Sonneborn Building - Baltimore MD - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form

Also known as Paca-Pratt Building.

The Sonneborn Building is significant for its architecture, and for its association with important developments in the history of industry and labor relations. The building embodies the esthetic and functional characteristics of early 20th century industrial architecture, including fine Neoclassical ornament, an open plan providing for efficient use of space as well as ample light and ventilation, and fireproof construction.

In the context of the other buildings in Baltimore's Loft District, the large Sonneborn Building stands out in its commanding corner location at an important entrance to the district, and in the contrast of its light buff-colored walls and Neoclassical detail with its red brick and brownstone Queen Anne neighbors. The work of prominent and prolific Baltimore architects Otto C. Simonson and Theodore Wells Pietsch, the building ranks with their best commissions in its highly successful application of decorative detail to a structure designed to maximize industrial utility.

The Sonneborn Building is also significant for its association with the development of the garment industry, both in Baltimore and more generally, as the scene of revolutionary advances in manufacturing efficiency and labor relations. At the time of its construction, it represented the largest clothing factory in the nation, and the first known attempt to consolidate all aspects of clothing manufacture under a single roof.

The Sonneborn Company also originated several improvements in employer/employee relations, including the institution of trade boards for arbitrating grievances and an internal court of industrial relations. These pioneering efforts established the pattern for the clothing industry, and their interrelated advances in efficiency and industrial relations came to be known industry-wide as the "Sonneborn System.

They were pioneers in establishing workers' grievance committees, pension plans, fire drills and in-house medical departments. Their tolerance and acceptance of their workers' desires to unionize made the establishment of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) and the amalgamated Clothing Workers Association (ACWA) much easier and less acrimonious than it could have been. Most important it is a monument to America's free enterprise system.

It was all created by a German immigrant who left home as a fugitive at the age of 23; arrived in America almost penniless; started out as a wandering peddler and worked his way up to being one of the giants of the American clothing industry. Along the way he launched numerous other entrepreneurs and assisted untold thousands of his fellow immigrants to adapt to their new life in their new country.

Street address: 110 S. Paca Street Baltimore, MD United States 21201 County / Borough / Parish: Baltimore (Independent City) Year listed: 1982 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Industry/Processing/Extraction Current function: Use by the University of Maryland Medical Systems Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/09/2021 Don.Morfe visited it