The Harley-Davidson Motor Company Factory No. 7 at 228 South 1ST Street in Milwaukee was constructed as a leasable manufacturing building in 1912 and designed by the Milwaukee architecture firm of Kirchhoff and Rose. The four-story brick factory was commissioned by local businessman Alonzo Pauling and almost immediately leased by the Harley-Davidson Motor Company to house their automatic screw machine department. Established in 1903, the young company’s motorcycles were becoming increasingly popular, and additional manufacturing space was needed to supplement the main factory on Juneau Avenue.

The Factory No. 7 building provided the Harley-Davidson Motor Company with the production space to establish an automatic screw machine department. The invention of automatic screw machines, which automated the production of interchangeable metal machine parts, was an important milestone in the mass production of consumer goods. This automated production process required significantly less human labor and decreased the length of time needed to manufacture completed goods. The Factory No. 7’s automatic screw machines were operated day and night by 125 employees to produce motorcycle engine parts, including piston rings, fly wheels, cylinders, and pistons. The automatic screw machine department allowed the Harley-Davidson Motor Company to dramatically increase production and become one of the fastest-growing manufacturing companies in Milwaukee during the 1910s. In 1912, the company produced 9,571 motorcycles; by 1919, total production was 24,292. The “forecar,” a motorcycle-truck hybrid, was also manufactured at the Factory No. 7.

Harley-Davidson renewed their lease of the Factory No. 7 through 1920. During World War I, the Factory No. 7’s automatic screw machines produced parts for the more than 15,500 motorcycles supplied by Harley-Davidson to the United States War Department. After 1920, Harley-Davidson relocated their automatic screw machine department to their main factory site. Harley-Davidson’s success and rapid growth from a local Milwaukee manufacturer to an internationally recognized name in motorcycle production was made possible by the company’s embrace of industrial innovation. From 1913 through 1920, the Factory No. 7 played a crucial role as the home of Harley-Davidson’s automatic screw machine department during a pivotal period in the young company’s history when it escalated operations, created innovative products, and solidified its standing as one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the country.