Latest Structures Page 81

Russell A. Alger Jr. House - War Memorial Association, Grosse Pointe Farms Michigan

Russell A. Alger Jr. House - War Memorial Association, Grosse Pointe Farms Michigan

The Russell A. Alger, Jr., House is a major work of the nationally prominent architect, Charles Adam Platt of New York. Though Platt, renowned for his design of large country estates, designed a series of estates in the Grosse Pointe area, this is considered his most important commission. Designed in the Italian Renaissance style, the Alger House displays Platt's ability to integrate the house with its setting and gardens. The estate was the home of Russell A. Alger, Jr., the millionaire son of General Russell A. Alger, a Civil War hero, Detroit lumberman, Michigan Governor, U.S. Senator, and President McKinley's Secretary of War. Russell A. Alger, Jr. was one of the founders of the Packard Motor Car Company in 1903, and

Hawthorne Place, Natchez Mississippi

Hawthorne Place, Natchez Mississippi

Hawthorne Place is an outstanding example of a Natchez Federal-style cottage. The marked contrast between its cottage-like exterior and the grand scale of its interior spaces, coupled with the fineness of its millwork, sets it apart from other Federal-style cottages ea. Its brick-nogged frame construction is rare (only two other examples, Bedford Plantation and The Briers, are known to survive in the area), and its frame barn and carriage house are probably the oldest surviving buildings of their type in the vicinity of Natchez. Documentary evidence supported by stylistic comparisons indicates that Hawthorne Place was constructed at some time between 1820 and 1827, most probably between 1825 and 1827, as the residence of Maria Overaker and her widowed mother, Margaret Overaker.

Drexel and Company Building, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Drexel and Company Building, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

The Drexel Company was founded in the middle of the 19^th century. By 1893, when Anthony Drexel, the founder's son, died, the Drexel Company was allied with the house of Morgan, and had a reputation for integrity and creative visions that was unmatched. E. T. Stotesbury's stewardship, as head of the firm was equally rewarding, and the private banking house of Drexel Company continued to play a major national and international role until the Depression. The company was dissolved in the 1930s when changes in tax law made it impossible to retain business capital through succeeding generations. At the same time changes in interstate banking law made it impossible for the Philadelphia-based Drexel Bank to continue its relationship with the New

Consolidated Ice Company Factory No. 2, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Consolidated Ice Company Factory No. 2, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

At the time of its construction in 1907, Consolidated Ice Company Factory No. 2 was the largest ice manufacturing plant in the city, and contributed to the supplanting of the local natural ice industry. As refrigeration became an individual domestic appliance by the middle of the twentieth century, the importance of the ice manufacturing industry itself declined, and the factory was Closed in 1951. This factory building is one of the last surviving elements of the industry in Pittsburgh. Prior to the development of mechanical refrigeration in the late nineteenth century, the only practical ways to preserve foods were by drying or salting them. This limitation circumscribed the diets of all the world's peoples, and dictated the manner in which food

Class and Nachod Brewery, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Class and Nachod Brewery, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Situated at the northeast corner of N. 10^th Street and Montgomery Avenue in North Philadelphia, the Class and Nachod Brewery, constructed in 1911, stands as a unique and intact example of an early 20th-century Beaux Arts style brewery designed by an important brewery architect. Philadelphia architect Charles H. Caspar designed this impressive brewery early in his career. Capitalizing on the success of this early commission, Caspar went on to design brewery buildings for a number of Philadelphia breweries until the passage of the National Prohibition Act. The origins of the Class and Nachod Brewing Company can be traced to 1853 when Ferdinand Steinbach opened a brewery on the 1700 block of Marvine Street in North Philadelphia, just a few blocks from

Bergdoll Brewery - City Park Brewery, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Bergdoll Brewery - City Park Brewery, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

When Louis J. Bergdoll emigrated to the United States, an impoverished German immigrant in the mid-1800s, he came with few possessions, except the knowledge of brewing beer. This proved to be the asset upon which he built his career as one of Philadelphia's most important and prosperous businessmen. In 1849, Louis J. Bergdoll, Sr. founded the original plant of the Louis Bergdoll Company at 508 Vine Street in Philadelphia for the brewing of lager beer. The business was conducted under the firm name of Bergdoll and Schemm until, at the end of one year, Mr. Schemm withdrew from the firm. Charles Psotta associated with Louis Bergdoll soon after, and in 1856 the firm of Bergdoll and Psotta in need of more

Bristol Carpet Mills, Bristol Pennsylvania

Bristol Carpet Mills, Bristol Pennsylvania

The Bristol Carpet Mills played a role in the economic revitalization and industrial development of Bristol, helping to turn a depressed canal town into a major late-nineteenth-century manufacturing center. Along with the Grundy Mill and other smaller businesses, the Bristol Carpet Mills represented the positive impact of Joshua Pierce, industrialist and founder of the Bristol Improvement Company which made industrial sites available on the Pennsylvania Railroad near the Delaware Canal. Thomas Leedom, owner of the Bristol Carpet Mills, was an important manufacturer whose carpets were well received at the Centennial Exhibition. His incorporation of new technologies gave the Bristol Carpet Mills significance within the carpet industry. The building forms one of the principal landmarks of Bristol on the Philadelphia and Trenton

