The 2900 building structure is comprised of a metal frame clad in red brick. Examples of this type of warehouse construction can be found in Detroit areas near factories or heavy industry. This 3 story, 60,000 square foot structure was built in 1920 and originally served as an industrial distribution warehouse. The Thorn Apple Valley Inc. meatpacking company ran an operation from this facility till 1998.
Reference
B02 Archive
2900 Slaughter House
This 3 story, 60,000 square foot structure was built in 1920 and originally served as an industrial distribution warehouse. A now defunct tannery operated across the street. The Thorn Apple Valley Inc. meatpacking company ran an operation from this facility till 1998.
The exterior is composed of unadorned red brick typical of industrial warehouse construction during the 1920’s. Large graffiti pieces adorned the outer walls above several loading dock bays. It rained the the night before so water was dripping through the leaky roof. Pipes and boilers were The only remaining artifacts of interest.
Koenig Coal Silos (Detroit, MI)
Koenig Coal Coal Yard silos were built in the 1920’s. Koenig Coal was established in 1870 and were dealers that sold coal and wood. They had two office locations in Detroit (circa 1878). The 362 Atwater Street location contained a dock and the 368 Gratoit Ave location contained a coal and wood yard.
An artificial valley was used by trains running through the Milwaukee Junction. Train tracks have been removed and the area is a well known area for graffiti murals. There are always a few outstanding pieces to see and they get replaced regularly.
Reference
A61 Archive
Somewhere on the west side is this school and it has seen better times. The steady hum of traffic permeates the open windows devoid of glass. Inside is still and timeless as the entire site gradually falls into ruin.
The Bright Center For Continuing Education was formerly known as the Willard School to honor Frances Willard (educator, temperance reformer and women’s suffragist). A dedication plaque inside the building confirms this. This facility closed in the early 2000’s.
Reference
A59-2 Archive
1)The N.B.C building is a seven story fortress like warehouse. This Chicago School style building consists of a concrete structure with a brick facade, and accented by applied masonry. At first the only information available was that it was a bakery before WWII.
After some research a source clarified more details about the building. Apparently the National Biscuit Co. eventually became known as Nabisco during World War I. Quotes from an article by Lu Donnelly for the Young Preservationists Association address the history, function and design of the N.B.C buildings:
(2) “The success of Nabisco’s branding and advertising caused demand to exceed supply and the company launched a building campaign to provide enough bakeries for their popular crackers. The buildings commissioned by now company president Adolphus Green were different from the common manufacturing buildings of the World War I era. Green hired an architect full-time to design factories that would have enough style and dignity to inspire loyalty from the workers and act as shining models of modernity to the communities in which they stood (Cahn, 125). He hired Chicagoan Albert G. Zimmermann (1866-1947) to design the buildings using a soft colored brownish-orange brick with cream-colored brick trim and ranging from three to eleven stories. Zimmermann’s earlier practice had consisted mostly of residences and apartment buildings until his work for Nabisco. His Nabisco designs were featured in the American Architect magazine in both 1912 and 1916.”
Another excerpt from the article indicates when the Detroit N.B.C building was built.
(3) “After the war, between 1918 and 1925 new bakeries were built in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The new factories had a consistent look, similar reddish brick, multiple stories and stair towers increased the company’s ability to transport products to the grocer and people’s homes. (Cahn, 196)”
N.B.C is located in Detroit’s New Center area and seems to have been abandoned for some time. N.B.C’s close proximity to the railways may have given the company a competitive edge in product distribution to major areas of the American Market.
References
(1) www.emporis.com
(2)(3) Historic Review Commission of Pittsburgh. National Biscuit Company Bakery Historic Nomination, Lu Donnelly for the Young Preservationists Association, Page 3,4
74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:OOPTiGRFGC4J:www.youngpreser…
Sources
The American Architect, “The Buildings of the National Biscuit Company,” by W. F. Wilmoth, Volume 101, June 19, 1912, part 2 number 1904, pp. 270-272.
The American Architect, “Building for the National Biscuit Company,” Volume 109, March 22, 1916, part 1, number 2100.
The Builders’ Bulletin, Volume 1, #37 (Supplement) , May 12, 1917: Building Permit issued “National
Biscuit Co., Owners; Turner Construction Co., Contractors; Foundation, Penn & Lambert St., 12 Ward.”
Other relevant issues 1917-1919.
Cahn, William, Out of the Cracker Barrel: The Nabisco Story From Animal Crackers to Zu Zu’s. New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1969.
A59-2 Archive
