History
Before becoming a home to artists in the late 1970s, the land and the building of Park Trades Center had a long history.
HISTORY OF THE LAND
1887 — The oldest records show this parcel of land was occupied by dwelling units
1891 — American Cart Company takes over the units to operate near the railroad tracks. Woodworkers, blacksmiths, and painters worked onsite
1896 — Hall brothers and Company Pharmaceutical Chemists occupy part of the building
1898 — An explosion caused by chemicals from the Hall Brothers Chemical Company destroys parts of the building, and kills 10 people
1902-1967 — Several companies move in and out of the surviving facilities, including: American Carriage Co., C.H. Swindell Butter & Eggs Company, Swindell Brothers Cold Storage Co., Taylor Produce Co., and The Kalamazoo Fruit Co.
HISTORY OF THE PARK TRADES CENTER BUILDING
1906 — Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Company move into it’s new 4-story building along Kalamazoo Avenue, built by George Rickman & Sons. The maker of blank books grew to be the largest loose leaf manufacturer in the world. They expanded the building several times to keep up with their growing business.
1913 — One-story wing is added along the west side to be used as offices
1917 — Three-stories are added to the west wing
1918 — Saniwax, maker of wax food papers, moves into the adjacent building along Park Street
1921 — A four-story wing is added to the East. Loose Leaf is now an entire block between North Church and Park Street
1927 — The Loose Leaf Binder and Equipment Co merges with Remington-Rand Company. The building is renamed The Remington Building
1929 — Remington moves to Benton Harbor. Some of the workers stay in Kalamazoo and rename the company Master Craft, which becomes a major producer of business forms
1935 — Master Craft moves out. The building remains vacant for a few years until the landlords decided to rent to smaller business and individuals, instead of waiting for one large company. Chemists, printers, repair companies, craftsmen, manufacturers, and corset and dress makers quickly fill the vacant spaces of the building.
1950 — The Saniwax Company buys the Remington Building and renames it the Saniwax Building. They add loading docks and join all the separate areas to make one large structure
1970 — Saniwax downsizes and rents parts of the building to other businesses
1971 — Saniwax moves out. The building starts to attract artists and other creative businesses.
1982 — Saniwax building is bought by 436 Park Corporation
1985 — Saniwax building is renamed Park Trades Center
1985-Present Day — The outside appearance of the building has stayed almost untouched over the last 30 years. If you look carefully, you can see where the various expansions of the building happened. Inside is 140,000 square feet, divided into over 120 units, ranging from 50 sq ft to 7000 sq ft.