Footer's Dye Works

Last updated
Footer's Dye Works
Footer's Dye Works Building (25786544576).jpg
Footer's Dye Works in 2014
USA Maryland location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest citySouth Mechanic and Howard Streets, Cumberland, Maryland
Coordinates 39°38′34″N78°45′38″W / 39.64278°N 78.76056°W / 39.64278; -78.76056
Built1906
NRHP reference No. 13000460 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 5, 2013

The Footer's Dye Works is a historic industrial building in Cumberland, Maryland. The four story brick building occupies most of a city block on Howard Street near its junction with South Mechanic Street. Built in 1906, it is the last surviving building of a large cleaning and dyeing business that was once one of Cumberland's major employers.Throughout the 1920s, Footer's Dye Works continued as one of the dominant cleaning and dyeing establishments in the region.

At its peak the Footer's Dye Works boasted of a weekly payroll exceeding several thousand dollars. With nearly 500 employees, the company had branch offices located in twenty cities in nearby states for the receiving and forwarding of goods. One source of business originated from Washington; lace curtains from the White House were shipped to Footer's for cleaning. Major branch offices were located in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, according to the company's advertising flier.

The 1930s, however, brought hard times to Footer's Dye Works. It was in the 1930s that the new "dry" cleaning process was beginning to take hold, replacing the steam cleaning process used in Footer's factory. With the Great Depression in full swing throughout the United States, pressure from dry cleaning competition, and then a devastating Potomac River flood in March 1936, Footer's Dye Works filed for bankruptcy on June 12, 1936. On December 30, the plant was sold by a court trustee to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, which held the mortgage, for $200,000.16 With the sale of the Footer's Dye Works property, the cleaning and dyeing operation closed.

By 1939, Harry Footer opened a cleaning business in the old Footer's building on N. Liberty St. called Harry Footer & Co. His was among twenty "Clothes Pressers and Cleaners" listed in Cumberland in 1939. In June 1939, part of the Footer's S. Mechanic St. complex was sold to Liberty Cleaners & Dyers, Inc. This company was likely a secondary operation of Harry Footer's Liberty St. cleaners.

Between 1939 and 1949, the former Footer's Dye Works complex was subdivided and sold. The 1939 deed to Liberty Cleaners noted that another part of the complex was deeded earlier to "Red Head Oil Co. The 1949 map shows not only the dry cleaners and oil company sections, but a "Trade School" in the easternmost buildings and a "Montgomery Ward warehouse" in the first floor of the four-story brick building along Howard St. and its one-story saw tooth south section (the building still standing in 2005). By 1956, when the last Sanborn Insurance Co. map was drawn of the complex, most of the eastern section was demolished and replaced with a parking lot. The cleaners, oil company, and Montgomery Ward still occupied their buildings. But the large four-story brick building that housed the Wards warehouse also had the state employment offices in the second floor and the Army Reserve in the third floor [2]

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Third Ward (Milwaukee)</span> United States historic place

The Historic Third Ward is a historic warehouse district located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This Milwaukee neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Third Ward is home to over 450 businesses and maintains a strong position within the retail and professional service community in Milwaukee as a showcase of a mixed-use district. The neighborhood's renaissance is anchored by many specialty shops, restaurants, art galleries and theatre groups, creative businesses and condos. It is home to the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD), and the Broadway Theatre Center. The Ward is adjacent to the Henry Maier Festival Park, home to Summerfest. The neighborhood is bounded by the Milwaukee River to the west and south, E. Clybourn Street to the north, and Lake Michigan to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ephraim Francis Baldwin</span> American architect

Ephraim Francis Baldwin was an American architect, best known for his work for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and for the Roman Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savage Mill</span> United States historic place

The Savage Mill is a historic cotton mill complex in Savage, Maryland, which has been turned into a complex of shops and restaurants. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is located in the Savage Mill Historic District. Buildings in the complex date from 1822 to 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worcester Bleach and Dye Works</span> United States historic place

The Worcester Bleach and Dye Works is a historic factory complex at 60 Fremont Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. It consists of a pair of primarily brick factory buildings, one of which was built in 1909, and the other built later, between 1911 and 1922, for the named company, which was a major local manufacturer of thread. After the Bleach and Dye Works closed its doors in 1938, the complex has seen a succession of other owners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland station (Western Maryland Railway)</span> Railway station in Cumberland, Maryland, US

Cumberland station is a historic railway station in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. It was built in 1913 as a stop for the Western Maryland Railway (WM). The building was operated as a passenger station until the WM ended service in 1959, and it continued to be used by the railway until 1976. It was subsequently restored and currently serves as a museum and offices, as well as the operating base for a heritage railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson–Chalmers Historic Business District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Jefferson–Chalmers Historic Business District is a neighborhood located on East Jefferson Avenue between Eastlawn Street and Alter Road in Detroit, Michigan. The district is the only continuously intact commercial district remaining along East Jefferson Avenue, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Londontown Manufacturing Company, Inc.</span> United States historic place

