Akron Soap Company - Pioneer Cereal, Akron Ohio

The building was constructed in 1893 by Adam Duncan for his enterprise, The Akron Soap Company. The Akron Soap Company used the building as a manufacturing facility to make "Grand and Electric Grip Soap" used for laundry, as well as some toilet soaps. The third floor housed four large vats, with capacities ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 pounds. The products were sold throughout Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York. The facility produced about 1,125,000 pounds of soap per week.

The Duncan family would be associated with several successful enterprises in Akron, and were among the leading entrepreneurs of the early 20^th century. They eventually expanded into feed binders, and meat processing with the Akron Abattoir Company. They also diversified into the oil and gas business with Duncan Oil Company, and tire manufacturing with The American Tire and Rubber Company.

The Soap Company was forced to move by complaints from neighboring residents about the smells from the rendering process in 1904.

The property only had one other single function, from 1908 to 1915; it was purchased and significantly expanded by the Pioneer Cereal Company. Pioneer declared bankruptcy in 1915. After 1915, the property was sold off in sections to a variety of owners with unrelated uses. By 1940, nearly all of the expansions made by the Pioneer Cereal Company were lost or removed. The remaining structure is essentially that which was purpose built by the Akron Soap Company.

The Founding of Akron, the Canal Era and Early Industry

The City of Akron was founded in 1825, as a result of the routing of the Ohio and Erie Canal, linking the Ohio River to the Great Lakes. The Canal was a critical milestone in western expansion of the United States. The canal made it possible for landholders to get agricultural goods to markets and moved Ohio from a state of subsistence farmers to one of greater production and prosperity.

In 1831, Dr. Elkiam Crosby, taking advantage of Akron's hilly topography, built a mill race from the Little Cuyahoga River, down to his mill alongside the canal at lock 5. The hydraulic power from "Crosby's Ditch" would lead to an immediate growth in the number of industries in Akron. The source of power provided by the race would soon drive several industries, a textile machinery plant, a furniture factory, several grist mills, and a distillery. With ample power for mills and easy access to markets via the canal, Akron soon became the processing center for wheat, barley, and corn. From 1832 to 1859 seven new mills would be constructed in Akron. Entrepreneurs like Ferdinand Schumacher, the "Oatmeal King," would make milling a multi-million dollar industry in Akron by the end of the century.

By 1852 the first railroad came to Akron, beginning the decline of the Canal Era. While the canal remained in service until the flood of 1913, its use as a means of transportation began to decline at an increasing rate after the Civil War.

Akron's growth during the canal and subsequent railroad era was the result of increased industrialization, beginning with milling and processing of grain that would be shipped from Akron, and eventually to other products such as, agricultural implements, matches, and clay pipe.

In 1871, the Valley Railway was chartered and construction began on a line from the coal fields, south of Canton, to the burgeoning steel industry in Cleveland. Coal fired power plants drove the growing industrialization that followed the Civil War. Rail transportation of coal was a key to success in the region. The line passed through Akron between the Ohio & Erie Canal and the Little Cuyahoga River. It continued northward through the Cuyahoga River Valley and into Cleveland. It supplied industry along its entire route. In 1890, the Baltimore and Ohio acquired controlling interest in the Valley Railway. In 1915, Baltimore and Ohio purchased the entire assets, and the line was renamed.

In the post-Civil War era, newer industries located near the rail lines. These included Ball, Aultman & Company (later Aultman, Miller and Company) and the Empire Mower and Reaper Company; both companies were major manufacturers of agricultural implements, and had large factories east of Broadway. Akron became a national leader in the production of mowers and reapers.

