217 S Liberty St

From the National Register nomination

Large one to three-story facility built in phases. In 1934 the core three-story section was built with a reinforced concrete structure, stretcher-bond brick curtain walls (using two or three lots of brick), and a fire-proof concrete roof. This building, the cold storage area, features a limestone foundation, a first-story loading dock behind brick pillars on the south side, a roof-top elevator housing of brick with a shed roof, and later metal cladding on the upper stories. Later, but before 1947, a one-story addition was made on the east end of the 1934 section and extending to S. Liberty St. to house the office, ice machine, freezing tank, and additional cold storage. The one-story wing is of American-bond brick construction with a stepped parapet on the east end, facade piers with concrete caps and bases, steel beams used as tie plates, and industrial metal-frame windows. A loading dock on the south side connects to that of the 1934 section and has a corrugated fiberglass roof on simple struts. It shelters the glazed block south wall of the one-story wing. In 1947 a one-story fire-proof engine room was added to the northeast corner of the one-story wing; it has stuccoed cinder block walls, a flat concrete roof, a brick boiler flue, and a plywood and glass freight door. In 1946-47 the 1934 section was extended on the west end for additional cold storage, and after 1960 a large wing of cinder block and metal-clad construction was built on the south side of the 1946-47 extension, giving the overall plant an L form. By the end of the 1950s the office was moved to the pre-existing building at 125 W. Bruce St.