There was a company in Chicago in 1933-34 called the Eastman Coal
Company.  It was located at 3443 S. Lasalle St.  The company is not at
that location any longer.  I want to find out
1. Does the company still exist? If so where?
2. If it does not exist by that name anymore, does it go by a different name?

I found a company by the name of the Eastman Chemical Company
http://www.eastman.com/About_Eastman/The_Company/Company_Profile.asp

I believe that this might be the same company that has grown into what
it is today.  However, I placed a cold call into their offices in
Kingsport, Tennessee and the person I spoke with in research said that
they had never been in Chicago.
I am hoping that you might be able to check and if this is the same
company send me some sort of verifiable proof that links the two
together.
Obviously, the more detailed the information, the better the tip.  Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 02 Oct 2004 02:17 PDT

Not much luck yet on the fate of this company, but I did find a few tidbits:

--From 1952 Chicago Tribune:

Claude N. Eastman....a prominent coal merchant in Chicago for 42
years, died yesterday...He founded the Eastman Coal company in Iowa in
1902. He moved the company to Chicago in 1910 and retired last month.

--The company was also mentioned as still in operation in a 1970
article, but nothing more recent than that, I'm afraid.

--And Eastman Chemical did, in fact, have offices 208 SO LASALLE ST in
Chicago at one time, although I don't see anything to connect it to
Eastman Coal.


Is there anything else you can tell us about your interest in this
company?  Having a bit of context might help track it down.

Thanks.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by epson1280-ga on 02 Oct 2004 08:29 PDT

My Grandfather  Officer Thomas J. Murphy of the Chicago Police
Department was shot while attempting to stop an armed robbery of this
company at 11:50am on December 31, 1933.  He died from his injuries a
month later on February 1, 1934.
I am a 3rd Generation Chicago Police Officer and am currently envolved
with a project to build an everlasting tribute to the more than 420
Chicago Police Officers who have been killed in the line of duty since
1854. www.cpdmemorial.org
I have had success with businesses contributing to the project when I
have approached them and shown them that an Officer was killed while
defending their interests.
Good Luck

I don't know about Eastman Coal, but I can assure you that Eastman
Chemical probably had nothing to do with this, especially in line with
the fact that it was named after a Chicagoan.

Eastman Chemical was once a part of Eastman Kodak, founded by the
camera maker George Eastman, and originally had its main offices in
Rochester, NY along with the rest of Kodak.

Eastman Chemical Company was founded "in 1920 to supply basic
photographic chemicals for Eastman Kodak Company" and "became an
independent publicly traded company in January 1994":
http://www.chembuyersguide.com/partners/eastman.html