Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "Gunzenhauser Bakery: Part 1: The Life Of A Successful Immigrant" Story

Thursday, July 26, 2018

The "Gunzenhauser Bakery: Part 1: The Life Of A Successful Immigrant" Story

It was an ordinary day. Talking with a woman named April who was standing with me in what at one time was the Gunzenhauser Bakery on North Mulberry Street in downtown Lancaster, PA. Today's story will give you an idea of what it might have been like to be an immigrant in the late 1800's and through hard work and perhaps a bit of good luck, make it in The United States of America. Christian Gunzenhauser was born in Germany in 1857. His father died when he was a year old and his mother died when he was twelve. He lived with his sister two years and came to America at the age of fourteen. He knew that many of his countrymen were in Lancaster, so he headed in that direction. Worked at odd jobs for two years and then got a job at the bakery of Lawrence Goos, learning the bakery trade. He then worked in the bakery of George Goebel before leaving for Philadelphia two years later to learn baking and mixing techniques. After 10 years he opened his own bakery in Lock Haven, PA where he stayed for two years before returning to Lancaster where he bought the Goebel bakery which was located at 231 West King Street.

Gunzenhauser's first building he built on Mulberry St.

In the early 1900s he moved to a new three story brick building on North Mulberry Street. By now he had a wife with whom he had four children. During the next ten years he added an addition to the building which is where I am now standing. Over the years the third story was removed. He took pride in his business and offered a high class of healthful and most attractive breads, pastries and cakes.

One of the original ovens he used on Mulberry St.

Christian had 12 delivery wagons which delivered his goods to various parts of the city and county. In 1911 he had architect Charles Balderson design and build a new bakery at 801 North Prince Street on the north side of the city. Due to his success he had renowned architect C. Emlen Urban design a home for he and his family at 250 W. Orange Street in downtown Lancaster. The three-story home is a unique blend of Georgian, French and Italian Renaissance Revival styles. In 1970, production was moved from Lancaster to Harrisburg. Its best known product was Holsum bread and rolls. In 1974 the bakery site on the corner of West Clay and North Prince went from wheat to waste.

Building he built on corner of W. Clay and N. Prince. You
could look in the windows and watch the bread being made.
Their motto was "Made in sight by men in white."

It was used a few years as a location for cleaning contamin- ated steel barrel drums by the Miller Barrel Works until a massive fire in 1999 gutted the building. Four years later another fire damaged the property further. The fires left the contaminated site with hazardous waste. It was eventually cleaned and may sometime in the future be used for office or residentual use. I lived about two blocks from the bakery for close to 20 years and made many stops at the place for pastries and donuts. I'm sure I purchased bread their also, but for some reason only remember the pastries and donuts. Needless to say I never had the chance to meet Mr. Gunzenhauser. An exhibit of many of Gunzenhauser memorabilia is part of a display at the original North Mulberry St. site. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.