Former Wards Mail Order Distribution Center and Store in MD

Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store, Baltimore Maryland

Date added: June 04, 2024 Categories:

South and west elevations from Washington Boulevard (2000)

The Baltimore Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store is a large fireproof warehouse of the early 20^th Century. Among its distinctive characteristics are: extensive use of reinforced concrete as a fire safety measure, installation of large multi-paned windows to provide light and ventilation for the building, incorporation of a train shed into the building design for ease of shipping and handling materials, and the early stylistic combination of Commercial style architectural elements with Art Deco details. Designed by in-house company Engineer of Construction, W. H. McCaully, it is one of nine large warehouses built by Montgomery Wards in the United States. This was the seventh of nine large warehouses built by Montgomery Ward and Company throughout the United States in the early twentieth century representing the peak of the mail order/catalog industry. Montgomery Ward located its Atlantic Coast Headquarters in Baltimore largely due to the efforts of the city government and the Industrial Bureau of the Association of Commerce to attract new businesses.

The building not only housed a regional warehouse, but a major retail outlet. For nearly sixty years, Montgomery Ward was a major business in Baltimore. It employed thousands of people, sent out hundreds of thousands of catalogs emblazoned with the name Baltimore to customers throughout the eastern seaboard and provided a new shopping alternative to generations of Baltimoreans.

Montgomery Ward and Company pioneered the mail-order industry in the United States. As one of only nine buildings of its kind in the country, the Baltimore plant played a major role in this commercial enterprise. Montgomery Ward and Company was founded in Chicago in 1872 with a one-page price list sent out to members of a farming organization. Although other retail establishments sold goods by mail order before this date, none were exclusively mail order operations and none could match Montgomery Ward in the variety of items sold. By 1883, its catalog had grown to 240 pages and sold 10,000 items. By the turn of the century, its catalog was over a thousand pages with 70,000 items. Total sales were over $8,7000,000 and the company built a huge warehouse in Chicago to house its operations.

Montgomery Ward flourished in an era when the population of the United States was predominately rural. Farmers were isolated from manufacturers of goods and depended upon small general stores, peddlers, and retail middlemen to purchase necessities. Farmers could buy some items directly from manufacturers, but many businesses did not sell directly to consumers. Montgomery Ward filled a market niche by purchasing large quantities of merchandise directly from manufacturers, advertising these products through catalogs, and selling them directly to farming communities at a lower price than was previously available. The low cost of mail and shipping rates turned the catalog businesses into a profitable venture.

In the 1890s, Sears, Roebuck and Company began to compete directly with Montgomery Ward and by the early twentieth century surpassed Montgomery Ward in sales due to aggressive advertising and cheaper prices. Throughout the early twentieth century, Montgomery Ward and Sears competed with each other in the lucrative mail order/catalog business. In order to operate more efficiently, and ship goods throughout the country, regional warehouses were established. Montgomery Ward branched out to Kansas City, Missouri in 1907, followed by Forth Worth, Texas and Portland, Oregon. Expansion continued after World War I, with Montgomery Ward opening warehouses in new regions. The St. Paul, Minnesota and Oakland, California warehouses were built in the early 1920s. Until this time, all of its major operations were located in the West and Mid-West. An eastern seaboard location was needed to efficiently process orders on the East Coast.

The Baltimore Association of Commerce, through its Industrial Bureau first contacted Montgomery Ward officials in the autumn of 1919 suggesting Baltimore as a location for an eastern regional headquarters. A complete report was submitted to company officials the following year, however an economic downturn from 1920 to 1921 foreclosed the possibility of expansion. It wasn't until March 1924, that Montgomery Ward officials resumed discussions with the Industrial Bureau to find a possible site for its Atlantic Coast headquarters. Philadelphia was competing with Baltimore to attract this business.

Montgomery Ward specifically requested a site with railroad access next to park land. The most promising location was a ten acre parcel of land across Monroe Street from Carroll Park. The site had been purchased by the Board of Park Commissioners to expand Carroll Park, however it had been leased to the federal government for use as a munitions plant during World War I. After the war, the Lyk-Glass Auto Painting Corporation occupied the site.

The Vice President of Montgomery Ward, George B. Everitt met with Mayor Jackson, the City Solicitor and members of the Park Board in August 1924. As a result of this meeting, Baltimore City officials agreed to sell this park property to Montgomery Ward for the construction of their eastern warehouse. With the approval of the City Council and Board of Estimates, the land was sold for $115,000 - $11,500 per acre, which was approximately $3,000 more than its assessed value. The proceeds of the sale were turned over to the Park Board for use in purchasing park property at other locations.