Other industries developed as well, The Barber Match Company was founded by George Barber in 1865, and eventually merged with twenty-eight other companies to form the Diamond Match Company in 1881. Clay products were also a big industry in Akron. Excellent area clay deposits were readily tapped as early as 1847 by Edwin Merrill and David Hill. Although the industry began primarily making pottery and stoneware, the production of roofing tile, sewer pipe, brick, and building tile spurred the growth of the industry. Production became more industrialized with these products. New machinery made better products in greater quantities. An advertisement listed in the 1871 City Directory by the H.P. Chapman Brick Company boasted the virtues of steam power pressed brick, "We claim that our Hotchkiss & Buss brick and tile machine will make better brick than can be made by hand or by any other machine. It makes the brick more compact, with a smoother face and ends, and sharper corners and edges, than brick made by machines using molds." In 1871 the Akron Sewer Pipe Company was established, and in 1879 the Robinson Clay Products Company was founded. The Robinson Company, in particular, grew exponentially, eventually branching out from making sewer pipe to include brick and other clay products. The Robinson's would use the capitol from their success to invest in other industries, such as The Akron Soap Company.

The last major industry of this period in Akron was printing and publishing. The Werner Company began in 1875, as the publishers of Akron Germania, a German language newspaper. However, by 1887, the company had branched out into other printing and publishing ventures. They built a new factory at the intersection of Union and Perkins. By 1906 it would become one of the largest printing houses in the country, with a colossal multi-building facility, producing more than 18 million volumes annually.

In 1860, Akron's population was 3,520, by 1870 it was 10,006, in 1880 it was 16,492, and in 1890, it was 27,601. These post-Civil War decades would see the city businesses change from small family productions to corporate industries with large regional and national distribution.

In 1870, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich built the first rubber factory west of the Alleghenies in Akron. With the help of George Crouse, secretary-treasurer of Buckeye Mower and Reaper, an appeal for investment was made to the Akron Board of Trade. The enterprise was supported by investments from many of the leaders of the existing industries, including John Seiberling (Empire Mower & Reaper) and Lewis Miller. Seiberling, one of the first to buy stock, stated, "There are many public-spirited men in Akron who are willing to back new ventures, that is, if they are as promising as yours." Seiberling's statement illustrates how investment from leading industrialists in the city helped to foster growth in all industries. Successful and established businesses invested in newer ventures. Each success spurred new growth and greater prosperity for the community. The new rubber factory was located near the Ohio and Erie Canal on South Main Street. He produced rubber belting for industry, rubber hoses, and packing. Much would change as a result of his move to Akron.

By the middle of the 1890s, the match industry had moved from Akron to nearby Barberton, the coal industry had died, and the rubber industry was also decreasing. The panic of 1893 left many factories closed and hundreds unemployed. However, in 1896, an important event turned the rubber industry back around. Bicycle manufacturer Alexander Winston wrote to Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, asking him to make extra-strong bicycle tires for a "horseless carriage." By 1898, the first car was made and sold in the United States, and the rubber industry was about to experience a major boom. Also in 1898, F. A. Seiberling (son of John Seiberling) began the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. By the turn of the century, Firestone Rubber Company and Diamond Rubber Company had also been established in Akron. In 1905, Harvey Firestone was commissioned to supply tires for cars produced by Henry Ford. General Tire then came to Akron in 1915.

Between 1910 and 1920, Akron's population had tripled in size, increasing from 69,067 to 208,435. It was the fastest growing industrialized city in the nation. The city known as "the Tip-Top City" in the 1890s became "the City of Opportunity" and "the Rubber Capital of the World" in the 1920s.

History of the Akron Soap Company & Building

In the Akron City Directory of 1859, two soap and candlemakers are listed, John J. Grether and Andrew Quinn. Their supply of tallow probably came from the four meat stores located in town, as well as the local sausage maker, Rentschler. By 1883, only John Grether is still listed, at 717 South Broadway. Adam Duncan, soapboiler, arrived in Akron in 1884.

Akron Soap 1893 -1904

In 1848, Alexander B. Duncan started a soap manufacturing company in Cleveland. He continued the business in Cleveland until the early 1880s. His son Adam had worked in the family soap-making business. In 1884, Adam Duncan brought his wife and two young sons to Akron and established a soap-making business in an old two-story stone building (later demolished) adjacent to the Little Cuyahoga River on Case Avenue (then East Water Street) near Bank Street. Like his father, Adam Duncan collected meat scraps from local butchers and rendered them in the factory. In 1891, the company incorporated; partners included Adam Duncan, Linus H. Williams, Revel E. Abbott, Hannah Abbot and Sarah Williams. Hannah Abbot is Adam Duncan's sister. The company continued to grow and Sanborn insurance maps indicate that by 1892, the company had raised the roof of the old stone building in order to add a third floor. The factory was located in the Middlebury area of the City, near a number of the clay production companies and the homes of Akron's successful Robinson family, of Robinson Clay Products.

