Huston Biscuit Co. building

From Bhamwiki
(Redirected from Absco Warehouse)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Huston Biscuit Co. building, also known as the Absco Warehouse, was a four-story brick commercial building located on the northwest corner of 5th Avenue South and 28th Street. The building's entrance was at 416 28th Street South. The building was constructed around 1902 for the Huston Biscuit Co., which had operated from the site since at least 1887.

The Huston Biscuit Co. was acquired by the Highland Baking Company and merged into the American Bakeries Co. in 1910. They continued to use the building to produce crackers into the 1950s. The bakery was taken over by the Bremmer Biscuit Co., a division of the Louisville, Kentucky-based Ralston Purina Co. before 1957. At least since the 1920s, the bakeries located there were able to make use of flour milled at Cherokee Mills, later the Birmingham Flour Co., directly across 28th Street.

In the 1960s the building was renovated with new rectangular aluminum windows and canvas awnings. Absco Fireplace & Patio used the building as a warehouse into the 2010s. In 2005 it was recognized as a contributing structure to the Southside Historic District

In 2018 it was sold for $1.825 million to a group led by attorney Tim Segers and construction executive Raymond Harbert. They proposed to redevelop the site as an arts campus anchored by the Red Mountain Theater Company.

In 2020 the group changed its plans and sold the property to another Harbert-affiliated group, led by David Williams, for $2 million. Harbert Realty proposed to demolish the existing building and reuse some of the salvaged brick in the construction of a new 120-unit apartment complex, called Artisan Flats. Demolition began in November 2021.

References