Remnant of the Old West stands in Cincinnati

Photo courtesy of Schulhoff Tool Rental

For years, customers who came to Schulhoff Tool Rental, Cincinnati, thought they had walked onto the Hollywood set for a Western movie. Making the operation look like the Old West was a dream of company founder George Schulhoff.

“Mr. Schulhoff liked Westerns and that look,” says current co-owner Mike Whalen, who took ownership of the operation along with his brothers, Pat and Mark, in the late 1980s.

The Western theme was introduced in 1973, resulting in the “Tool Rental Corral.” According to the company website, Schulhoff:

• Installed cedar siding on all exterior walls.
• Added gaslights in front of the building entrance.
• Acquired antiques and photographs that brought the whole concept to life.
• Designed a Western town inside the warehouse, with façades that included a general store, the Church of the Holy Spirit, the sheriff’s office and the Red Dog Saloon, highlighting the fact that lunch was just 5 cents.

That design lasted until 2006, when the new warehouse was completed. “The Western town had to make way for the shop,” Mike says. “When the warehouse was done, we moved all the rental equipment there. That allowed us to renovate the space into our current shop facility. The renovation included the installation of three new overhead doors and a new ventilation system as well as the enlargement of the shop floor.”

Today, the only remnant of this unique design element is the cedar siding on the front of the main Schulhoff building that helps transport customers back in time to the days of the Old West.