Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Many Different Lives

This building at Dupont & Christie St is the neighbour of the little storage building I showed you on Friday. This was built in 1914 by the Ford Motor Co as an automotive factory. The 1st floor was showroom, 2nd floor was warehouse, 3rd & 4th were assembly (all by hand), top floor was painting, and the roof was a test track if you can believe it. Ford stayed here until 1925 and then there were various owners until Planters Peanuts bought it in 1948 and stayed until 1987. (My dad worked for Planters!) In 1994 it was bought by Faema who distribute and make espresso machines and they have totally restored and renewed the building. It now has a great cafe on the main floor and various offices and studios on the other floors. 
at

15 comments:

  1. TomAugust 2, 2016 at 8:35 AM

    Please share this at Tuesday's Treasures.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PerthDailyPhotoAugust 2, 2016 at 8:51 AM

    Quite a history there Pat, I'm trying to imagine the test track on the roof! I'm glad the building has been restored, have you tried the cafe?

    ReplyDelete
  3. eileeninmdAugust 2, 2016 at 8:55 AM

    Hello, it has a neat history. I can not imagine a test track on the roof. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

    ReplyDelete
  4. ChristineAugust 2, 2016 at 9:47 AM

    Well done Faema! It looks great now!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LowellAugust 2, 2016 at 10:56 AM

    That is all fascinating. I can't imagine a test track on the top floor nor can I imagine a warehouse of assembly plant...It's so nice the building has been restored. I'm wondering if, when your dad worked for Planters, he got free peanuts to bring home?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Taken For GrantedAugust 2, 2016 at 11:01 AM

    Interesting building history. Many old factories have been converted to condos. They bring new life to neighborhoods, but also can cause parking problems. Good the building has a new life.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SharonAugust 2, 2016 at 11:16 AM

    What a colorful history. The Ford story is amazing. I can hardly believe that all that work was done in this one building. Amazing. I love the look of this building. It has been restored beautifully. And, I love all those cross wires. They really do add to the lines of the building.

    ReplyDelete
  8. KarlAugust 2, 2016 at 12:17 PM

    Interesting building and building history, but so many cables...

    ReplyDelete
  9. BillAugust 2, 2016 at 2:51 PM

    It's great that this beautiful building is still useful in this time and age. Good owners make it all possible.

    ReplyDelete
  10. William KendallAugust 2, 2016 at 5:07 PM

    What a beautiful building!

    ReplyDelete
  11. RevrunnerAugust 2, 2016 at 5:42 PM

    A real survivor.

    ReplyDelete
  12. MichelleAugust 2, 2016 at 6:17 PM

    Nice to see it was restored!

    ReplyDelete
  13. TexWisGirlAugust 2, 2016 at 7:03 PM

    test track...that's just cool. and yay for planters!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AndyAugust 3, 2016 at 5:54 AM

    That is one amazing building with an amazing history.

    ReplyDelete
  15. JackAugust 5, 2016 at 4:46 PM

    Excellent! Nice to see this fine old structure repurposed and restored so well.

    ReplyDelete