In the fall of 1892, with capitol of $100,000, construction began on the new building at the intersection of Furnace and North Streets. The Akron Beacon Journal, on December 7^th, 1892, described the growth of the company and the commencement of construction of the new facility. The Akron Soap Company had re-incorporated in November 1892, with investment from a number of local businessmen. "The men connected with this company are some of the city's best business men and for energy, capital and enterprise the company lacks nothing." The article goes on to describe the election of officers, Henry A. Robinson, Park T. Robinson, John T. Donahue, and E. M. Buel. The contractor was identified as Windsor Brothers. "The building will contain only pressed brick, and will be one of the finest and most substantial factory buildings in the city." William Windsor and Sons are advertised in the 1892 City Directory as "Contractors and Builders in Brick and Stone, Pressed Brick and Fire Brick Work a Specialty."

The Standard Oil Company had previously owned the three-acre site and was adjacent to the Valley Rail Line. The Little Cuyahoga River is located to the north of the building, and the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal was to the south of the site. The new building was completed in the spring of 1893, and the operations began on July 1^st.

The new structure consisted of 3 parts, a one-story boiler (engine) plant to the west, a three-story section, and a two-story section. Typical of the type of industrial building built during the last quarter of the 19^th Century, it had brick masonry walls, a truss-supported gable roof, and large timber framing members supporting multiple floor levels. The rendering of fats took place on the third floor where four enormous vats were located. According to a newspaper account in the Akron Beacon Journal on January 6^th, 1894, describing the new facility, three of the vats had a capacity of 30,000 pounds, and the fourth held 60,000 pounds. The first and second floors were used for cooling, processing, and packaging.

The Akron Soap Company's new factory could process the contents of the largest kettle in about 4 days, and produce about 1,500 boxes of soap (75 bars) in a week. This was the equivalent of about 1,125,000 pounds of soap per week. That same news article lists Henry A. Robinson as the company president, John T. Windsor (the contractor) as vice-president, Park T. Robinson as secretary and treasurer, and Adam Duncan as superintendent. The Akron Soap Company produced "Calla," "Grand," and "Electric Grip" Soaps, for bathing and laundry. A Sanborn insurance map of 1904 shows the building as having steam-generated power and heat with a coal-fired boiler, and city water as well as rainwater cisterns in the roof and underground. An office is located in the northeast corner and an elevator is indicated in the southeast corner of the three-story wing. Lanterns provide the lighting, and a small steam pump is listed as part of the facility's equipment.

Henry A. and Park T. Robinson were third-generation entrepreneurs of the Robinson Clay Products Company. Their grandfather, William Robinson, was born in Staffordshire England. He was a potter by trade and after immigrating to the United States, established a pottery manufacturing company in Akron. Three of his sons, William, Thomas and Henry, as well as two of his sons-in-law, would lead the second generation of growth for the company, expanding into sewer pipe, brick, and tile manufacture. Henry A. and Park T. were Thomas's sons and the third generation of the family in the clay products business. Their involvement in the expansion of the Akron Soap Company is one of diversification and investment. They likely had much in common with Adam Duncan and his sons. The Robinson Clay Products company was founded as a craft-based business, started by a previous generation, and they, like Duncan, had the vision and drive to expand it into a modern industry. In illustration of the change within a single generation, the 1880 census lists Thomas Robinson's occupation as "potter," and the 1900 census lists his son Henry A. Robinson's occupation as "capitalist."

In 1892-1893 the Akron Soap Company is the only soap manufacturing concern in Akron. Advertisements from these years advertise the brands of "Grand" and "Electric Grip" soaps for laundry and "Calla" bath soap advertised as a "fine, white floater." Calla is clearly designed and intended to compete with the Cincinnati soap manufacturer Procter and Gamble's "Ivory." Ivory, introduced in 1879, was the catalyst of the prosperity of the Procter and Gamble Company. Ivory's popularity took the company value from its original assets of $7,000 to over $3,000,000 in 1890. For the Akron Soap Company, local advertisements state that Akron consumers should buy Akron made soap. Several include testimonials in praise of the laundry soap from local grocers, "We … find it very easy to sell in preference to brands made by old and long established soap firms." The Akron Soap Company competed at this time with the other large firms, distribution of the company products extended beyond Ohio to New York, Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.

Within a short period of time, neighboring residents began to complain about the smells from the rendering process. In June of 1899, a suit was filed against the company in Akron Mayor's Court, citing that the business was offensive to the neighborhood. A year later, it is still unresolved, "Sanitary Policeman, M.W.Hoye has filed a affidavit in Mayor's Court against Adam Duncan, proprietor of the Akron Soap Company's plant, accusing him of permitting the plant to become offensive in odor to the community in which it is located." (Akron Democrat, June 1900) In September 1900, Adam Duncan issued a plea in the Akron Democrat, "Don't knock against enterprises that help Akron." The article argues that the enterprise is creating jobs, and that efforts are made to control the odors. Duncan states that he is doing all he can to remedy the alleged nuisance and that any incidental escape of unpleasant odors is due to employee carelessness. Eventually, enough pressure was put on the company by the City officials, and by 1902, they began looking for a new site outside the city limits. While the new plant is being constructed, threats of an injunction to halt all production at the plant are made by the neighbors. The city prosecutor, T.E. Wells, is called upon to begin legal proceedings. (Akron Democrat)

In 1904, the company re-incorporated, now with Adam Duncan's two oldest sons, Alexander and Archibald as partners, along with E. E. Otis, W.M. Graham, and J.S. Berner. That same year a new factory was built on Cuyahoga Street, outside the city limits.

Later on, the Cuyahoga Street site, a separate company, The Akron Abattoir, was built by the Duncan family and they embarked on the business of providing slaughtering and wholesale meat processing. The Akron Abattoir Company provided "Rentschlerizing," a new process of tenderizing that also killed bacteria by exposing the meat to ultraviolet light. They also built a second plant in Youngstown. By the end of the 1930s they would cease manufacturing most soap products. Instead, they provided rendered fats to larger soap companies and to manufacturers of feed products for binder. Adam Duncan also founded the Duncan Oil Company in 1919 and the American Tire Company in 1910. By the 1920s, the Duncan Oil Company boasted 55 stations in the Akron Area and 125 stations in the Youngstown area. At the time of his death in 1924, Adam Duncan was regarded as one of the leading figures in the City. Of his major enterprises, only the American Tire Company Building, and the 1893 Akron Soap Company Factory still stands.

The issues that drove the Akron Soap Company to construct a new facility outside the City limits are illustrative of the national trend to develop zoning laws. Zoning laws did not begin appearing in the United States until about 1916, and did not become commonplace until after the landmark case of Euclid vs. Ambler Realty, in 1926. Increased industrialization after the Civil War, spurred exponential growth in American cities. A lack of planning for that growth led to continued conflicts between residential and industrial uses. Prior to zoning laws, residential developments would include deed restrictions to prevent non-residential uses from building in residential areas. In Cleveland, the burgeoning suburb of Shaker Heights was an example. In Akron, a prime example was the 1901 Portage Park Allotment development constructed on the west side of the city by Will Christy and Gus Kasch. Christy and Kasch placed strict restrictions on the development and advertised it as "West of the Smoke" of Akron's factories. The Portage Park advertisements coincide with the years (1899-1902) that the battle between the City, the residents, and Duncan is publicly debated in the newspaper. Adam Duncan was pursued by complaints from nearby residents about the smells from his new factory, until finally a threat of a city injunction forced him to move the factory to the outskirts. The approach to using deed restrictions were frequently challenged in the courts and cities of the Progressive Era began to look for wider-reaching government-based solutions to the problems of city planning. (Wolf) Cases such as the Akron Soap Company helped to spur public acceptance of zoning laws. Once Ohio passed legislation in 1915, allowing municipalities to create local Planning Commissions, Akron acted quickly hiring City Planner John Nolen to help create a plan and the first Planning Commission. Among the first members of that Planning Commission was Will Christy.

