The National Biscuit Company Building

Close your eyes and feel the vibrant pulse of history! When you stand before the majestic National Biscuit Company Building on Cherry Street, you can almost feel the happy rhythm of production from 1906. This Neoclassical masterpiece radiates a sense of permanent style and enduring beauty in its heavy timber and masonry.

It was a place of pure purpose for the National Biscuit Company. Des Moines was a thriving territory and this building was a proud home for the famous Uneeda Biscuit. During the mid-1920s, it was one of the special few spots creating a corn cracker. Even though only half of the original plan was finished before the north half was sold, the masonry was built to handle the wonderful energy of a busy bakery.

This building has lived such a colorful and exciting life! It served the National Baking Company until 1940, then welcomed the Boyt Harness Company, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and even Look magazine. It was a cheerful workhorse of the city, embracing new identities as the decades danced by.

In 1981, the spirit of togetherness bloomed when Carpenter's Local #106 turned it into a place for community and learning. Then in 1995, it received a brand new lease on life as a home for 54 apartment units! Today, it stands with such pride on the National Register of Historic Places next to the Herring Motor Car Company Building, sparkling as a preserved gem of Des Moines.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons