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| **[[P048|Project 048]]** ◄| **[[fbglist-chrono|Project List]]** |► **[[P050|Project 050]]** | **[[P048|Project 048]]** ◄| **[[fbglist-chrono|Project List]]** |► **[[P050|Project 050]]** |
| ==== FBG Project 050 ==== | ==== FBG Project 049 ==== |
| <color goldenrod> • //Source: FBG-Sweet's// </color> | <color goldenrod> • //Source: FBG-Sweet's// </color> |
| ====== Warehouses for Simmons Hardware Co ====== | ====== Warehouses for Simmons Hardware Co ====== |
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| This project has one of the most unusual histories of any in this list. It was FBG's only heartland-Midwest project (excluding one each in outliers Ohio and Michigan), and it involved not just two large buildings plus a smaller third one but a parallel construction contract for two companies. That all three buildings still stand (in more or less combined condition), are still in use and are on the National Register of Historic Places roster makes the story that much more interesting. | This project has one of the most unusual histories of any in this list. It was FBG's only heartland-Midwest project (excluding one each in outliers Ohio and Michigan), and it involved parallel construction of two large buildings and a smaller third one, for two companies. All three buildings still stand (as a combined structure), are still in use and are on the roster of National Register of Historic Places as well. |
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| This is a job known from the listing in the FBG advertisement in the 1909 //Sweet's Catalogue//, although the the entire effort disappears into “Simmons Hardware Co., Sioux City, Iowa”—which does not begin to tell the tale. Fortunately, despite little mention by FBG or any of his biographers, newspaper coverage was considerable, and the NRHP report from 2008 adds considerable detail... but oddly enough, not the whole story of this curious project. | This project history is both multi-faceted and copiously documented. To keep the material manageable and maintain this main entry's focus on the actual FBG construction, the additional aspects have been broken out into several sub-entries. |
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| | This job is known from the listing in the FBG advertisement in the 1909 //Sweet's Catalogue//, although the the entire effort disappears into “Simmons Hardware Co., Sioux City, Iowa,” which does not begin to cover all the bases. Fortunately, despite little mention by FBG or any of his biographers, newspaper coverage was considerable, and the 2008 NRHP report adds considerable detail... but oddly enough, not the whole story of this curious project and not without a number of factual lapses. |
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| ==== Phase 1: Simmons Hardware and Haley & Lang Produce ===== | |
| Simmons Hardware was a major retailer of hardware and home goods, including their popular premium brand “Keen Kutter” tools and cutlery. Based in St. Louis, MO, they had both manufacturing sites and large regional warehouses in six states across the northeastern US. Although this building is most often referred to as a warehouse, it may well have also been a factory for some of Simmons' products. They were one of the first firms to use a large distributed warehouse chain, following the lead of Montgomery Ward and Sears-Roebuck, to offer a vast selection of products with fairly fast, inexpensive shipping. (No, Amazon didn't invent the model!) | Simmons Hardware was a major retailer of hardware and home goods, including their popular premium brand “Keen Kutter” tools and cutlery. Based in St. Louis, MO, they had both manufacturing sites and large regional warehouses in six states across the northeastern US. Although this building is most often referred to as a warehouse, it may well have also been a factory for some of Simmons' products. They were one of the first firms to use a large distributed warehouse chain, following the lead of Montgomery Ward and Sears-Roebuck, to offer a vast selection of products with fairly fast, inexpensive shipping. (No, Amazon didn't invent the model!) |
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| In another parallel with the Amazon era, Simmons apparently solicited the best overall deal for siting each of its new regional warehouses, and Sioux City seems to have edged out Salt Lake City in 1905. | In another parallel with the Amazon era, Simmons apparently solicited the best overall deal for siting each of its new regional warehouses (they would eventually have eight), and Sioux City seems to have edged out Salt Lake City in 1905. |