More Automobile Company - Marmon Autos, St. Louis Missouri

More Automobile Company - Marmon Autos, St. Louis Missouri

Built for the More Automobile Company, according to the design by St. Louis architect Francis C. Cornet, the building was completed in 1920. As is characteristic of many of the early automotive businesses in St. Louis, the More Automobile Company had started in a much smaller commercial storefront in 1914. Within five years, it could afford to commission a larger, four-story, corner commercial building at 2801 Locust. The new building had an entire first-floor showroom, ideal for displaying Marmon automobiles, and room for storage of the cars on the upper floors. The More Automobile Company remained in the building through 1928. The company closed its doors even before the economic depression that hit in 1929, unable to compete in a changing

Kenilworth Plantation House, St. Bernard Louisiana

Kenilworth Plantation House, St. Bernard Louisiana

Kenilworth is located in a portion of St. Bernard settled in the Spanish colonial period by immigrants from the Canary Islands known as Los Islenos. Some of the acreage on which the house was built can be traced back to land grants to Los Islenos. On March 8, 1824, creditors of Jean Chauveau and Vincent Rillieux sold the property to Durham Tudor Hall. Part of that transaction referred to Vincent Rillieux owning one-half of the plantation, upon which existed a dwelling house entirely new, a store, a stable, a sugar house . . . . The conveyance also included a drawing prepared by Joseph Pilie, City Surveyor, dated February 21, 1824. (Regrettably, this drawing is missing from extant records.) The first

Belle Hall Covered Bridge, Croton Ohio

Belle Hall Covered Bridge, Croton Ohio

The Belle Hall Covered Bridge is the last such structure remaining in Bennington Township, Licking County, and one of only seven left in a county that once had around eighty of these roofed spans. It was built in 1887. Attempts to find out the past history of this bridge have not been too successful. The bridge was named for a lady named Belle Hall who lived not far from the bridge. Her son, Gerald Hall still lived on Dutch Cross Road near the bridge. The old bridge spans little Otter Fork, a branch of the north fork, of the Licking River. Bennington Township never had more than 4 or 5 covered bridges and the Belle Hall Bridge has been the only

McColly Covered Bridge, Bloom Center Ohio

McColly Covered Bridge, Bloom Center Ohio

The McColly Bridge is an attractive and well-maintained example of the popular and sturdy Howe truss covered bridge. It was built in 1876 by the Anderson Green Company of Sidney, Ohio for $3,103. The contract awarded on July 7, 1876, called for a Howe truss covered bridge at $13.35 per linear foot. The stonework of the abutments and wing walls was done by T. B. Stillwell. The name McColly came from Nicholas McColly, an early resident of the area, who owned 245 acres of land near the bridge site. The McColly Bridge is just two-tenths of a mile north of the Greenville Treaty Line. This fine old covered structure is typical of the hundreds of Howe truss covered bridges that once

Dixie Plantation House, Franklin Louisiana

Dixie Plantation House, Franklin Louisiana

Dixie has a long and close association with Murphy J. Foster, a major figure in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Louisiana political history. Foster was a State Senator from 1880-1892, the political head of the 1890-92 anti-lottery movement, Governor from 1892 to 1990, and a United States Senator from 1901-1913. In 1913 he was appointed Collector of Customs for New Orleans by Woodrow Wilson and remained in that position until his death. Foster purchased Dixie in 1883, and it remained his principal residence throughout his political career. He died there on June 12, 1921. Of course, given the very nature of his career, Foster's time was divided between his home in Franklin and his political duties in Baton Rouge and Washington

Calumet Plantation House, Patterson Louisiana

Calumet Plantation House, Patterson Louisiana

Calumet Plantation was the name given by Daniel Thompson to a group of adjoining sugar plantations along Bayou Teche that he began assembling about 1866. The residence now known as Calumet was the O. and N. Cornay Plantation which he purchased in 1871. It was the home of Octave Cornay, who, with his brother, Numa, had built up a large sugar mill complex on land inherited from their mother, Mrs Henry Cornay, in an area known as Dutch Settlement. She had inherited from her parents, George Haydel and Marguerite Bossier. The original land grant was to Jean Baptiste Bossier. During the Civil War, it was the site of a number of engagements, most notable being the Battle of Bisland, in which

Harrison School, St. Louis Missouri

Harrison School, St. Louis Missouri

This Abandoned 35,000 Sq Ft Elementary School is For Sale

Harrison School, located at 4224 Fair Avenue in St. Louis, MO, is an example of the prototypical 19^th Century St. Louis elementary school design with modest Romanesque Revival features in its primary elevation. When constructed in 1895, Harrison School represented School Board Architect August H. Kirchner's interpretation of the mandated floor design set by the St. Louis Board of Education. With wide hallways and smaller classrooms, the original one-story building catered to the small number of children attending school in the Fairgrounds neighborhood of St. Louis, while implementing the requirements for increased light and air circulation. Additions to the top (1899) and rear (1909) of the building by Commissioner of Schools William B. Ittner, making it into the three-story building that