Soap-making Industry

In pre-industrialized America, soap-making was either a household craft, or where available, produced by the local soapboiler. In soap-making, the waste fats from slaughtering and butchering cows (tallow) and pigs (lard) would be collected and rendered. In a typical rendering process, an equal amount of water was added, and the contents boiled. After boiling, the mixture was allowed to cool. The waste solids settled to the bottom of the vat, while the fats floated to the top and solidified as they cooled. The rendered fat was then scraped off. To the rendered fat, lye, made from potash or pearl ash, was added. Homemade soaps were typically soft and kept in jars.

Once wholesale meat processing began in American cities, a ready supply of waste fat was available in large quantities. This material was collected by chandlers for the manufacture of tallow candles and by soapboilers for soapmaking. Eventually, other alkali was substituted for the harsh lye and salts were added to the process to make the soap into hard cakes. For bath soaps, glycerine was often added. Early manufactured soaps were often shipped in boxes, and cut to order as bars by the merchant.

In large meat processing and packing cities, like Chicago and Cincinnati, the readily available waste fats created a surplus of supply for candlemakers and soapboilers. In 1806 William Colgate founded a soapmaking company in New York. In 1864, B.J. Johnson established what eventually became the Palmolive Company in Milwaukee. In 1837, William Procter, a candlemaker, joined forces with his brother-in-law, James Gamble, a soapmaker, to establish the Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati. The technology of the industry improved rapidly, by the 1840s a steam heating process of rendering replaced the kettle boiling method. Eventually, fats from palm, olive, and laurel plants replaced the tallow and lard for bath soaps. The chemistry of soapmaking became increasingly sophisticated, trade references with processes and formulas were readily available. Examples such as William T. Brannt's "A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Soap and Candles", (1888) and Alexander Watt's, "The Art of Soap Making," (1896) both speak of the growth of soap manufacturing in the late 19^th Century. The steam-heated batch process of rendering remained the industry standard until 1939, when it was replaced by a continuous manufacturing process. (Procter & Gamble, Second Century)

Post-Civil War industrialization would affect numerous trades in cities throughout the country. Improved farm machinery like the McCormick Reaper improved agricultural production, which in turn spurred a need to improve processing and distribution. Coal and steam power replaced hydraulic power, and railways usurped canals. Successful industrialists invested in newer ventures. Ferdinand Schumacher divested from grain milling and invested in a paper mill near Chicago. In Akron, the cross investment touched every industry

The Akron Soap Company Building is a purpose-built structure that represents the changes that occurred in manufacturing from the end of the Civil War until the 20^th Century. The company grew from a "trade business" passed from father to son, into a corporation with diversified interests. As a corporation, it issued stock to raise money to build the plant and grow the business. As was common in Akron, the most likely investors came from other successful businesses. The Robinson officers of the company when the plant was built in 1893 were investors from the successful clay products manufacturing family. A similar example of speculation is related to the Schumacher Family's efforts to build up the Pioneer Cereal Company on the site. They too, sold stock to raise capital to expand the facility, and were supported by successful Akron Industries.