In an open letter to the people of Baltimore printed in the Baltimore Sun of July 26^th, 1925, Theodore F. Merseles, President of Montgomery Ward and Company, explained that fine public spirit and interest shown by officials and citizens of Baltimore was a major factor influencing the company to select Baltimore for its Eastern Headquarters. He thanked the Mayor, City Council, Park Commissioners, and Industrial Bureau of the Association of Commerce, among others, for invaluable aid.

This effort to sell parkland to a private business entity was an early example of a private-public partnership to help spur economic development. Most businesses in this era acquired land privately. The role of both a civic association and the city government to actively assist a private entity to acquire a site for business purposes foreshadowed modern-day economic development programs of state and local governments.

Montgomery Ward was an important addition to Baltimore's commercial life. Not only would it employ approximately 1,500 residents, but it would also purchase locally manufactured goods for sale through its catalog. In addition, the Montgomery Ward Catalog would advertise Baltimore to its customers. "Baltimore" was prominently displayed on all catalogs sent out throughout the eastern seaboard, newspaper advertisements, sales circulars, and merchandise shipped to customers. The amount of mail generated by this company required its own postal zone in WW II and increased mail receipts in Baltimore by an estimated 10%.

In order to house this immense business concern, a warehouse of gigantic proportions was designed by the Montgomery Ward, in-house Engineer of Construction, W.H. McCaully. He also designed Montgomery Ward warehouses in Portland, Oregon, St. Paul, Minnesota and Oakland, California.

Since this facility was to handle orders and ship goods throughout the Eastern Seaboard, a mammoth building was needed. One of the main requirements was for fireproof construction, hence reinforced concrete was used throughout (walls, floors, structural columns and stairwells). Since wood was only used in the decorative lobby space and for storage racks, the building was virtually fire-proof, an important feature for a building housing a wealth of merchandise.

An innovative floor plan was devised roughly shaped like a squared-off numeral "4" in order to allow light and ventilation to the large open spaces throughout the building. Nearly 1,000 large multi-paned windows were utilized in this effort. For the most part, the building was illuminated by sunlight rather than electric light and was cooled by natural ventilation rather than electric fans, thereby lowering operating costs for this huge structure.

The efficient shipping and handling of goods was accomplished by incorporating a train shed within the design of the warehouse. While it was common for warehouse structures of this era to include a railroad siding for shipping and delivery, the train shed of this building was a central design element. The warehouse wings of the building wrapped around the central train shed and freight elevators were positioned along walls bordering the shed to speed the movement of goods throughout the building. Corkscrew chutes allowed for the quick movement of merchandise from upper to lower floors.

Although primarily a utilitarian structure, decorative elements combine three-part windows representative of the Commercial Style with roof ornamentation representative of Art Deco design. This represented a break from traditional Baltimore architecture which was often conservative and slow to embrace new styles. Although not a fully realized example of the Art Deco style, the Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store predates all other examples of Art Deco design in Baltimore as illustrated in Sherri Cucchiella's book Baltimore Deco.

This building was nationally recognized for excellence in warehouse design. The February 1926 issue of Architecture magazine illustrated an article on industrial buildings with a photograph of the Montgomery Ward warehouses for Baltimore and St. Paul.

The original building had a 464 foot frontage on Monroe Street and contained 700,000 square feet. Within two years the building was extended an additional 200 feet to the north, increasing its floor space to 1,200,000 square feet. It was called the largest mercantile building in Baltimore City and continues to dwarf other buildings of its type.

The Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store is much larger than other multi-story industrial structures in Baltimore. Since it was built shortly before the Depression, few commercial concerns approaching this size were constructed until post-World War II economic recovery. A few similar early twentieth century buildings were built in and around downtown Baltimore. The Candler Building, the McCormick Building (demolished 1989), the Industrial Building on East Preston Street, the Tin Deco Building and the Paca-Pratt Building are other examples of large, multi-story industrial/commercial type structures built in Baltimore. These buildings dating from 1905 through 1925, all had large multi-paned windows and most had reinforced concrete construction, often with masonry rather than concrete exteriors. None had over a million square feet of space, as does the Montgomery Ward Building.

