Vintage Vornado Fans from Kansas
By James Grahame
The original Vornado fans were built in Wichita, Kansas in the 1940s and 1950s by the O.A. Sutton Company. The old company is long-gone, but the Vornado name was revived in 1989. The company now has a 120,000 square foot headquarters in Andover, Kansas.
The $99.99 Vornado fan is a modernized version of the original from the 1950s. It measures approximately 14" in height and offers three fan speeds capable of moving air up to 65 feet. It's available in a single vintage shade of green (although the company site alludes to a "classic black" version) and the all-metal construction sets it apart from the cheap plastic devices you're likely to stumble across at the local Wal-Mart.
"Celebrate the classic style of the 1950's with this reinvented Vintage Vornado Fan which is actually not a fan at all, but an air circulator. The difference is in the technology; an air circulator uses vortex action and provides complete air circulation. Built with solid metal construction and deep pitch whisper-quiet blades, this circulator delivers high style along with powerful air circulation." [thanks to Joe Montanez for the tip!]
Classic Vornado Air Circulator [Vornado Air LLC]