Pioneer Cereal Company 1908-1916

Pioneer Cereal Company was an enterprise started by members of Akron's famous Schumacher milling family, whose patriarch, Ferdinand Schumacher, was known as "the Oatmeal King." In 1902, Hugo and Max Schumacher, along with other investors, purchased the existing Heinrich Miller & Son mill in the town of Canal Fulton, south of Akron. The venture experienced a unexpected death of Hugo Schumacher. In December of 1907, a fire destroyed the Canal Fulton Mill. The company began immediately looking for a new location and in February of 1908 announced the purchase and plans for expansion of the former Akron Soap Company at Furnace and North streets. The expansion plans included new machinery, excavating a basement under the building and the construction of a larger power plant. In 1909, the company issued stock to raise capital for expansion of the facility. An engraved illustration, undated, shows an additional two story wing to the east and a "100,000 bushel capacity" grain elevator, as well as a separate office building. The office building is shown as a small two story structure, with the appearance of a foursquare style house. In 1913 a permit was issued for the construction of a frame warehouse. In January of 1915, Pioneer Cereal declared bankruptcy, and the assets, including the buildings, were sold. The announcement in the paper lists the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company as its largest creditor. At a time when Akron experienced unprecedented growth due to the rubber industry, the Pioneer Cereal Mill failed. In eight short years, Pioneer expanded the facility at least three times, only to fail financially.

The Sanborn Insurance Map of 1916 shows that the facility is "not in operation," but indicates that the addition is concrete block, and that the grain elevator has a concrete base rising 40' and an additional 70' of frame construction above that. The office, visible in the engraving is not indicated on the map, but a frame warehouse is located to the east of the grain elevator, and 2 story dwelling is indicated to the east of the warehouse. An "earth floor" storage shed is located behind the building. All of the features added to the property by the Pioneer Cereal Company are no longer extant. Only the foundations of the grain elevator and the frame warehouse remain.

Post Bankruptcy 1916 - present

From 1916 to 1919 the receivers partitioned and sold the bankrupt property. The Akron Store Fixture Company, manufacturers of fixtures, hardwood floors, sash, doors, and cabinets purchased the two story portion. The Akron Store Fixture Company was headed by J. Bert Jackson, and J.B. Binns. Carl H. Pockrandt purchased the three story portion, for the Pockrandt Paint Company. He used his portion of the former soap factory to manufacture his own brand of paint for sale at retail store. The frame warehouse was purchased by the Leo Meyer Scrap Rubber Company. They were salvage and scrap rubber dealers, a business that was known as "one of the largest in the country." (Akron Beacon) In September of 1922, the warehouse was completely destroyed by fire. The company then relocated to another building elsewhere in Akron.

City Directories begin listing the Federal Warehouse and Storage Company at 241-257 Furnace Street in 1920. J.B. Jackson, and Alfred Herberich are the officers of the company. Jackson, also connected with the Akron Store Fixture Company serves as president. On the 1921 City of Akron Plat map, The Pioneer Company's concrete block addition and grain elevator are missing. Sometime between 1922 and 1939 a six-story, concrete frame, warehouse is built on the site. The southeast corner of the new building is constructed over the concrete foundation of the former grain elevator. In 1939 the warehouse is listed in city directories as Mayflower terminal.

Charles Rivitz, a plumbing supply company, occupied the two-story portion beginning in 1929. That same year they took out a building permit to construct a freight elevator against the east wall. They leased the 3 story portion after Pockrandt suspended operations in 1957. By 1960, they are no longer listed in the directories at this address.

Mohawk Tire and Rubber Company purchased the six-story concrete warehouse in 1953 and renovated it for use as a warehouse. In 1970 it is occupied by the Jetson Tire and Rubber Company.

From 1975 to 1994 the Rayan Quality Plastics Company is listed at 241 Furnace Street, and Valley Plastics is listed at 246. From 1994 to 2009 the entire property is occupied by ABTEC, a dealer in used store fixtures and equipment. It is owned by Bruce Taylor. In 2009 the entire property is purchased from Taylor by Salem Logistics, LLC. The property is then sold at auction in 2012 to Furnace Street, LLC. In 2013, it was sold to White Hot Properties, LLC.

Property Description

The Akron Soap Company building consists of two remaining portions of the original Akron Soap Company manufacturing complex. It is rectangular in plan, roughly 119 feet long and 42 feet wide. The taller portion is a three-story, red brick, bearing wall structure with a heavy timber wood frame interior. Its side gabled roof is supported by heavy timber and iron rod trusses. The lower portion is two stories tall with the same style and type of construction. The two sections are separated by a brick masonry bearing wall. Both portions are constructed on a stone foundation with a basement. Missing is a one-story shed-roofed boiler room that added 20 feet to the length of the building originally. The building is a simple expression of the Romanesque Revival Style, popular at the end of the 19^th century.

