Columbia Records vinyl record pressing plant in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It opened in 1953 and closed in December 1982.
In June of 1953, Columbia Records bought the 36,000 square foot Eaton O'Neill Furniture factory on North Fruitridge Avenue in Terre Haute. The first record pressed was "Christmas with Arthur Godfrey" on December 7, 1953. In December of 1957, the first 12" LP records were produced alongside 7" singles. In 1966, A former supermarket on Lafayette Avenue becomes the tape duplication facility for Columbia Records where 4-track and then 8-tracks were duplicated there. By 1969 with the demand of prerecorded tape growing, the tape plant expands to the Fruitridge complex as well as cassette duplication added into the facility. The plant closed in late 1982 with final paychecks delivered to employees December 17. Operations were moved elsewhere within the Columbia system. In 1983, most manufacturing and distribution was moved from Terre Haute to Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA. In 1984, a new facility was built by CBS Inc. and the Sony Corporation in Terre Haute to produce compact discs: DADC.
Identifiers for Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute pressings:
- "CTH", or "CT" matrix code suffix . (e.g. ST-A-702035CTH) and possibly a "CT" stamped into the matrix.
- Large "T" etched in runouts. Many times it will be a "T1","T2", or "1T", "2T".
- "Y" or "y" printed on labels (see Joe Jackson - Steppin' Out b/w Chinatown for an example).
- "73" printed on Labels (Note: Please don't add that number as cat# in the LCCN Pressed-by field).
From 1979 to 1981, PolyGram product (on labels such as Mercury, Polydor, RSO, and Casablanca) pressed in Terre Haute was identified on the label by a '73'.)
- On Capitol Records contract pressings, the number 53 in the runout, and a large-sized pressing ring on the labels.
- On black-and-white printed back covers of albums made between the late 1960's and into the late '70's, an 'A' around the lower right hand corner. (Pitman pressings featured a 'heart' symbol, and Santa Maria pressings a regular 'S' in the late '60's, and a more 'blobby' looking 'S in the '70's.)
Other runout indicators:
TX: Mastered At (i.e. plated) and Pressed By - Terre Haute.
TXG: Mastered At (i.e. plated) - Terre Haute and Pressed By -Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA.
TXS: Mastered At (i.e. plated) - Terre Haute and Pressed By -Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria.
SXT: Mastered At (i.e. plated) - Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria and Pressed By - Terre Haute.
PXT: Mastered At (i.e. plated) - Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman and Pressed By - Terre Haute.
XTMR: Mastered At (i.e. plated) - Monarch Record Mfg. Co. and Pressed By - Terre Haute.
This plant is known to have pressed for ABC Records, ATCO Records, Bearsville, Warner Bros. Records, RCA Records, Epic, Capitol Records, Mercury, MCA Records, and Original Sound.