Central High School, St. Louis Missouri

Central High School, St. Louis Missouri

William B. Ittner designed Central High School in 1902 in his capacity as Architect and Commissioner of School Buildings for the St. Louis Board of Education. Ittner became nationally and even internationally recognized for his ideas regarding educational architecture during and after his career with the St. Louis Public Schools in particular for his Open Plan design of which Central is an excellent example. The school was originally named Yeatman High School (renamed Central High School in 1927) after James Yeatman, a local banker and philanthropist who served as president of the St. Louis Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. The school was designed in 1902, opened in 1904, and expanded per original plans in 1907. The neighborhood surrounding the school

Otis Hospital, Celina Ohio

Otis Hospital, Celina Ohio

Over 6,000 Babies were Born in this Small Town Hospital

The Otis Hospital is a rare example of the home-like health care once provided by a community doctor during the first quarter of the 20^th century. Mercer County's first hospital was founded in Celina in 1915 by Dr. Lloyd M. Otis and continued in operation under the direction of his son, Dr. James J. Otis, until 1977. Its present appearance and interior arrangement remain from 1921 and illustrate how a small hospital was self-contained. It is an example of a Civil War residence remodeled into an adapted prairie style by the Lima architectural firm, Hulsken and Strong, who built Mercer County's courthouse that same year. The hospital served the city and county continuously through the years. Yet in 1970, before the

Schine's Holland Theatre, Bellefontaine Ohio

Schine's Holland Theatre, Bellefontaine Ohio

The Holland, which is located just east of the principal north-south commercial street in downtown Bellefontaine, Ohio, was built and operated by The Schine Circuit Theatres. This chain owned some 150 theaters in six states (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) during the early and middle 20^th century. The company located its theaters in small- and medium-sized cities, often owning two, three, or more theaters in a single city. The Schine theater empire was founded by two brothers, J. Myer (1891-1971) and Louis W. (1893-1956) Schine. Arriving as boys from Latvia in 1902, the Schine brothers settled with their family in Jamestown, New York, and immediately began their working lives. Myer took a job as a mill hand, while

Castle Ballroom, St. Louis Missouri

Castle Ballroom, St. Louis Missouri

The Castle Ballroom, located at 2839 - 2845 Olive Street in St. Louis, Missouri, was built in 1908 as Cave Hall, the venue was designed as a dance hall and dancing academy. Cave Hall became one of the major venues for social dancing and dance instruction in St. Louis prior to the dawn of the Jazz Age. By the 1930s, changing tastes in music and the nature of social dancing had transformed the city's dancing scene into one that was driven by jazz bands rather than dance orchestras, and the renamed Castle Ballroom hosted many of the most famous acts of the 1930s and 1940s. Located at the edge of St. Louis' storied Mill Creek Valley neighborhood, the Castle became one

Reed Covered Bridge, Marysville Ohio

Reed Covered Bridge, Marysville Ohio

Reuban Partridge made his home in Marysville, the county seat of Union County and was quite well-known there. He built covered bridges in Delaware, Franklin and Union Counties and at one time was an officer in the Columbus Bridge Company. Mr. Partridge has the unhappy distinction of being the only Ohio covered bridge builder that we know of to give his life to his profession. He fell through the timbers of a bridge under construction in 1900 and was fatally injured. He was 77 years old at the time and still active as a builder. Only 6 Partridge truss bridges are left, 5 in Union County and one in Franklin County, Ohio. The 5 in Union County were undoubtedly built by

The Rotunda - Kahn's Department Store, Oakland California

The Rotunda - Kahn's Department Store, Oakland California

When it was first built, the store was the third-largest department store in California and the largest and most elaborate in Oakland. The elliptical dome was said to be the largest in the world. The building was originally designed for the Kahn Department Store in 1912. The business originated in 1879 as a dry goods store at Twelfth and Broadway in Oakland. Israel Kahn, the founder, was originally from Germany. He moved to New York City and then to San Francisco in 1877. Shortly after he relocated in Oakland. Upon his death in 1883, the business was left to his sons, Henry, Solomon, and Frederick. In 1909 Solomon's son, Irving, entered the business. The store was first known as Kahn and

Book Title Abandoned Places: A Photographic Exploration of More Than 100 Worlds We Have Left Behind

Abandoned Places: A Photographic Exploration of More Than 100 Worlds We Have Left Behind

Book Title Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences (Jonglez photo books)

Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences (Jonglez photo books)

Book Title Abandoned Industrial Places: Factories, laboratories, mills and mines that the world left behind (Abandoned Places)

Abandoned Industrial Places: Factories, laboratories, mills and mines that the world left behind (Abandoned Places)

Book Title Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks

Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks

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