Also these other building were located near the waterfront or in heavily built-up urban settings. The Montgomery Ward Building fronts a park and was located on what was then, the outskirts of Baltimore City. It was favorably compared at the time to the Maryland Casualty Company (today the Rotunda office building and shopping center) as a major business concern built outside of the downtown area. It's park setting had advantages for its employees and provided a pastoral setting for such a Major commercial concern.

The founder of the company, Arron Montgomery Ward (1844-1913), was not only known as a leading entrepreneur, but a defender of Chicago's waterfront parks. He sued the City of Chicago to keep buildings off the waterfront. The location of Baltimore's Montgomery Ward Building fronting on a public park is in keeping with the philosophy of the original founder of this company who encouraged the preservation of "breathing spots" for residents of urban areas.

Although the majority of the space in this building was taken up by warehouse and catalog operations, it also housed a retail store with 86 departments and 30,000 items. When it opened in 1925, Montgomery Ward retail outlets were only located in warehouse facilities, seven for the entire country. It wasn't until 1926 that individual retail or catalog stores were first opened by the company. This store may be considered the first suburban department store in Baltimore. Major local department stores did not open suburban branches until the 1940s. Sears opened its first Baltimore store in 1937 at North Avenue and Harford Road, which was also a more remote location than traditional downtown stores, however the Montgomery Ward Retail Store preceded Sears by twelve years. Original advertisements for this retail store prominently displayed "Plenty of Free Parking," one of the factors which encouraged major retail operations to move to suburban areas in the mid-twentieth century.

On Saturday, August 1^st, 1925, the Montgomery Ward facility was complete and opened its doors to the public. The open house was attended by Governor Albert Ritchie and Mayor Howard Jackson. The retail store was to have opened on August 3^rd, but thousands of local residents attending the open house wanted to purchase merchandise. Cash registers were opened and the store began operations two days earlier than intended. A letter of thanks signed by the store manager was incorporated in the store ad for Monday, August 3^rd with a "satisfaction-guaranteed pledge", an early trademark of Montgomery Ward.

Within two years the building was expanded by nearly 60% with the construction of building sections #4 and #5. Although Montgomery Ward sales were hampered by the Depression, the Baltimore Warehouse was one of the busiest in the country. After the Baltimore plant was built, a Denver Warehouse was constructed to serve Rocky Mountain States. East Coast sales grew to such a degree that in 1933 the last warehouse was built in Albany, New York. It catered to New England States formerly served by Baltimore.

Montgomery Ward was affected by the rapid urbanization of the United States, as well as, easy and quick motorized transportation. Direct retail sales in stores began to account for more business than catalog operations. With the construction of retail outlets, Montgomery Ward now competed with local department stores for customers within urban and suburban areas. Baltimore took on a new role as a central distribution center for shipping merchandise to retail outlets in the mid and south-Atlantic states. Even with the dominance of store sales, catalog operations continued to provide a service for rural customers. African Americans, who were not welcome to shop in some retail stores due to Jim Crow practices, could purchase quality merchandise through catalog companies, such as Montgomery Ward.

Due to conservative business practices after World War II, Montgomery Ward did not expand to the degree of its leading competitors, Sears and J. C. Penney. In the early 1960s, a major effort was made to expand and modernize facilities. The Baltimore Warehouse and Retail Store was altered in 1963 with a canopy, show windows and rock faced panels on the Monroe Street ground floor level. A major overhaul was planned by James R. Edmunds, Jr., a Baltimore architect, and the national construction firm, The Austin Company which would have also covered large portions of the building facade, but this was never accomplished. At roughly the same time a new one-story distribution center with 61 shipping bays was built southwest of the warehouse. Baltimore became one of five regional headquarters for Montgomery Ward.

In 1968, Montgomery Ward merged with Container Corporation of America to form Marcor, Inc. This corporation was acquired by Mobil Oil in 1976. In 1985, the corporation unveiled a specialty store strategy. Catalog sales were discontinued and many stores were closed, including the original Baltimore Montgomery Ward Retail Store. With the cessation of catalog sales, the warehouse was vacated. In 1988, senior management of the company bought out the Mobil Corporation interest and Wards became a privately held company.

The Portland building was re-named Montgomery Park in 1993 and converted into office space and an exhibition facility. The Oakland building was demolished for construction of a public school. The Denver and St. Paul buildings were imploded in 1993 and 1996, respectively. The Kansas City building now houses a huge flea market operation. The Albany building has been considered for re-use as state offices, but these plans have not come to fruition.

