I had known about this building for a few years before finally getting inside to see it for myself. The first time I ever looked at it was with Brandon, and at that point the building didn’t appear to be abandoned. Closed? Sure. Run down a bit? Definitely. But abandoned? Not in our opinion. Fencing seemed new. Windows seemed new. In Cleveland, if a building has been abandoned or even been neglected and vacant for more than a few months, it’s obvious. This looked more like a building that was between occupants.
Years later we found ourselves in the neighborhood and decided to drive by it to see if the status had changed. It was clear that the building hadn’t been occupied or maintained. However, there appeared to be a realtor standing outside waiting about to show the building to a prospective buyer. So we drove on and forgot about the place for another couple years.
I don’t remember what lead us take another run at the bakery, but we eventually did and it paid off. I hadn’t seen any photos from this location on Instagram or Flickr. Maybe the other explorers just hadn’t found it yet. The other thing that surprised me was that despite many of the other abandoned structures in this area being thoroughly scrapped, and anything of value being hauled off, it seems as though it has gone unnoticed by the metal thieves as well.
While I do know a decent amount about the history of the company that was once headquartered in this building, I don’t want to give away too many details. The more people who know about a place, the more it gets ripped apart by scrappers, the more likely it is to be sealed up, and the more Instagram handles I’ll have to Photoshop out of my shots. I will say this, it once housed a very famous and well loved bakery. If your parents or grandparents grew up in Cleveland, or Northeast Ohio for that matter, chances are they have fond memories of eating doughnuts and other baked goods that were manufactured right here in this factory.
