Pillsbury "A" Mill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pillsbury A Mill | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | 116 3rd Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1881 |
| Architect: | LeRoy S. Buffington |
| Designated as NHL: | November 13, 1966 |
| Added to NRHP: | November 13, 1966 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000402[1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
The Pillsbury "A" Mill, situated along Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, held the title of largest flour mill in the world for 40 years.[2][3] Completed in 1881, it was owned by Pillsbury and operated two of the most powerful direct-drive waterwheels ever built, each generating 1,200 horsepower (895 kW). The mill still stands today on the east side of the Mississippi River, but ceased operation in 2003.
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[edit] History
In 1879, after five years of secret planning, Charles Alfred Pillsbury announced to the public that he would build the largest and most advanced mill the world had ever seen. He had traveled to mills all over the world, searching for the best technique for milling flour on a large scale. Despite the convention of the time, Pillsbury decided that he wanted his new mill to be designed by an architect in order to make the building visually appealing. An architect named LeRoy S. Buffington, with the loose advice of several engineers, carried out the design. Construction started in 1880 and was finished in 1881 under a contractor named George McMullen. The mill was built to put out 5,000 barrels a day when a 500-barrel mill was considered large. It attracted a lot of attention from many people who thought that there was no practical need for a mill to ever exist due to the demand of flour in the day.[citation needed] For some years the mill was not run at its intended capacity. Part of the building was used as a warehouse and for other purposes.
Due to vibrations of milling machines and poor design in 1905 the mill was fortified and certain sections were rebuilt. To this day the walls bow 22 inches on the top. Unlike other similarly large mills in the area, most notably the Washburn "A" Mill, the Pillsbury "A" Mill never exploded or caught fire. And as a result, it still contains its original wood frame.
As the years progressed, mill output picked up due to technological advances in the milling industry.[citation needed] However other larger mills were created elsewhere and the sparkle that once surround the great mill left.
The building is a National Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
On the outside the Pillsbury “A” Mill is a rectangular structure 175 feet (53 m) by 115 feet (35 m). The foundations are of Platteville limestone. The exterior wall thickness varies from 8’-0” (2.4 m) thick at the basement to 2’-0” (0.6 m) thick at the top of the building. The outside walls are of load bearing stone with heavy timber framing on the interior. (Timber was added after the completion of the building.) There are six chimneys on the roof of the building. The roof itself is flat with gravel.
When it was still in use, the seven floors and the basement of the mill all had specific purposes. The basement held a transformer vault, water inlets, and an electrical room. On the first floor there was a small floor-mounted sifter, a larger ceiling-hung sifter, and a pressure tank. On the second floor there were conveyor belts and a staff lunchroom. Third floor contained more belts and bins. Fourth floor held a dust collector, centrifugal machine, gyration shifter, grinder, scale, and a packing bin. The fifth floor held a sifter, separator, and a centrifugal machine. Sixth floor held flour bins. The seventh floor was an electrical room.
Recently the mill area has been slowly converted to studio space for artists and housing. In 1997, the “A” Mill was the source of controversy when an artist with a studio connected to the mill died of methyl bromide poisoning.[4] The mill is sometimes fumigated with methyl bromide to rid the mill of bacteria.[5] Since the death the widow of the artist has brought suit in connected with the death and reported illnesses.
Before methyl bromide, cyanide was used to fumigate the mills for bacteria. It has since been made illegal. Only mills with wooden frames need to be fumigated so that bacteria can't grow in the wood.
[edit] Future of the mill
In 2003, production in the mill ceased and the mill lay empty. The building was then acquired by local developer Shafer Richardson. In 2006 they launched plans to convert and preserve the "A" Mill complex into the rebranded East Bank Mills[6], a loft-style apartment complex containing 759 to 1,095 housing units.[7] The 7.9 acre complex will affect 2.5 blocks of Old St. Anthony and will include new buildings, creating 105,000 square feet (9,800 m²) of commercial space. Some of the neighboring concrete grain elevators will be demolished in the project.[7] Parking for the complex will be concealed, with underground parking and spaces hidden between the buildings.[8] Shafer Richardson hired the Cuningham Group to master plan the 300 million dollar project with the idea to enhance the area using its own history, keeping the historical sites while adding six new buildings. Cermak Rhoades is the architecture firm, performing services for historic renovation and designing new structures.[8]
[edit] Working bibliography
- http://www.tholt.com/pillsa.html
- http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=279&ResourceType=Building
- http://www.kjerickson.org/photos1.htm
- http://www.gendisasters.com/data1/mn/fires/minneapolis-mill-fire1881.htm
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
- ^ Pennefeather, Shannon M. (2003). Mill City: A Visual History of the Minneapolis Mill District. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society.
- ^ Stephen Lissandrello (August 7, 1975), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Pillsbury "A" MillPDF (340 KiB), National Park Service and Accompanying 5 images, including photos from early 1900s to 1975.PDF (830 KiB)
- ^ Carlson, J. (1998) City works to ensure safer fumigant use. The Minnesota Daily, March 3, 1998. Retrieved May 3, 2007
- ^ Pillsbury. Retrieved on 2007-05-06.
- ^ East Bank Mills website
- ^ a b City of Minneapolis,Pillsbury A Mill Complex Project,http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/PLANNING/a-mill.asp
- ^ a b Cuningham Group,Pillsbury "A" Mill Master Plan, http://www.cuningham.com/portfolio/housing/AMill.html
Historic American Buildings Survey, University of Minnesota School of Architecture (1934-1989). HABS MINN,27-MINAP,3-. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
[edit] External links
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