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| Construction of the Simmons building was hampered by a remaining lease on a building occupying part of the site, the “Columbia House,” which seems to have held a restaurant operated by one Rentschler, who refused all offers to buy out the remaining lease and pay for his relocation. The plan was thus to construct the southern half of the building on schedule, and the rest when Rentschler's lease expired. Since there is no further mention of the matter and the building appears to have been completed, in toto and on time, any number of suppositions may be made about the fate of Columbia House, Rentschler and his restaurant. | For reasons that are not clear, Simmons apparently partnered in the Sioux City project with a regional produce distributor, Haley & Lang Produce Co (or Fruit Co). Although Simmons seems to have been the actual contracting client, The two companies worked together to build adjoining buildings at the somewhat tangled intersection of 3rd, 4th and Water Streets, an area cut through with a winding creek. The project involved considerable city involvement to permit channeling of the creek to allow more building space without flooding. Late in the actual construction, Haley & Lang added a small, one-story office to the front of their building, built over the former creek bed. |
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| === Industrial Accidents === | That the two companies had largely independent plans and buildings seems to have confused some era reporters, who sometimes refer to separate companies and buildings or refer to the whole project as being for Simmons, as in when they note that H&L was installing a refrigeration plant and cooled rooms "in the new Simmons Hardware building." |
| A substantial amount of local news coverage of the project focuses on several industrial accidents for which both Simmons and FBG were sued. Three appear to be injuries, such as one reporting the loss of a finger by an untrained pile-driver operator that later corrected the accident to “one finger being mashed.” The more serious and gruesome accident occurred when a base fitting on a 70-foot derrick boom broke, and the boom struck James Usher across the shoulders. Although unconscious, he lingered in extreme pain for several days and a desperate surgical attempt to save his life. His wife would sue Simmons and FBG on several counts and on behalf of herself and their four children. | |
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| This entire side story is worth some detailed coverage and will be expanded into a separate entry, as there are very few reports on what were surely common occurrences on era construction projects, for FBG and others. Many reports are no more than a filler: “John Q. Laborer, an Irish worker on the new Blank Building, yesterday lost an arm to a railway mishap.” — and nothing more. | With several running changes of height, details and layout, the building was finished in mid-1906. The larger Simmons portion of the project, to the east, was a four-story warehouse with a tall corner clock tower. The Haley & Lang portion of the building was also four floors, at least two of which were to be refrigerated and, if contemporary reports are correct, had the equipment installed. An angular one-story office was added to the front of the H&L portion while construction was approaching completion. |
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| === Phase 1a: Haley & Lang Building === | And now for the rest of the story. |
| For reasons that are not clear, Simmons apparently partnered in the Sioux City project with a regional produce distributor, Haley & Lang, and the pair of companies worked together to build adjoining buildings at 3rd, 4th and Water Streets. The project involved considerable city involvement to allow channeling of an creek that wrapped around the location so as to allow more building space without flooding. Very early planning shows this, and two separate buildings on the site, which ended being contracted as a set to FBG. | |
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| Somewhere in the planning, Haley & Lang added a small, one-story office to the front of their building. That the two companies had largely independent plans and buildings seems to have escaped some era reporters, who note that H&L was installing a refrigeration plant and cooled rooms "in the new Simmons Hardware building." | === Fritz Rentschler and Columbia House === |
| | Construction of the Simmons building was hampered by the remaining lease on a hotel occupying the northwestern corner of the site. The owner, Fritz Rentschler, refused all offers of buyout and relocation and for a time it looked as if the Simmons portion of the building would have to be built in two stages, the southern half on the original schedule and the rest when Rentschler's lease expired well in 1906. The hotelier was eventually convinced to abandon his lease and hotel, and the Simmons building was constructed more or less on original schedule. |
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| The 2008 NRHP report completely omits this early history and all involvement of Haley & Lang (it nowhere in 46 pages names the company), even though a detailed floor plan of the construction clearly labels the western building as theirs. This may be because Haley & Lang apparently disputed lease terms with Simmons and never moved from their existing location to the new facility. (A description that may indicate the whole project was indeed Simmons' with only the leasing of “built to suit” facilities connecting the produce company.) | * [[shlb-columbia | The rest of the story: Fritz Rentschler & Columbia House Hotel ]] |
