Pillsbury "A" Mill

Infobox_nrhp | name =Pillsbury A Mill
nrhp_type =nhl

---

caption =The mill in 2005. A hydroelectric station sits in the foreground
location= 116 3rd Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN
lat_degrees = 44 | lat_minutes = 59 | lat_seconds = 2.18 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 93 | long_minutes = 15 | long_seconds = 9.59 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1881
architect= LeRoy S. Buffington
designated = November 13, 1966
added = November 13, 1966
governing_body = Private
refnum=66000402cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2006-03-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The Pillsbury "A" Mill, situated along Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, held the title of largest flour mill in the world for 40 years.cite book|title=Mill City: A Visual History of the Minneapolis Mill District|last=Pennefeather|first=Shannon M.|year=2003|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|location=St. Paul, Minnesota] citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000402.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Pillsbury "A" Mill] |340 KiB |author=Stephen Lissandrello|date=August 7, 1975 |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/66000402.pdf Accompanying 5 images, including photos from early 1900s to 1975.] |830 KiB ] Completed in 1881, it was owned by Pillsbury and operated two of the most powerful direct-drive waterwheels ever built, each generating 1,200 horsepower (895 kW). The mill still stands today on the east side of the Mississippi River, but ceased operation in 2003.

History

In 1879, after five years of secret planning, Charles Alfred Pillsbury announced to the public that he would build the largest and most advanced mill the world had ever seen. He had traveled to mills all over the world, searching for the best technique for milling flour on a large scale. Despite the convention of the time, Pillsbury decided that he wanted his new mill to be designed by an architect in order to make the building visually appealing. An architect named LeRoy S. Buffington, with the loose advice of several engineers, carried out the design. Construction started in 1880 and was finished in 1881 under a contractor named George McMullen. The mill was built to put out 5,000 barrels a day when a 500-barrel mill was considered large. It attracted a lot of attention from many people who thought that there was no practical need for a mill to ever exist due to the demand of flour in the day.Fact|date=May 2007 For some years the mill was not run at its intended capacity. Part of the building was used as a warehouse and for other purposes.

Due to vibrations of milling machines and poor design in 1905 the mill was fortified and certain sections were rebuilt. To this day the walls bow 22 inches on the top. Unlike other similarly large mills in the area, most notably the Washburn "A" Mill, the Pillsbury "A" Mill never exploded or caught fire. And as a result, it still contains its original wood frame.

As the years progressed, mill output picked up due to technological advances in the milling industry.Fact|date=May 2007 However other larger mills were created elsewhere and the sparkle that once surround the great mill left.

The building is a National Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

On the outside the Pillsbury “A” Mill is a rectangular structure 175 feet (53 m) by 115 feet (35 m). The foundations are of Platteville limestone. The exterior wall thickness varies from 8’-0” (2.4 m) thick at the basement to 2’-0” (0.6 m) thick at the top of the building. The outside walls are of load bearing stone with heavy timber framing on the interior. (Timber was added after the completion of the building.) There are six chimneys on the roof of the building. The roof itself is flat with gravel.

When it was still in use, the seven floors and the basement of the mill all had specific purposes. The basement held a transformer vault, water inlets, and an electrical room. On the first floor there was a small floor-mounted sifter, a larger ceiling-hung sifter, and a pressure tank. On the second floor there were conveyor belts and a staff lunchroom. Third floor contained more belts and bins. Fourth floor held a dust collector, centrifugal machine, gyration shifter, grinder, scale, and a packing bin. The fifth floor held a sifter, separator, and a centrifugal machine. Sixth floor held flour bins. The seventh floor was an electrical room.

In the 1980s and 1990s, studio space was created for artists and housing. In 1997, the “A” Mill was the source of controversy when an artist with a studio connected to the mill died of methyl bromide poisoning. [Carlson, J. (1998) [http://www.mndaily.com/daily/1998/03/03/news/adm2/ City works to ensure safer fumigant use] . "The Minnesota Daily", March 3, 1998. Retrieved May 3, 2007] The mill is sometimes fumigated with methyl bromide to rid the mill of bacteria.cite web|url=http://www.kjerickson.org/photos1.htm|title=Pillsbury|accessdate=2007-05-06] Since the death the widow of the artist has brought suit in connected with the death and reported illnesses.

Before methyl bromide, cyanide was used to fumigate the mills for bacteria. It has since been made illegal. Only mills with wooden frames need to be fumigated so that bacteria can't grow in the wood.

Future of the mill

In 2003, production in the mill ceased and the mill lay empty. The building was then acquired by local developer Shafer Richardson. In 2006 they launched plans to convert and preserve the "A" Mill complex into the rebranded East Bank Mills [ [http://www.eastbankmills.com/ East Bank Mills website] ] , a loft-style apartment complex containing 759 to 1,095 housing units.City of Minneapolis,"Pillsbury A Mill Complex Project,"http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/PLANNING/a-mill.asp] The 7.9 acre complex will affect 2.5 blocks of Old St. Anthony and will include new buildings, creating convert|105000|sqft|m2|-2 of commercial space. Some of the neighboring concrete grain elevators will be demolished in the project. Parking for the complex will be concealed, with underground parking and spaces hidden between the buildings. Shafer Richardson contracted a firm to master plan the 300 million dollar project with the idea to enhance the area using its own history. Cermak Rhoades is the architecture firm, performing services for historic renovation and designing new structures.

Working bibliography

* http://www.tholt.com/pillsa.html
* http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=279&ResourceType=Building
* http://www.kjerickson.org/photos1.htm
* http://www.gendisasters.com/data1/mn/fires/minneapolis-mill-fire1881.htm

ee also

*Washburn "A" Mill

References

External links

* [http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/planning/a-mill.asp City of Minneapolis: Pillsbury A Mill Complex Project]
* [http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=279&ResourceType=Building NHL summary]