The "A New Buyer For An Historic Building?" Story

Preface:  A story appeared in the Lancaster Newspaper a few days ago that told of the purchase of the Stehli Silk Mill in Manheim Township.  They purchased the 10.8 acre property, which holds the historic Stehli Silk Mill, for $2.5 million.  They will invest $30 million into apartment units and retail store space within the old silk mill.  They plan to have the renewal of the property complete by 2020.  I wrote the following story before this information was available.

1908 postcard of the Stehil silk mill in Lancaster, PA

It was an ordinary day.  Just read that the Stehil silk mill at the corner of Martha and Marshall Avenues in Mannheim Township may have a new owner.  The once-magnificent  silk mill, listed on the national Register of Historic Places, has sat vacant for ages.  

1931 view of the plant on Martha Ave. 

Many of the windows in the block long building show shards of glass hanging from their cross-pieces and wood rotting in door frames that at one time was the longest building in America at 883 feet in length and second longest in the world.  The silk mill was built in 1897 by Stehli & Company, a Zurich, Switzerland based silk manufacturer.  

Many of the workers at the mill lived in nearby houses
in the Grandview Heights area.  The mill is in the distance.

Lancaster's famed architect, C. Emlen Urban designed the buildings that make up the complex.  The company chose to build their factory in Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, since it was close to both New York City and Philadelphia, PA. and had a railroad line nearby to help with transportation needs.   The silk products, dress goods and other textiles could easily be sent to markets in the northeast from the location in Mannheim Township.  

The mill can be seen along Martha Ave.

When the building was totally finished in 1925, the mill had over 1,600 workers and over 250,000 square feet of floor space.  In its heyday it had 1,100 looms lit by the light from 2,500 windows. Most people living in the surrounding areas had a family member who worked their or knew someone who worked at the silk mill.  The mill closed in 1954 when competition from nylon and other synthetic fabrics overtook silk.  The following year nearby RCA Corporation bought the building for color television tube production.  In the late 1960s Carol and I purchased a house in Grandview Heights, three blocks from the silk mill turned TV tube manufacturer.  Then in 1973 RCA sold the property to a warehousing firm.  

Broken windows and boarded-up doors are the norm on the building.

It eventually became vacant and a neighbor- hood eyesore.  A new owner has been sought for years and recently Union Box Co. has signed a sales agreement to purchase the 11 acre site.  The Baltimore, Maryland company is hoping to construct 120 to 140 market-rate apartments plus a few stores.  

Barbed wire surrounds the building at present.

Market-rate housing is apartments that have no rent restric- tions.  The project would cost 30M and take three years to complete.  The proposed developer also has a building in Rhode Island, which used to be the Fruit of the loom mill, that he currently is converting into apartments.  

The building seems to be endless.

The silk mill has some issues, but the bones of the place are strong.  Manheim Township, where the property is located, is trying support the sale by giving the new owner a 10-year break on property taxes.  Maybe soon, the neighborhood can boast of a new, beautiful building that will be a showplace rather than an eyesore.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

1920 view of the interior silk looms.

Broken windows surround the building on all sides.

Beautiful architecture which is now an eyesore.