Schulze Baking Company
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Schulze Baking Company Plant is a
factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
building located on the South Side of
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
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. It is located at 40 East Garfield Boulevard (also described as 55th Street and Wabash Avenue) in the Washington Park community area in
Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...
. Built in 1914, the building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on November 12, 1982. Originally built for the Schulze Baking Company, it was the home of the
Hostess Brands Hostess Brands Inc. is an American bakery company formed in 2013. Its main operating subsidiaries are Hostess Brands, LLC, and Voortman Cookies Limited. The company owns several bakeries in the United States that produce snack cakes under the ...
' Butternut Bread until 2004. The building features a
terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...
exterior with ornamentation that pays tribute to
Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...
. The original flooring is made of reinforced
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
. In the early 21st century, the building fell into a state of disrepair. In 2016, however, a developer stated that the building was being rehabilitated for
adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse is the reuse of an existing building for a purpose other than that for which it was originally built or designed. It is also known as recycling and conversion. The adaptive reuse of buildings can be a viable alternative to new con ...
in 2017 and following years as a
data center A data center is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. Since IT operations are crucial for busines ...
.


Location and function

The building is located between the western edge of Washington Park and the
Dan Ryan Expressway The Dan Ryan Expressway, often called "the Dan Ryan" by locals, is an expressway in Chicago that runs from the Jane Byrne Interchange with Interstate 290 (I-290) near downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated ...
along a section of Garfield Boulevard that formerly hosted prominent businesses, including Schulze and the Wanzer Milk Company. The area has suffered from economic decay and crime during the second half of the 20th century. One of the few significant remaining businesses in the old Black Belt during this time was Hostess, which still used the building to make Butternut Bread.


Baking company

Schulze, with its signature Butternut Bread, eventually became Interstate Bakeries Corporation/Hostess Brands. The business was once Chicago's largest
wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
business entity. Although, according to
Form 10-K A Form 10-K is an annual report required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that gives a comprehensive summary of a company's financial performance. Although similarly named, the annual report on Form 10-K is distinct from the ...
filings by the
Interstate Bakeries Corporation Old HB, Inc., known as Hostess Brands from 2009 to 2013 and established in 1930 as Interstate Bakeries Corporation, was a wholesale baker and distributor of bakery products in the United States. Before its 2012 closure and liquidation, it owned ...
with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its ...
, the Schulze Baking Company was not formed until 1927, many records contradict this claim. Historical accounts of Chicago claim that
Paul Schulze Paul Schulze (born June 12, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in ''The Sopranos'', '' Nurse Jackie'', '' 24'' (2002–2004), and ''The Punisher'' (2017), and his films roles in ''Panic Room'' (2002), and ''Rambo'' (2008). C ...
, 1910-11 president of the National Association of Master Bakers, started the Schulze Baking Company in 1893 with his brothers. Interstate's own company history even confirms the 1893 beginning of Schulze. In 1912, prior to the construction of the plant, the company had four baking plants throughout the city of Chicago and general offices in the
Chicago Stock Exchange NYSE Chicago, formerly known as the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), is a stock exchange in Chicago, Illinois, US. The exchange is a national securities exchange and self-regulatory organization, which operates under the oversight of the U.S. Secu ...
Building on
LaSalle Street LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's f ...
in the
Chicago Loop The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...
. In the 1910s, the company had extensive legal battles regarding protecting its
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
s. In 1921, Paul Schulze sold control of the company to Ralph Leroy Nafziger. In 1930, Nafziger announced the formation of Interstate Bakeries through the merger of Schulze Baking and Western Bakeries of Los Angeles to form Interstate Bakeries. Schulze and Western continued to maintain their own separate companies under the Interstate umbrella until 1937, when Schulze formally became Interstate. Paul Schulze went on to operate small bakeries elsewhere under the name of Schulze and Burch Biscuit Company.


Architecture

The building is a white
terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...
structure designed by John Ahlschlager in 1914 for the Schulze Baking Company. The terra cotta walls were five storeys high. The building featured blue lettering, foliated
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
ornamentation, and stringcourses of
rosette Rosette is the French diminutive of ''rose''. It may refer to: Flower shaped designs * Rosette (award), a mark awarded by an organisation * Rosette (design), a small flower design *hence, various flower-shaped or rotational symmetric forms: ** R ...
s. The building uses 700 windows grouped to complement the ornamentation's allusion to themes of nature and purity. The ornamentation is considered abstract,
Sullivanesque Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...
and modern. The company used Apron
conveyor A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...
manufactured by the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company of
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
. A lengthy low industrial complex extends northward behind the main five-story building. The structure has a flat
concrete slab A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings, consisting of a flat, horizontal surface made of cast concrete. Steel- reinforced slabs, typically between 100 and 500 mm thick, are most often used to construct floors and ...
floor with four-way reinforcement designed to support . The dimensions of the building by and it is composed of floor space segmented into by . The second floor is thick except in the square surrounding each column where it is thick. As of late 2008, the building was showing signs of wear, disrepair, and neglect. At least one terra cotta
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
was missing, and the building had numerous walkway coverings to protect passersby from falling debris such as further terra cotta loss. One side wall was propped up with wood beams at 45 degree angles. In addition, the building had some
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
markings. However, developer Ghian Foreman stated in February 2016 that the rehabilitation of the former Schulze Baking Company plant into a data center, to be called the Midway Technology Center, was on schedule for operation in 2017. The adaptive reuse project allegedly involved the investment of more than $130 million.


Notes


External links


Official City of Chicago Washington Park Neighborhood Map
{{good article Industrial buildings completed in 1914 Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Bakeries of Illinois