The building is located on a sloped site, north of the downtown area. The basement levels of the building open to the north. The Akron Soap Company building sits on an east-west axis, between a rail line immediately to the south and the Little Cuyahoga River downhill and to the north. The building was constructed adjacent to the Valley Railway with a spur for service to the structure.

Also on the site is a six-story, concrete frame, warehouse structure built sometime between 1922 and 1939. It was constructed as a zero setback building from the Akron Soap Company Building, and shares a portion of the east wall of the building as a party wall. It has a flat roof with a large elevator penthouse. The Furnace Street facade is vertical-textured brick which has been painted on the first two floors. The other facades of the warehouse are clay tile and were coated with Gunite in the 1980s.

There is also a concrete retaining wall running parallel to the road at the east end of the site. It is the remaining foundation wall of a frame warehouse that was destroyed by fire in 1922.

The base of the Akron Soap Company building is a sandstone foundation of large block, two feet thick. The upper floors are constructed of red hydraulic press brick with smooth faces. The brick is laid in a running bond pattern with rowlocks every fifth or sixth course.

The three-story portion is four bays wide and three bays deep; the two-story portion is six bays wide and three bays deep. The bays are articulated on the exterior by plain brick pilasters expressing the structural column line on the exterior. The base of the building is corbelled between the pilasters to a thinner number of brick wythes, with the top of each section corbelled outward to form a cornice. The walls between the pilasters typically have a single arched opening, either a door or window, at each floor. The windows have projecting stone sills.

On the south facade, which once faced the railroad spur and featured a long platform, there are several wide arched door openings. Working west to east, in the three-story section the doors were in the second and fourth bays. In the two-story section they were in the second and fifth bays. Both doorways in the three-story wing on this facade have been filled in with brick. The two-story wing has a sliding door in one opening and a pair of wood doors in the easternmost opening. The pair of doors is a wood style and rail with four lights in the upper panel and tongue and groove boards in the lower panel.

The west elevation has a single arched door opening in the center bay of the first floor, and a single window in the center bay of the second floor. The third floor has a single window in each bay. The north facade has door openings on the first floor in the three-story portion in the second bay, and in two two-story portion in the second and fourth bays. Because of the sloping site, there was originally an arched doorway from the basement in the fourth bay of the three-story wing. A newer opening has been cut through the foundation wall in the fifth bay of the two-story wing.

A few early windows as well as some frames remain. All of the remaining windows are wood double hung with rectangular sash in a brick arch opening. Some are four-over-four lights, and one is twelve-over-twelve lights. The four-light sash have unusually wide muntins with chamfered edges. Seven of the forty-three windows have been bricked in, but the outline, arch head and projecting sills are still visible.

The building interior has exposed brick walls and exposed wood framing. Major beams run north-south, supported at the third points on 12-inch wood columns, with wood bolsters. The beams support floor joists running east-west. The floors are wood tongue-and-groove boards. The interior is open space, with few partitions. Most of the partitions appear to be later alterations, and are not particularly good examples of craftsmanship. Along the south wall of the two-story portion is a wooden stair with a tongue and groove board surround.

In the northeast corner of the east wing are the remnants of a rough staircase. The north stair lacks any enclosure. The southeast corner of the west wing was the site of the original freight elevator. Portions of the track and some of the machinery are still in place. The penthouse of the elevator is expressed on the south elevation of the building by a single blind dormer.

The upper floors were originally column-free beneath Double Howe Trusses of large timbers and iron rods. The trusses span north-south and bear on the masonry walls at the pilasters. While the two-story wing remains column-free, columns were added to the top floor of the three-story wing. The three-story wing has a mezzanine level and once had a clerestory monitor along its ridge. The monitor may have been added when the building was expanded by the Pioneer Cereal Company; it was removed sometime after 1939.

There is a shed-roofed structure on the north side of the building, added after 1930. It appears to have been constructed from pieces of other structures and is not a good example of craftsmanship. It is in extremely poor condition.