Londontown Manufacturing Company, Inc., also known earlier as the Meadow Mill of the old Woodberry Manufacturing Company is a historic cotton mill industrial complex located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is a four-story, Italianate red brick structure that features a square tower structure with a truncated spire-like roof having an open bell tower cupola. It sits on the west bank of the Jones Falls stream which runs north to south, parallel to the elevated Jones Falls Expressway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola Baltimore Branch Factory</span> United States historic place

Coca-Cola Baltimore Branch Factory is a historic factory complex located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It was constructed from 1921 to 1948 and built principally to house Coca-Cola's syrup-making operations. The complex is spread over a 9.4-acre (38,000 m2) site and includes a two-story brick syrup factory/sugar warehouse and an earlier two-story brick mattress factory that Coca-Cola acquired and adapted in the 1930s. Completed in 1948, the complex housed syrup-making operations as well as the Coca-Cola Company's chemistry department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store</span> United States historic place

Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store is a historic warehouse and retail building in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is an eight-story concrete structure and is roughly shaped like a squared-off number "4". The front features a penthouse tower at the main entrance bay with a balcony and capped by a flagpole. The building houses over 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of floor space flooded by light from approximately 1,000 large multi-paned, steel frame windows. It was built about 1925 as a mail order and retail warehouse for Montgomery Ward on an 11 acres (4.5 ha) site adjacent to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tracks. The complex was one of nine large warehouses built by the company in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty Tower (Manhattan)</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Liberty Tower, formerly the Sinclair Oil Building, is a 33-story residential building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It is at 55 Liberty Street at the northwest corner with Nassau Street. It was built in 1909–10 as a commercial office building and was designed by Henry Ives Cobb in a Gothic Revival style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buchanan County Courthouse (Iowa)</span> Historic building in Independence, Iowa, US

Buchanan County Court House in Independence, Iowa, United States was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The current structure is the third courthouse to house court functions and county administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dry Dock Complex (Detroit, Michigan)</span> United States historic place

The Dry Dock Complex consists of six interconnected buildings located at 1801–1803 Atwater Street in Detroit, Michigan, as well as the remains of a nearby dry dock at 1900 Atwater Street. The 1801-1803 Atwater complex is also known as the Globe Trading Company Building, and in 2015 was opened by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as the Outdoor Adventure Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse</span> United States historic place

The Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse is a former commercial warehouse building located at 882 Oakman Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. It is now known as the NSO Bell Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lima Cleaning and Pressing Company Building</span> United States historic place

The Lima Cleaning and Pressing Company Building is a historic structure located along South Main Street in Lima, Ohio, United States. Built in 1890, it is an example of an early style of commercial architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simmons Hardware Company Warehouse</span> United States historic place

The Simmons Hardware Company Warehouse, also known as the Battery Building, is a historic warehouse located in Sioux City, Iowa that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The six-story building covered a whole block and its construction was supervised by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr., the time and motion study pioneer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellows Falls Co-operative Creamery Complex</span> United States historic place

The Bellows Falls Co-operative Creamery Complex is a historic industrial property in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Developed over a period of about 40 years beginning c. 1906, the complex, with two surviving buildings, it represents one of Vermont's largest commercial enterprises of the period. The property, located on the eastern side of Bellows Falls Island, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany Felt Company Complex</span> Former industrial site on north edge of New York state capital city

The former Albany Felt Company Complex, now The Lofts at One Broadway, is located along Broadway in eastern Albany County, New York, United States. It is mostly within the village of Menands, with a small portion at its southern end within the city of Albany. In 2014 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa Wind Mill and Pump Company Office and Warehouse</span> United States historic place

The Iowa Wind Mill and Pump Company Office and Warehouse, also known as Iowa Pipe and Supply Company, Cedar Rapids Presort, and the Mott Building, is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. This is the only extant building of a complex of buildings along the Cedar River used by the Iowa Wind Mill and Pump Company. The three-story structure is a simplified version of Victorian architecture. The thick brick walls were a form of fire protection and insulation, while the heavy timber for the interior support structure created large open space that was required to house industrial equipment, production activities, and warehouse storage. The tall windows allowed for interior lighting and ventilation. The first floor provided finished space used for offices. Iowa Wind Mill and Pump Company began as a branch of the Kendallville, Indiana based Flint & Walling Manufacturing Company around 1890. They began building their complex of buildings along the Cedar River and the tracks of the Chicago and North Western Railroad the following year. This building was completed in 1902. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawson House</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Lawson House is a heritage-listed warehouse, auction house and offices located at 212–218 Cumberland Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Burcham Clamp and built during 1924 by Burcham Clamp and Finch. It is also known as Cadbury-Fry Building and Lawson Menzies Building. The property is owned by Property NSW, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">145 George Street, The Rocks</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

145 George Street, The Rocks is a heritage-listed duty-free store complex and former retail building and residence located at 145 George Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1892. It is also known as Currently part of Duty Free Store complex. The property is owned by Property NSW, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places". WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 7/01/13 THROUGH 7/05/13. National Park Service. 2013-07-12.
  2. "Footer's Dye Works". Maryland Historic Trust. Retrieved 2014-03-03.