As many know, Emily & TJ are lovers of the arts, history, and community...

Currently, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts is a non-profit organization that transform lives through unique interactions with art.

However, opening in 1871, it is the first company in the United States to manufacture optical lenses (think reading glasses).

Interestingly, years later in 1938, the company aided in the war effort by making aviator goggles and high altitude oxygen masks for pilots in the military.

By 1943, the factory was manufacturing all of the sunglasses issued to the U.S. Military during World War II, and reached its peak at 1,300 workers.

Then, by 1950, Willson Products (now known as GoggleWorks) began to manufacture swimming goggles. During this year, Florence Chadwick wears them to traverse the English Channel.

Under the name Dalloz Safety Plant since 1997, the factory closed in 2002, ending the campus' 130 year history of manufacturing safety products.

Now, today, the campus is reimagined, renovated, and reopened as GoggleWorks Center for the Arts - now serving over 250,000 visitors annually and one of the largest interactive art center of its kind in the country.

GoggleWorks hosts art classes, boasts galleries, and serves as a retreat for many youth and adolescents interested in the arts!

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