The fire that completely destroyed Centennial Mills began at the five story mill, then spread out of control to the eight story grain storage building and continued to spread toward the seven story export and storage building. The flour mill was located on the city's waterway. Aerial view of Centennial Flour Mill's fire, flames and smoke have taken over the entire building (T. Times, 1/30/47, p. 1).
General Mills produced over 12,900 barrels of flour per day, their output had doubled in just five years. They were one of the oldest flour mills in the Pacific Northwest. The Tacoma plant handled most of the international exporting. Interior view of storage building with thousands of sacks of Sperry flour stacked up.
Special order for special edition, Studio, by Tacoma Times, George Beckingham. Two men are reviewing the quality of the ground material being loaded onto a railroad freight car at the General Mills-Sperry plant. The mill produced all white flours, whole wheat, pancake and cake flours, cereals and mixed feed.
General Mills supervisors, Mr. Meinecke, Sperry Flour Division. Eight men from the Sperry Flour plant in their work clothes and one men in a business suit in this photograph taken on May 3, 1948. All but one of them wears a hat. At the far left is John W. Geddis. Mr. Geddis was a management trainee in 1948 which involved rotating through various training and supervisory assignments. He later became head of all General Mills Production and Distribution west of the Rocky Mountains. (Additional identification & information provided by a reader)
General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Mills--Tacoma; Employees--Tacoma--1940-1950; Geddis, John W.;
The Bechtel Corporation from California was the company working on the General Mills Sperry Division flour mills expansion project. The project was approved in 1947 and was expected to be completed in 1948. Exterior view of Sperry plant, Bechtel sign advertising their services is on top of office building. The safety signs indicates building construction is in progress.
Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Building construction--Tacoma; Construction industry--Tacoma; Engineering--Tacoma; Remodeling--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Bechtel Corp. (Tacoma);
Interior view of General Mills Sperry Division plant in Tacoma. In 1947 the company had decided to expand their facilities. Sperry Flour products were exported throughout the world and shipped throughout the United States, the company was producing over 12,000 barrels of flour per day in order to fill the world's needs.
Great Northern Box Car being loaded by Sperry Flour Company at Ocean Dock, DFPA, Edith Leik. A view inside the box car. Bags of flour are being moved by a forklift to fill the upper spaces in the box car. The interior of the freight car is lined with plywood and paper to protect the flour and meal being shipped. TPL-10457
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma); General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Hoisting machinery;
Great Northern Box Car being loaded by Sperry Flour Company at Ocean Dock, DFPA, Edith Leik. A man is moving several bags of flour inside a box car at the Sperry Flour Company Ocean Dock. Another man stands outside reviewing a list. Some of the Sperry Flour Company facilities are seen in the background. TPL-10456
Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma); General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Ocean Dock (Tacoma);
Twenty-two employees of the General Mills Inc., Sperry Division, pose behind a large "C Day Parade '54" banner on April 2, 1954. The brand names of several General Mills cereals are listed on the banner, including Cheerios, Wheaties, Kix, and a new cereal, Sugar Jets. Nearly fifty years later, Cheerios, Wheaties and Kix are still being devoured by the hungry public.
A White tank truck for Larro Feeds is parked in the parking lot of Gereral Mills Inc., Sperry Division, along Schuster Parkway near Sixth. Sperry Mills grain storage elevators are seen in the background.
General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); White trucks--Tacoma; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Progress photograph taken in February of 1975 of Schuster Parkway construction. A large crane is in the process of moving part of the road bed. Once completed, Schuster Parkway (formerly known as Bayside Dr.) would be used heavily for traffic between I-705 and "Old Town." Cost of the project was about 5.7 million dollars. In the distance is the Continental Grain Terminal which was built in 1973. Color photograph ordered by Butler-Jarvis Construction.
Centennial Flour Mills was completely destroyed after a 2-11 alarm fire. Twelve fire companies and three fire boats responded to the fire which occurred early in the morning. This turned out to be one of the most spectacular fires in Tacoma's history, with damages totaling over $2,500,000. Aerial view of Centennial Flour Mills surrounded by smoke (T. Times, 1/30/47, p. 1).
The Centennial Flour Mill's fire was started after a transformer blew up on the first floor of the five floor mill building, this explosion ignited a gasoline line, then quickly spread throughout their three buildings. At this time, Centennial was deciding whether they wanted to rebuild in Tacoma. View of Centennial site about one week after the fire, photo ordered by Underwriter's Salvage Company of New York.
Salvage--Tacoma; Hoisting machinery; Laborers--Tacoma; Underwriter's Salvage Co. of New York; Centennial Flouring Mills Co. (Tacoma); Fires--Tacoma--1940-1950; Disasters--Tacoma;
Sperry Flour Co. Flour milling is one of the oldest industries in the Northwest. Sperry Flour Division in Tacoma was just one plant of the many throughout the West. The Tacoma plant did most of the international exporting. The company celebrated its 92nd anniversary this year. Exterior view of plant.
Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma);
Equipment installations, General Mills. A workman is ready to place another bag at the filling machine. One bag that has already been filled with Egg Mash and sewn shut is seen on the conveyor belt to the left of the sewing machine. Ordered by Mr. Meinecke.
Picture taken from the roof to show the newly remodeled Sperry Ocean dock at General Mills Inc., Sperry Division, flour mills at Waterfront St. near N. 6th. The General Mills plant was remodeled in 1947, followed by a $49,000 improvement on the dock finished in 1950. Two thirds of the 385 foot dock was pulled out and all fender piles, plus numerous others, were replaced. The entire dock was increased in width from 18 to 24 feet and four ramps were built from the warehouse to the lip of the dock. The increased width allowed more room for dock workers and the ramps more ease in the loading of ships. The plant was closed down in 1965 and the dock was the last portion to be demolished, in approximately 1989.
The Centennial Flouring Mills Co. was one of the major companies along what is now Schuster Parkway from 1934 until January 30, 1947 when it was destroyed by fire. The empty shell of the building remained standing for almost four years. Finally, in December of 1950, the Lige Dickson Company was contracted to remove the concrete and steel framework. The road past the old plant was closed to through traffic for two months. Rubble from the building was later used to repair Ruston Way which had been severly damaged by the storm of January 13, 1950. A truck is seen pulling a bulldozer to the old plant. (TNT, 12/21/1950, p.1)
In this photograph from September of 1947, workers at the Sperry Flour Company use sewing machines to sew 100 pound bags of flour closed after filling. The unidentified worker in the foreground weighs a bag on a scale with the sewing machine head next to his left hand. The line of work stations continues into the background. The Sperry Flour Company was on the waterfront in Tacoma on what is now Schuster Parkway. The flour operations at the mill ceased in 1965, and the last of the mill buildings was demolished in the late 1980s. TPL-8721
General Mills supervisors, Mr. Meinecke, Sperry Flour Division. Nineteen men from the company, all but one wearing overalls and hats for their work with two policemen. One of the men wears a suit and hat. Several of the white hats say, "GMI, Safety First" on them.
View of Bechtel Corporation employees reviewing the building plans for the General Mills Sperry flour plant expansion. The Bechtel Company was based out of California, they brought up their trucks and staff and would be here until the Tacoma project was completed.
Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Construction workers--Tacoma; Construction industry--Tacoma; Engineering--Tacoma; Remodeling--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Bechtel Corp. (Tacoma);
View of construction workers working on the General Mills Sperry Division expansion project. The men appear to be measuring, cutting, reviewing plans and getting the building materials ready for the flour mill. The expansion project was approved in 1947 and should be completed this year.
General Mills Sperry Flour Division had experienced an increase in business, because of the Centennial fire. The company had steadily expanded throughout the years, but experienced a boom last year. Sperry was able to corner the market in national sales and international exports. Interior view of Sperry Flour plant, modern equipment allows them to process more of their products to fill the higher demands.
A group of workmen load 100 lb. bags of flour into a Southern Pacific railroad freight car at the Sperry Flour-General Mills plant on Tacoma's waterfront in February 1948. The company's facilities, on what is now Schuster Parkway, was ideally located between the railroad tracks and the "Ocean Dock". The company's products included all white flours, whole wheat, pancake and cake flours, cereals and mixed feed. Sperry's cereals were sent to Portland for packaging. The flour operations at the mill ceased in 1965, and the last of the mill buildings was demolished in the late 1980s. (Special order for special edition, Tacoma Times, George Beckingham)
Group shot of about 20 men at General Mills. The men are standing & kneeling behind a banner advertising General Mills cereals Cheerios, Kix and Wheaties.
Mechanization could relieve men from heavy labor in the loading dock at the Sperry Mill. One man moves bags of flour from a rotating delivery platform to a wooden pallet. A man with a fork-lift can transport the flour directly to the loading dock at the Sperry Ocean Dock. Ordered by General Mills.
Exterior of bulk feed truck, labelled Larro Feeds, at General Mills, on Schuster Parkway near 6th. The truck is a White truck 3000. General Mills, Sperry Division, grain elevators can be seen in the background. The White truck will be loaded with grain that will then be delivered to area farmers for feeding their livestock.
General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); White trucks--Tacoma; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960; Grain elevators--Tacoma--1950-1960; Grain industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
ca. 1931. A male employee at the Tacoma Grain Company holds a large filter that is used in the nearby grain sifter. This photograph was taken circa 1931.
