It's #waybackwednesday! Take a look at the Fort Wayne Coca-Cola bottling plant, pictured circa 1941! The plant was located at 1631 E. Pontiac St. The plant had a bottling capacity of 276,480 bottles per day! This image is courtesy of the Harter Postcard Collection in our Community Album.
Built in 1940, the Art Deco Coca-Cola building was designed by the architectural firm of Pohlmeyer & Pohlmeyer who also designed the Hattersley House at 1925 Kensington Boulevard, the Bayer House at 1512 Forest Park Boulevard, and the St. Joseph's Nurses Home on the St. Joseph Hospital Broadway campus.
March 27, 2018 post by ARCH, Inc. on Facebook:
Bottle Works Lofts will be a great re-use project when it's finished. It's no surprise people are interested!
We are happy to announce that the c.1940 Coca-Cola Bottling Plant (now Bottle Works Lofts) at 1631 East Pontiac is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Congratulations!
Recognizing history. Fort Wayne has a long, proud past of designating local places worthy of preservation. Here's a brief history lesson: https://bit.ly/3OJbqpy #PreserveFW22
Fort Wayne’s Coca-Cola Bottling Plant on Pontiac Street is comprised of two buildings constructed in 1940 and 1941 and is the company’s third location in the city. Designed by the local architectural firm of Pohlmeyer and Pohlmeyer, the plant was influenced by the Coca-Cola Bottlers Association’s 1924 Standardized Plants brochure which laid out recommended design principles and provided examples of Art Deco-style plans for building design. However, unlike the standardized plans, the Fort Wayne plant incorporates elements of the Tudor Revival, Jacobean Revival, and Arts and Crafts styles. The plant was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2021 and has been rehabilitated into apartments (NR-2622). (Photo: DNR Communications)
SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) County Survey Site ID: 003-214-55486. 1938-1943. National Register File Number: NR-2622, 100006841, LISTED, 8/23/2021
The Coca-Cola Bottling Plant is a good example of a Craftsman style industrial/commercial building. It has rectangular massing and symmetrical fenestration. The entrance is offset to the east, set in a compound semi-elliptical arch opening flanked by pilasters. Above the entrance, engraved in stone, are the Coca-Cola logo and the words ?Bottling Works.? The stone surround of the entrance is topped with a delicate dentil frieze and cornice. Further to the east is an outlying bay that has three window openings on each floor, flanked by brick pilasters with stone quoins on either side. To the west are four wide bays with a single large window opening on the ground floor and a pair of smaller window openings on the second floor. The large opening is infilled with a decorative concrete panel, but the windows have been removed from the openings on the second floor. Further to the west is an outlying bay that is identical to the one at the SE corner. Individual bays in the center are flanked by simplified brick pilasters with stone accent blocks, and each brick span between floors is adorned with a stone accent block that has a geometric design. The first bay of the west elevation is identical the outlying bays of the façade. To the north of it is a wider bay with similar fenestration. The single-story addition to the north of the ell shaped wing has three identical bays, each with a pair of window openings flanked by simplified brick pilasters. Most window openings are currently empty, as windows have been removed for restoration. There are a couple of metal replacement windows on the east elevation, but that part of the building is an active construction zone. The building to the north, along the west elevation, is attached to the original wings of the plant. Another similar building, from 1943, is located further to the north. Both of these buildings are one-story tall, five bays wide, and have a stone water table and elaborate stepped parapet with pediment. The centra
The Coca-Cola Bottling Plant is a two-story, 90,000-square-foot, Craftsman style building with a full basement. It is currently undergoing major renovations but the window openings and façade remain intact. The original wing of the building has an ell shaped plan, but there are several additions to the north of it. Further to the north is another original building with a rectangular footprint, and to the northwest of the original wing is a small commercial building dating back to 1970. One of the additions also dates back to 1970.
