“The confidence with which many of the large
automobile manufacturers look to continued good business, despite the
fact that the United States is now at war, is well evidenced by the
announcement of the Allen Motor Company that work has been started on
the Dale Body Company’s new plant, the first building to be erected in
‘Allendale Additions,’ which is the new automobile community founded by
the Allens in Fostoria, Ohio.
“The Dale Body Company will devote themselves
exclusively to the production of high-grade bodies for Allen cars. The
main building will be 500 feet long and will afford about 30,000 square
feet of floor space. The walls will be mainly of glass, which will
cause the interior to be flooded with light. Protection from fire will
be insured by use of the sprinkler system. The latest body building
machinery will be installed throughout, and when running at capacity
the plant will deliver 100 bodies a day.
“Work on the Allen’s new body plant is being
rushed and it is expected that the building will be ready for occupancy
by July 1, 1917. Inquiries sent to the firm should be addressed to the
Allen Motor Company, 2905 Allen Building, Fostoria, Ohio, U.S.A.”
Allen Motor Co.'s Fostoria plant was sold to
Willys-Overland in 1920 and later became an Autolite plant.
© 2004 Mark Theobald - Coachbuilt.com
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