| Archer Daniels Midland Wheat Mill | |
| Coordinates: | 41.888°N -87.6598°W |
| Completion Date: | 1897–1948 |
| Demolition Date: | 2021 |
| Floor Area: | 250000square feet |
| Architect: | William Carbys Zimmerman & John J. Flanders |
The Archer Daniels Midland Wheat Mill was a plant in Chicago's Fulton Market District. The complex included brick loft buildings, a grain elevator, and silos. The oldest buildings in the complex were built in 1897 and were designed by William Carbys Zimmerman and John J. Flanders.[1] [2] [3] [4] It originally served as Eckhart & Swan's wheat and rye mill.[1] [2] [3] [4]
In 1896, Eckhart & Swan purchased the Hess elevators, on Carroll Avenue, between Ada and Elizabeth street, for $75,000.[5] [6] In 1897, Eckhart & Swan began constructing a new wheat and rye mill, at a cost of between $250,000 and $300,000, replacing their existing mill at Canal and Fulton.[2] [6] [3] It was the largest mill in Illinois.[2] In 1909, Eckhart & Swan Milling Company's name was changed to the B. A. Eckhart Milling Company.[7]
An addition was built at the corner of Carroll and Elizabeth in 1910.[8] The grain elevator was built in 1927, and was designed by M. A. Lang.[8] [9] In 1927, Eckhart purchased an adjoining property on Elizabeth Street, to build an addition to their plant.[10] The property had been the site of the Puritan Mills feed plant, which burned down the previous year.[10] [11] New grain silos were built by Bulley & Andrews in 1948.[8] [9]
In 1964, Dixie Portland Flour Mills purchased Eckhart Milling Company.[12] In 1990, Archer Daniels Midland purchased the plant for $14 million.[13] In 2017, Archer Daniels Midland announced that it intended to build a new plant in Mendota, Illinois and close their plant in Chicago.[13] [14] In 2018, the plant was sold to Sterling Bay for approximately $25 million.[15] [16] Sterling Bay began demolishing the mill on February 11, 2021.[8] Initial reports stated that Sterling Bay planned to build a Metra station on the site.[15] [16] [1] In February 2021, Preservation Chicago listed the complex as one of Chicago's most endangered buildings.[9] [17]
On March 26, 1912, a suction fan overheated and ignited waste in a wheat cleaning room, starting a fire.[18] The fire was contained to the northern half of the four-story building, due to a worker closing a fireproof door.[18] After the firefighters left, a dust explosion caused a partial structural collapse, killing one worker.[18]
On March 18, 1970, an explosion occurred in a storage room on the sixth floor, killing one worker and injuring three, and causing the collapse of the top two floors of the northern edge of the building.[19] Many of the bricks fell onto a freight car parked on tracks to the north of the building.[19] Damage was estimated at $50,000.[19]