hard to find all original painted metal exterior "automatic sprinkler" fire alarm gong or bell designed and fabricated by the grinnell company, new haven, ct. the oversized bell or gong contains a nicely distressed red enameled finish applied over the perforated housing. the chicago building facade bell was in working condition prior to its removal. frederick grinnell was born in 1836 at new bedford, massachusetts, usa. in 1855, he graduated from rensselaer polytechnic institute. inventor, engineer, and industrialist, grinnell was the creator of the first practical automatic fire sprinkler, which made an enormous contribution to fire safety. earlier in his career, he was draftsman, construction engineer, and manager for various railroad manufacturers. he designed and oversaw construction of more than 100 locomotives. in 1869 he purchased a controlling interest in a company that manufactured fire-extinguishing apparatus. grinnell licensed a sprinkler device patented by henry s. parmalee, then worked to improve the invention, and in 1881 patented the automatic sprinkler that bears his name. he continued to improve the device and in 1890 invented the glass disc sprinkler, essentially the same as that in use today. such sprinklers are called le grinnells in france. he secured some 40 distinct patents for improvements on his sprinklers and invented a dry pipe valve and automatic fire-alarm system as well. in 1892, grinnell organized the general fire extinguisher co., an amalgamation of several smaller companies, which became the foremost organization in its field of manufacture. grinnell died in 1905 in his home town of new bedford. in 1919, general fire extinguisher co. was renamed grinnell co. in 1969, grinnell co. was purchased by itt (international telephone & telegraph) and became itt grinnell. a few years later, itt grinnell sold its us industrial activities to tyco international. grinnell remains today a trade mark inside the tyco group. in 2001, grinnell fire protection was merged with the simplex time recorder company to form simplexgrinnell, which is the largest fire protection company in the world.