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In the late 1800s, Galveston was the largest city in Texas and its major port. The locally-owned Lone Star Cracker & Manufacturing Company was built in Galveston, a few blocks from the bay, in 1887. Lone Star was sold to the American Biscuit & Manufacturing Company of Chicago in 1890. By 1898, the American Biscuit Co. had consolidated with other national bakers to form the National Biscuit Company (N.B.C. or the familiar Nabisco). Two years later, the Great Storm of 1900 struck Galveston Island in September. Rising water forced employees to the top of the two-story building, then the roof blew off. The building was severely damaged and several employees were killed. Despite this, the factory was back in operation by January. But that only lasted two weeks. Then a fire destroyed the building.
Like many companies of the time, N.B.C. abandoned Galveston for Houston, further inland but still with access to the sea. In 1902, they built their new factory in Houston’s Second Ward, a fledgling warehouse district with access to both rail lines and the shipping channel of Buffalo Bayou. N.B.C.’s first Houston factory was equipped with two small bake ovens, which proved inadequate within a few years. By 1910 a new building was planned, one nearly identical to new N.B.C. factories in New York, Chicago and Kansas City.
The 5-story, red brick, 100,086 square-foot building was designed in the Chicago style, with a skeleton of steel columns covered with tile fireproofing. Like all new N.B.C. Buildings designed by company architect Albert G. Zimmerman, the structure was equipped with state-of-the-art safety systems, including a sprinkler system and an enclosed, smoke-proof fire escape stairway tower with open balconies to prevent the accumulation of smoke. The prominent northeast tower held three pressure water tanks on the roof, for both the automatic sprinkler system and the plant’s water.
Each floor was at least 14 feet high, with the fourth floor reaching a height of 28 feet to accommodate the five baking ovens. The ovens covered 5,400 square feet. The floors were of maple. Freight elevators and staircases were located along the exterior walls, to avoid interfering with the baking process. The main loading dock was on the west side of the building.
N.B.C. occupied the building, employing 200 people, until 1949. Again following general trends, the company moved to the edge of the city to provide space for employee parking and easy access for trucks. This building was sold to the Purse Furniture Co. Eleven years ago, the building, still dominating the former warehouse district, was purchased for transformation into loft apartments. It still sits vacant.
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