Fisher 21′s stark and minimal exterior design is similar to other industrial buildings in the area. The interior contained control panels, conveyors, dynamos, heat lamp machines and kilns related to electroplating processes. Buffalo Vanexial heating and cooling pipes snaked throughout the facility and exiting from the roof.
In 1908 Fred and Charles Fisher started the Fisher 21Body Plant. In 1916 the company became a corporation and built bodies for an expanded client list of companies such as Abbot, Buick, Cadillac, Chalmers, Chandler, Chevrolet, Churchfield, Elmore, EMF, Ford, Herreshoff, Hudson, Krit, Oldsmobile, Packard, Regal, and Studebaker. Fisher bodies soon became the industry standard.
In 1919 the Fisher 21 Plant was built in the heart of the Milwaukee Junction. The six story plant was built with reinforced concrete after Albert Kahn’s designs similar to Packard Motors and Ford’s Highland Park Plant. Fisher 21 built car bodies for Buick and Cadillac from1919-1925.
After Buick moved to Flint Fisher 21 continued to produce bodies for Cadillac. In 1956 the plant started producing Cadillac limousine bodies until 1974. Fisher was dissolved when it merged with other General Motors operations in 1984. The last tenant was Carter Colour till the mid 1990’s.
A bright sunny day was punctuated with brief interludes of cloud cover which made for some interesting lighting conditions. Industrial artifacts relating to the electroplating process were still present and silently locked in their final tasks. Remnants of Buffalo Forge Vanexial heating and cooling pipes snaked throughout the entire site. Fisher’s factory windows cast a blueish hue as the the sound of highway traffic trailed off in the distance.
References
Part 1
A44-6, A44-13, A44-A2, A44-B2 Archives
Part 2
A44-13, A46-1, A46-2-AA2 (September 2007) Archives
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