Brown Street Fabrication

Designed to fit snugly over square steel support beams, these are more complicated to build than it might appear. The fit has to be perfect when they are lowered into place over the supporting beams.

Here&#039;s Adam fabricating the tops of the smokestacks.

Steel sheets were rolled into these tapered cylinders to form our smokestack stanchions.

These structures form the foundation of our archways.

Can&#039;t help but visualize huge cannons pointed skyward.

Here is Jeremy in the early stages of preparing to texture the smokestacks.

Taping in preparation for applying the texture is an arduous and time-consuming process.

Each of the stanchions stands over 13 feet tall.

This smokestack is all taped up and ready to be textured.

Once the texture has been applied, the tape is removed to reveal a very realistic brick look.

Here&#039;s a close-up of the brick-like texture that has been applied to one of the smokestack stanchions.

Jeremy is pictured here, applying his masterful texturing techniques to the smokestacks.

Finishing touches being applied by Jeremy.

Fresh off the CNC laser, these parts will be welded and fabricated into the banners that will soon stretch across each end of Brown Street.

Each archway is layed out in parts prior to being welded together.

Even thought the banners seem huge, some intricate welding is required in the fabrication process.

This photo gives one some perspective on the sheer size of one of the banners as Travis lights up the shop with a welding torch.

Travis climbs on top of the banner to weld some of its parts together.

James and Travis share a momentary chuckle during the daunting task of fabricating some of the largest decorative pieces that have come through the Heirloom shop.

Banner parts are shown here with the letters and pieces of the ribbon, which have been laser-cut from solid sheets of aluminum.

Each large banner is made of multiple parts, welded together to span each end of Brown Street.

Eventually, these will spell out &quot;Brown Street&quot; across each banner.

Allyn and Travis work in this photo to reinforce the banner for structural integrity.

Clamps, sawhorses, and welding rigs. All part of the effort to assemble these impressive archways.

Allyn and Travis are shown here, fabricating one of the archway banners.

The banner tops of the archways measure about 26 feet long.

Some of the lettering has been welded in place onto the banner.

Travis welds parts of one of the archway banners.

The flash of a welding torch lights up the shop as Travis continues fabrication of one of the archway banners.

Staying true to the original drawing is accomplished by working the metal and laying it over the blueprint, which has been scribed onto plywood by the CNC router.

James is pictured here continuing to shape the ribbons using old-world hand forging techniques.

Hand forged aluminum is slowly taking the form of free-flowing ribbons that will adorn each of the archways.

James is checking the shape of this ribbon as he continues to work the metal.