Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center

Built in 1911 with innovative tilt-up concrete construction, this building was an early home of Zenith Electric, known as Chicago Radio Laboratory before it became a global industrial powerhouse. The facility’s history and heft is a perfect match for the work that has gone on here since CIADC opened in 2015. CIADC is a non-profit creative industrial arts education and access facility, offering classes and workspace for youth and adults in metal casting, metalworking and forging, CNC fabrication, and woodworking. CIADC’s goal is to remove the obstacles most people face when creating 3D objects with permanent materials and industrial processes, and serves over 1,600 people annually.