Simmons Hardware Company Warehouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Simmons Hardware Company Warehouse
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 Location in Iowa
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| Location | 323 Water St. Sioux City, Iowa |
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| Built | 1905 |
| Built by | Gilberth, Frank B. |
| Architect | Gordon, Tracy & Swartwout |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 08000332 |
| Added to NRHP | April 25, 2008 |
The Simmons Hardware Company Warehouse, also known as the Battery Building, is a really old and important warehouse in Sioux City, Iowa. It's so special that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This huge building has six floors and covers an entire city block! Its construction was overseen by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr., who was famous for studying how people work to make things more efficient.
Contents
A Look Back: The Warehouse's Story
Built in 1905 for the Simmons Hardware Company of St. Louis, this building was designed to quickly send out and receive all their hardware products. Its design was inspired by a famous store in Chicago called Marshall Field's Wholesale Store. The New York company Gordon, Tracy and Swartwout created the plans.
Building It Smart: Frank Gilbreth's Ideas
The person in charge of building it was Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr.. He became well-known as a main character in the book "Cheaper By The Dozen." Frank used his ideas about "time and motion study" to make the building super efficient. This meant he carefully planned every step of the construction to save time and effort.
The architects said that hundreds of 20-foot concrete poles needed to be pushed into the soft ground. This was to help the ground hold the weight of the building. It was estimated that two million bricks were needed! While it was being built, they even added a sixth floor and made other changes.
Just the bricks alone would have needed over 250 train cars to bring them. Another 450 cars were needed for other building materials. Getting these train cars was easy because the building had its own special train tracks right there.
The Famous Clock Tower
The building had a tall 123-foot clock tower that became an important landmark. It was meant to be beautiful and show how important the company was. The clock face was even going to have special letters instead of numbers. These letters spelled out a secret message: "The recollection of quality remains long after the price is forgotten." This was the Simmons company motto!
Simmons Hardware: A Big Company
Simmons Hardware was the first company to create a nationwide brand for hardware. They had warehouses in six different states across America. These included New York, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and a four-story building in Wichita, Kansas. The warehouse stored many different items, like knives, wires, and even dog collars. The company had a funny saying: "If you can't eat it, and it don't pour or fold, it's hardware."
The company had a smart business plan. They would buy the companies that supplied their products. This way, they could choose the best machines and make sure their own needs came first.
In the 1920s, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company (famous for guns) decided to start making knives and other hardware. They bought other companies and even joined with the Simmons Hardware Company. So, during the 1920s, this warehouse was used by the combined Winchester and Simmons company. Both brands did well, but in 1929, they decided to split up. Simmons and this building went back to their original business.
What Happened Next: After Hardware
Over the years, the warehouse had many different owners. The Kollman-Warner Seed Company owned it in 1939. Then, the Sioux City Battery Corporation bought it in 1944. A farm store called Bomgaars bought the building in 1973. They used it as a warehouse and for their main offices.
New Plans for the Old Building
Bomgaars moved their headquarters out in 2005. In 2007, there were plans to turn the warehouse into apartments, offices, and a restaurant. This project was going to cost $10.5 million. The owners, Roger and Jane Bomgaars, worked with developers from Omaha, Nebraska to restore the building. They needed the city to give them special tax breaks and land for parking.
In 2013, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino announced they would open a location in Sioux City. They planned to put casino offices on the third floor of the warehouse. A 54-room hotel would take up the top two floors. Now, the main floor of the warehouse has the hotel lobby and two restaurants. A new casino building is connected to the historic brick warehouse.
The plans changed a bit, and the hotel was moved inside the historic building. A 60-foot glowing guitar was even added to the roof! Both the casino and hotel opened on August 1, 2014.
