History of the Building

The former Shaw Walker Furniture Factory is now the Watermark Center. The Watermark is a million square feet, mixed use development in Muskegon, Michigan.

About the Shaw Walker Furniture Factory:

In 1899, 2 men from Muskegon, A.W. Shaw and L.C. Walker formed Shaw-Walker and opened shop originally in the Opera House block. Their equipment consisted of 2 presses, a cutting machine and tabbers on which they printed and cut 3 x 5" index cards. This led to their first product line called a "system" housing the cards in small wooden cabinets with drawers. They focused on developing record-keeping systems and office equipment to help all types of business.

Steel filing cabinets made an appearance early in the century and Shaw-Walker introduced the first "Built Like a Skyscraper" steel cabinet in 1913. Shortly after, in 1929, they introduced "A work-organizing Desk." The real revolution came in 1937 with the launch of the new- "Low Desk for Comfort" with a new working height of 29" vs. the old industry standard of 30 1/2".

Throughout Shaw-Walker's history, amazing advances in office equipment occurred as a result of their persistence, engineering and ideas. The Shaw-Walker Company played an integral role in the introduction of labor and space-saving equipment into the business office.