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| The Simmons portion of the project was a four-story warehouse with a tall corner tower — almost universally called a clock tower although it never seems to have actually held clock faces. Some reports say there was supposed to be one or more clock faces, with the numbers replaced by letters: T-R-O-Q-R-L-A-T-P-I-F, for the Simmons motto of “The recollection of quality remains long after the price is forgotten.” That there are only eleven letters has no explanation, but as the clock was never installed there is no resolution to the claim. Another claim was that a story was added to the tower later to conceal a water tank, but the 2008 report notes that the earliest photos show the tower at its existing height, and there is no water tank within it. | === The Front Office === |
| | With both major buildings well towards completion, Haley & Lang decided to extend their portion with an angled, one-story office at the northwestern corner, where the creek had formerly run. |
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| The Haley & Lang portion of the building was also four floors, at least two of which were to be refrigerated and, if contemporary reports are correct, had the equipment installed. The angular front office with Norman arches (which differ from the “Romanesque Revival” design of the rest of the project) was a late addition, and of course was never used by H&L. | * [[shlb-office | The rest of the story: The Front Office Extension ]] |
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| ==== Phase 2: Dymond-Simmons Hardware ===== | === The Clock Tower === |
| | A corner tower, often with clock faces, was a hallmark of the Simmons buildings in other locations. This project included a tower to stand one tall story above the rest of the building in the northeast corner, and it was built and finished with a decorative top before a late decision added another “story,” much more elaborate and larger than the tower below. (The two tower stories add up to three or four standard story heights.) |
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| | * [[shlb-tower| The rest of the story: The Clock Tower ]] |
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| | === The Company Becomes Dymond-Simmons === |
| | As construction resumed in early spring after a hard winter break, Simmons apparently sold the local business to a partner or subsidiary firm, with the new location becoming Dymond-Simmons. That name would be the first painted across the north facade. |
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| | * [[shlb-dymond | The rest of the story: The Company Becomes Dymond-Simmons ]] |
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| | === Haley & Lang Pulls Out === |
| | As the building was approaching completion in June 1906, Haley & Lang became dissatisfied with the lease terms and possibly the new structure of the local company, and pulled out of the project. They would never occupy the warehouse or office. |
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| | * [[shlb-hl | The rest of the story: Haley & Lang Pulls Out ]] |
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| | === Industrial Accidents === |
| | A substantial amount of local news coverage of the project focuses on several industrial accidents for which both Simmons and FBG were sued. Three appear to be injuries, but the fourth was a gruesome death. All landed Simmons and FBG in court as families and survivors sued. |
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| | * [[ shlb-accidents | The rest of the story: Industrial Accidents ]] |
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| | === Subsequent Tenants === |
| | With the loss of Haley & Lang, other tenants briefly occupied the unused space. Dymond-Simmons took it over fairly quickly, and used the building until the company dissolved about 1932. After that, a succession of tenants occupied the entire building with intervals of it remaining empty. The building had stood empty for about twenty years when was declared a historic place in 2008. It was converted in 2013-14, a bit improbably, to a Hard Rock Hotel and Cafe that is still in operation. |
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| | * [[ shlb-tenants | The rest of the story: Subsequent Tenants ]] |
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| | The 2008 NRHP report completely omits this early history and all involvement of Haley & Lang (it nowhere in 46 pages names the company), even though a detailed floor plan of the construction clearly labels the western building as theirs. This may be because Haley & Lang apparently disputed lease terms with Simmons and never moved from their existing location to the new facility. (A description that may indicate the whole project was indeed Simmons' with only the leasing of “built to suit” facilities connecting the produce company.) |
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| By the time the (larger eastern) building was finished and occupied, the name across its cornice was Dymond-Simmons, Simmons Hardware apparently having merged or been bought by Dymond. | By the time the (larger eastern) building was finished and occupied, the name across its cornice was Dymond-Simmons, Simmons Hardware apparently having merged or been bought by Dymond. Along with variations of the parent company name, the “Keen Kutter” name and logo were prominent on the building over many years. |
