Albert German used the warehouse for wholesale storage of sugar, flour, feed, coal, coffee, cement, and groceries from 1921-1927. Wright’s initial building quote was for $30,000. However, construction had to be stopped in 1921, as costs soared to $125,000, and the building was never completed as Wright intended.
The avant-garde warehouse is an impressive brick structure topped by a magnificent concrete frieze that is said to resemble a Mayan temple. The building has four floors, approximately 4,000 square feet each, and an open floor plan.
The warehouse is an example of early poured-concrete construction, and the building rests on a pad of cork for stability and shock absorption. It is the only remaining commercial structure designed by Wright that still exists from his “organic” or “natural” period.
As time passes, its architectural and historic significance continues to grow, reaching visitors from far and wide.
