Block 640

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Lot:  12

Address:  380-390 W. 12th St.

N.B.:  96 - 2/3/1898

Completed:  1899

Architect:  J. Lawrence Aspinwall

Original Owner:  Frederick Baker, Joseph Williams, Francis Perauer

Original Use:  office building and storehouse

Originally two interconnected warehouses, in 1979 (Alt. #159): ground floor entrances altered, new windows installed, façade stuccoed, metal balconies on east side added, two setback-stories added. 1985 (Alt. #559): eighth floor enlarged and penthouse added.

Lot:  1

Address:  70 Bethune St. (also 469-485 West St., 396 W. 12th St.)

N.B.:  240 - 8/18/1919

Completed:  1919

Architect:  A. G. Zimmermann

Original Owner:  Nabisco

Original Use:  cracker factory and bakery

Built in 1919-21 as a cracker bakery for Nabisco, this was part of a broader complex of Nabisco buildings in the area, the bulk of which is located a few blocks to the north on 16th Street, in what is now known as Chelsea Market.  An early example of establishing a uniform corporate identity through architecture, the factory was built in the same style as the main complex to the north as well as other major Nabisco complexes in Pittsburgh and Chicago.  The architect, A. G. Zimmermann, and the Nabisco President, Adolphus Green, appear to have been aware of and influenced by emerging contemporary German ideas about utilitarian and industrial design, and Zimmermann’s broad bays and functional design betray his own Chicago roots.  The smokestack has long been a local landmark.  Plans have been announced by a developer to erect apartments on the site, but such a plan would have to go to through a lengthy public review process because the site is currently zoned only for manufacturing uses.1924 (Alt. #2473): "set-back penthouse was erected on a portion of the roof for use as an employee restaurant." 1953 (Alt. #2112): 1-story brick garage added on east side.