Archer Daniels Midland Wheat Mill

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Archer Daniels Midland Wheat Mill
Archer Daniels Midland Fulton Market wheat mill.jpg
Archer Daniels Midland Wheat Mill
General information
Location1300 W. Carroll Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates 41°53′16.8″N87°39′35.1″W / 41.888000°N 87.659750°W / 41.888000; -87.659750
Completed1897–1948
Demolished2021
Technical details
Floor area250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s) William Carbys Zimmerman & John J. Flanders

The Archer Daniels Midland Wheat Mill was a plant in Chicago's Fulton Market District. The complex included brick loft buildings, a grain elevator, and silos. [1] The oldest buildings in the complex were built in 1897 and were designed by William Carbys Zimmerman and John J. Flanders. [1] [2] [3] [4] It originally served as Eckhart & Swan's wheat and rye mill. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

In 1896, Eckhart & Swan purchased the Hess elevators, on Carroll Avenue, between Ada and Elizabeth street, for $75,000. [5] [6] In 1897, Eckhart & Swan began constructing a new wheat and rye mill, at a cost of between $250,000 and $300,000, replacing their existing mill at Canal and Fulton. [2] [6] [3] It was the largest mill in Illinois. [2] In 1909, Eckhart & Swan Milling Company's name was changed to the B. A. Eckhart Milling Company. [7]

An addition was built at the corner of Carroll and Elizabeth in 1910. [8] The grain elevator was built in 1927, and was designed by M. A. Lang. [8] [9] In 1927, Eckhart purchased an adjoining property on Elizabeth Street, to build an addition to their plant. [10] The property had been the site of the Puritan Mills feed plant, which burned down the previous year. [10] [11] New grain silos were built by Bulley & Andrews in 1948. [8] [9]

In 1964, Dixie Portland Flour Mills purchased Eckhart Milling Company. [12] In 1990, Archer Daniels Midland purchased the plant for $14 million. [13] In 2017, Archer Daniels Midland announced that it intended to build a new plant in Mendota, Illinois and close their plant in Chicago. [13] [14] In 2018, the plant was sold to Sterling Bay for approximately $25 million. [15] [16] Sterling Bay began demolishing the mill on February 11, 2021. [8] Initial reports stated that Sterling Bay planned to build a Metra station on the site. [15] [16] [1] In February 2021, Preservation Chicago listed the complex as one of Chicago's most endangered buildings. [9] [17]

Fires

On March 26, 1912, a suction fan overheated and ignited waste in a wheat cleaning room, starting a fire. [18] The fire was contained to the northern half of the four-story building, due to a worker closing a fireproof door. [18] After the firefighters left, a dust explosion caused a partial structural collapse, killing one worker. [18]

On March 18, 1970, an explosion occurred in a storage room on the sixth floor, killing one worker and injuring three, and causing the collapse of the top two floors of the northern edge of the building. [19] Many of the bricks fell onto a freight car parked on tracks to the north of the building. [19] Damage was estimated at $50,000. [19]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Threatened: Fulton Market Grain Silos and Historic Loft Buildings Sold to Sterling Bay", Preservation Chicago. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Largest in the State; Flour Mill of 2,200 Barrels Capacity to Be Built", Chicago Tribune . August 29, 1897. p. 34.
  3. 1 2 3 "Manufacturing and Building", The Economist. August 7, 1897. p. 152 Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Synopsis of Building News", The Inland Architect and News Record. Vol 30, No. 1. August 1897. p. 10. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Big Flour Mill Planned; Eckhart & Swan to Build a Plant on the Pan-Handle Road", Chicago Tribune . July 12, 1896. p. 39.
  6. 1 2 "Among the Mills", The Roller Mill. Vol 16, No. 3. September 1897. p. 163. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  7. ↑ Rowe, Frederick A.; Moses, Joseph W. The National Corporation Reporter . Vol. 39, No. 12. November 4, 1909. p. 365. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Ori, Ryan. "Sterling Bay is taking down a late-1800s flour mill in Fulton Market, despite efforts by preservationists", Chicago Tribune . February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 "West Loop Industrial Lofts Chicago 7 2021 Archived 2021-03-15 at the Wayback Machine ", Preservation Chicago. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Chase, Al. "Eckhart Milling Buys Site for Big Warehouse", Chicago Tribune . October 11, 1927. p. 30.
  11. ↑ "Fire Destroys Big West Side Grain Plant", Chicago Tribune . October 13, 1926. p. 1.
  12. ↑ "Dixie Portland Buys Eckhart Flour Mills", Chicago Tribune . July 12, 1964 p. D3.
  13. 1 2 Channick, Robert. "ADM to close Fulton Market wheat mill for new LaSalle County plant", Chicago Tribune . June 2, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  14. ↑ "What’s That Building? Archer Daniels Midland's Fulton Market Plant", WBEZ. November 8, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  15. 1 2 Ori, Ryan. "Sterling Bay buying ADM wheat mill in Fulton Market, eyes adding Metra station", Chicago Tribune . August 23, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  16. 1 2 Kozlarz, Jay. "New Metra station could replace old Fulton Market wheat mill", Curbed . August 24, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  17. ↑ Keilman, John. "Chicago lakefront, Catholic churches top newest list of city’s most endangered historic buildings", Chicago Tribune . February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 "Recall By Chief Saves 25 Firemen: Dust Explosion Kills Workmen Just After the Fire Fighters Retire – Hero Closes Fire Door – Employee of B. A. Eckhart Mill prevents Spread of Flames; Loss $150,000", Chicago Tribune . March 27, 1912. p. 3.
  19. 1 2 3 Koziol, Ronald. "1 Killed, 3 Injured as Blast Rips a Flour Storage Area", Chicago Tribune . March 19, 1970. Section 1B, p. 3.
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