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| Local notices say another firm briefly leased the Haley & Lang building, but that the hardware company took over the space, from necessity, by late 1906. | Local notices say another firm briefly leased the Haley & Lang building, but that the hardware company took over the space, from necessity, by late 1906. |
| Dymond-Simmons took over the oddly angular “office” of the produce company and used it as a local showroom for the company and warehouse products. | Dymond-Simmons took over the oddly angular “office” of the produce company and used it as a local showroom for the company and warehouse products. |
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| ==== Phase 3: The Battery Building ===== | Dymond-Simmons seems to have evaporated as a company in about 1932, and abandoned the Sioux City warehouse. Another company used part of the building in 1939, and the Sioux City Battery Co took over some of the space in about 1944, making Ray-O-Vac batteries until the 1960s. Most city residents of a certain age knew the building as “the Battery Building,” a term that still lingers in local vernacular and records. |
| Dymond-Simmons seems to have evaporated as a company in about 1932, and abandoned the Sioux City warehouse. It stood empty until the Sioux City Battery Co took over some of the space in about 1944, making Ray-O-Vac batteries until the 1960s. Most city residents of a certain age knew the building as “the Battery Building,” a term that still lingers in local vernacular and records. | |
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| ==== Phase 4: Hard Rock Cafe ==== | |
| The building then stood empty again until it was declared a historic place in 2008, and converted, improbably, to a Hard Rock Hotel and Cafe in 2014. | |
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| ==== FBG Provenance ==== | ==== FBG Provenance ==== |
| {{ :fbg-simmons-american-manufacturer-iron-world-20-apr-1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} | {{ :fbg-simmons-american-manufacturer-iron-world-20-apr-1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| * //The Foundry//, May 1905; contract notice similar to //ENR//. | * //The Foundry//, May 1905: |
| | {{ :fbg-simmons-contract-foundry-may-1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| * //Improvement Bulletin//, 6 May 1905: | * //Improvement Bulletin//, 6 May 1905: |
| {{ :fbg-simmons-haley-improvement-bulletin-6-may-1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} | {{ :fbg-simmons-haley-improvement-bulletin-6-may-1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Engineering Record//, 20 May 1905: |
| | {{ :haley_lang_er_20_may_1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| * //Sioux City Journal//, 26 May 1905: | * //Sioux City Journal//, 26 May 1905: |
| {{ :fbg-simmons-haley-sioux-city-journal-26-may-1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} | {{ :fbg-simmons-haley-sioux-city-journal-26-may-1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 28 Oct 1905: |
| | {{ :fbg-haley-lang-sioux-city-journal-28-oct-1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Cold Storage & Ice Trade Journal//, Nov 1905, also //National Provisioner// 4 Nov 1905: |
| | {{ :haley_lang_cold_storage_and_ice_trade_journal_nov_1905.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 17 Dec 1905. Note the finished tower without the extension: |
| | {{ :fbg-simmons-tower-sioux-city-journal-17-dec-1905.jpg?direct&400 |}} |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 15 Jan 1906: |
| | {{ :fbg-simmons-haley-sioux-city-journal-15-jan-1906.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| * //Sioux City Journal//, 19 Feb 1906: | * //Sioux City Journal//, 19 Feb 1906: |
| {{ :fbg-simmons-work-sioux-city-journal-19-feb-1906.jpg?direct&300 |}} | {{ :fbg-simmons-work-sioux-city-journal-19-feb-1906.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 17 Apr 1906: |
| | {{ :fbg-simmons-tower-sioux-city-journal-17-apr-1906.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 19 Jul 1906: |
| | {{ :fbg-haley-withdraws-sioux-city-journal-19-jul-1906.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 24 Jul 1906: |
| | {{ :fbg-haley-new-plant-sioux-city-journal-24-jul-1906.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Cold Storage & Ice Trade Journal//, Aug 1906: “Haley & Lang Fruit Co. will erect a cold storage plant [in Sioux City].” |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 16 Sep 1906 (click for very large image): |
| | {{ :fbg-dymond-simmons-float-sioux-city-journal-16-sep-1906.jpg?direct&200 |}} |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 14 Nov 1906: |
| | {{ :fbg-simmons-tower-sioux-city-journal-14-nov-1906.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| | * //Sioux City Journal//, 26 Dec 1906. Note the extension on the tower: |
| | {{ :fbg-simmons-tower-sioux-city-journal-26-dec-1906.jpg?direct&300 |}} |
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| ==== Links ==== | ==== Links ==== |