Site Description

Located on a 16.24-acre parcel of land in southwest Baltimore, the Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store is a mammoth eight-story (plus penthouse) concrete structure overlooking Carroll Park. Its immediate surroundings are other industrial buildings, railroad tracks, and a public park, including a 9-hole municipal golf course. The main building is roughly shaped like a squared-off number "4." It has a 642' front facade on Monroe Street facing the park. A penthouse tower at the main entrance bay features a balcony and is capped by a flagpole. Sections of the main building are defined by slightly protruding bays and pronounced roof line details. The eighth floor features segmental arched windows capped by keystones and flanked by concrete ornamentation influenced by Art Deco design. The northern building sections flank a former train shed. A narrow bridge encloses an 80' by 300' open courtyard above the shed. A second, smaller train shed is located adjacent to the railroad siding on the building's western elevation. The building houses over 1,200,000 square feet of floor space flooded by light from approximately 1,000 large multi-paned, steel frame, windows. Concrete columns 20 feet on center penetrate largely undivided interior spaces. Ceiling heights are approximately 16' on the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 8^th floors, and 12' on the remaining floors. Major alterations include a 1960s canopy and shuttered ground-level store windows on the Monroe Street facade, the enclosure of the train shed on the northern elevation, and drop ceilings hiding original entrance details on the first-floor interior. The overall condition of the building is good with the exception of peeling paint and some leaking pipes. The large, 1-story high "north building" dates from c. 1940. It was built as a mail order and retail warehouse adjacent to the railroad switch track.

The Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store was built in two stages. The original building was only 464' long on Monroe Street. Within two years of its completion, two 200' by 142' building sections designed to be identical to the original structure were added to the building and flank the main train shed. This addition offset the main entrance on Monroe Street which was originally centered along the front facade.

The main entrance comprises three bays. The original triple-segmental arched entrance extended above the first floor. It was removed in the early 1960s and replaced by a flat rock-faced finish surmounted by a projecting canopy extending into the front parking lot. The central entrance bay is punctuated by tripartite fenestration featuring a central window, four panes wide, flanked by three-pane wide windows. The other windows of the central bay are two-part, each four panes wide. The entrance bay is nine stories high with a tenth floor forming a tower. Segmental arched end windows on the ninth floor are flanked by large projecting Art Deco-inspired geometric ornaments. The tenth-floor tower bay features a double door set into a decorative surround with access to a massive concrete balcony.

Building Section #1 south of the entrance is ten bays wide. The southernmost bay, enclosing a stair tower, projects slightly from the facade and is defined by tripartite windows with three panes wide sections. A pronounced roofline defines the end of the building section. It is capped by a segmental arched crown and decorations mimicking the entrance bay. Above the ground level, a portion of the original end entrance surround is extant over the 1960s canopy. The other windows on the Monroe Street facade are wider comprising three, four pane wide sections. However, the tripartite windows just inside the end and entrance bays feature four pane wide central sections flanked by three bay wide end sections. The central sections of the steel frame windows feature hopper windows which can be opened out for ventilation. Three part panels define floor levels on each bay and are penetrated by a small central scupper at every other bay.

This first building section is only 84' wide and features four bays along Washington Boulevard. The Washington Boulevard elevation is similar to the front facade. However, the two central tripartite windows feature 5 pane wide central sections flanked by three pane wide ends. The western elevation of the building section features flatter details and lacks the keystones at the roof line. Windows are slightly wider. Each three-part window feature five pane wide central sections flanked by four pane wide ends. The central window section is only four panes wide for the bay immediately inside the end bay. A two story high boiler plant connects to the building along this elevation as well as a later addition to the retail store. A balcony passageway also cuts diagonally at the end of this elevation on the fourth floor level. Three passenger elevators and a stair tower are located at the northwestern corner of this building section.

Building Section #2 is styled in a similar manner as the first building section. There are ten bays along the Monroe Street facade with a pronounced end bay enclosing a stair tower. This building section and the remaining three are 142' wide as opposed to the 84' wide first building section. A two bay wide passageway connects to Building Section #3 to the west. Both the southern elevation facing Washington Boulevard and the western elevation facing the courtyard of these sections are less decorative than the Monroe Street front facade and feature slightly wider windows. The central bay on the courtyard and northern end bay enclose elevator towers.

