The A. C. Gilbert Company opened a Gilbert Hall of Science in Chicago, Illinois at the Congress Hotel in October 1953. These photographs, taken by the Chicago photography studio Du Bois, The Drake, are courtesy of Mark Castiglione, owner of Branford Hobbies in Branford, Connecticut. Mark’s father was Frank B. Castiglione, who worked for the A. C. Gilbert Company from 1947-1953. Frank built model train layouts for the company, and from about September 15-October 16, 1953, was in Chicago to help construct displays for the Gilbert Hall of Science.
I am a member of the ACGHS and also run a Gilbert history site, centered mostly on American Flyer displays. I have presented these same photos which I obtained from a different source, the collection of the late Ray Mohrlang, but I have a little wrinkle to add to the dedication day story.
George Sorenson, was there the day of the opening in 1953 and had his picture taken. Surprisingly, I found a similar picture of George in the Mohrlang collection. Apparently Gilbert had used it as a publicity photo, unbeknownst to George and his family. Go to http://www.americanflyerdisplays.org/ghos/chicago.htm to see George’s memories of that day as he narrates a tour consisting of some other photos. While the photos in the slide show are the same as those here, my photo of the group shot had everyone’s names so you might be interested in that. Also, there is a separate page about George’s memories of his photo shoot. http://www.americanflyerdisplays.org/layout_memories/ghos_chicago.htm
Hope this is of additional interest. There is a lot more on my website, so please explore.
Dale Smith