Building Section #3 is identical to second building section, but since no exterior elevation fronts Carroll Park, all feature more restrained detailing. Large neon letters spelling out "Montgomery Ward" were installed along the roof line of the southern building elevation in 1951. It was later removed, but the support structure for this sign remains. Adjacent to the railroad siding, a 36' wide train shed is attached to this building section. Exterior finishes of this train shed are compatible to the rest of the main building.

Building Section #4 and Building Section #5 were added within two years of the completion of the original three building sections. They are each 200' by 142'. The Monroe Street front facade of building section #4 duplicates the details of the other building sections on Monroe Street. The remaining elevations feature more restrained detailing. An 80' long steel passageway clad in corrugated panels connects the two building sections approximately 60' from the northern building elevation. This passageway encloses the open courtyard above the central train shed. Windows punctuate the bridge only on the northern elevation. Elevator towers are located along the southern and central bays of the courtyard elevations Stair towers are located on the northernmost bay along the courtyard.

The interior of the building is primarily made up of large open spaces penetrated by round reinforced concrete columns 20 feet on center. The diameter of the columns is reduced as loads diminish on upper floor levels. The columns support 6" high, 8' by 8' plinth blocks. Plank-formed poured-in-place slabs form floors and ceilings throughout the building. Outer wall surfaces are also concrete. Brick partition walls with sliding industrial metal fire doors separate building sections 2 and 4, and building sections 3 and 5. Radiators located below large industrial windows heat the building. Lighting and ventilation is accomplished primarily from large industrial windows augmented by overhead fluorescent lights installed at a later date. Stairways are steel and concrete with plain metal pipe railings. Wooden racks and conveyor belts are located along some floor levels. Corkscrew-type chutes allow for the swift movement of merchandise from upper to lower floors. A circular stairway leads to the penthouse tower which houses a large water tank. Many of the lavatories have remained unchanged throughout the building's history. The building features an extensive exposed sprinkler system.

The decorative main entrance on Monroe Street features marble floors and plaster ceilings with egg and dart and acanthus leaf motifs. The round columns were originally enclosed within squared-off wood panels, but they have been removed. The decorative ceiling is hidden by drop acoustical tile. Modernized interior finishes were added to the retail store space which functioned until 1985. Round interior columns on the second floor store level feature a slightly decorative cap as compared to the Spartan industrial finish throughout warehouse spaces.

The roof of the central train shed is supported by a steel truss framework. The interior space is 22' high. A railroad siding original ran directly into the shed providing direct access for shipping and receiving. Railroad tracks are no longer evident in the interior, but portions of a later conveyor system are extant which was used to move goods throughout the building.

Directly north of the main building is the one story high "north building." It was originally built for additional warehouse space between 1933 and 1941. An insurance map dated July 10-11, 1933 does not show a building at this location, however, it is shown on a plot plan dated June 30^th, 1941. This building was built along the railroad switch track leading to the main train shed. Even though it has a large floor plan, the building's relatively low scale does not block views of the main building nor does it detract from its appearance. In fact, the exterior materials are similar in appearance to the main building, and it retains large multi-paned windows. Functionally it is compatible with the other structures.

This masonry building faced with stucco is 440' long along Monroe Street, 101' wide on its southern elevation and 250' wide on the northern elevation. The western elevation steps back along the railroad tracks and includes a loading dock covered by a metal canopy. Several loading doors and large multi-pane industrial steel windows punctuate the brick building walls. Other large industrial windows provide lighting and ventilation on the southern and northern elevations. The 15' building height recedes along the windowless Monroe Street eastern elevation as the topography rises at the northwest corner of the site. The interior of the building includes large open spaces and several smaller storage rooms. Steel columns break up interior spaces and support steel beams and the roof.

Five ancillary buildings that do not contribute to the character of the main building were connected to the original structure at a later date or built near it. A 55' by 150' masonry auto service building and a 16' high store addition connect to building section #1. An adjacent garden shop and outdoor sales facility are located directly west of these additions. A receiving building that wraps around building section #5 features eighteen loading bays and stands on the former site of the railroad siding leading to the main train shed. A 30' by 30' two-car garage stands next to the railroad siding just west of this irregularly shaped building.

Parking lots surround the building on three sides. The railroad siding bounds the property on the west. There are no substantial landscaping features on the site. A large one story distribution center building was constructed west of the railroad siding in 1963. It is connected to the main building by a tunnel underneath the railroad tracks. This building, was sold off separately from the structure.