Call Box 9 - 6th and S

Taken in 06/2012

Taken in 06/2012

Taken in 06/2012

Taken in 06/2012

Image from 2009; Spire Missing as of 2012

Location:  Northwest corner of intersection of Sixth and S Streets, NW
Style: Antique Fire
Condition:  Missing top spire and access panel
Paint Scheme:  Red
Subject of Plaque:   Ever wonder where Hostess Cakes were made?
Draft Text: 

A few feet to the east of here at 641 S Street, NW, is an old bakery known to many as "The Wonderbread Factory."  Long-time residents of the neighborhood recall fondly the sweet smells that once emanated from the bakery, which at one point produced approximately 100,000 Hostess Cakes daily.

Dorsch's White Cross Bakery, also known as the Wonder Bread Factory, is a complex of historic structures located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was entered in the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites in 2011 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

Peter Michael Dorsch (1878-1959), was a Washington, DC native who established the White Cross Bakery in 1904.  He moved the business to S Street in 1913. The buildings that front S Street, NW were built in 1915 and 1922. They were designed by different architects, but they are composed of similar materials, treatment and details. They features elements of the American Craftsman style. White terra cotta tile crosses in the center pediments identify the building with White Cross Bakery. Plans are underway to redevelop the facility into a mix of office and retail uses.

Continental Bakery, parent company of the Wonder Bread brand, purchased White Cross Bakery.   Continental operated a bakery at 641 S Street -- and another bakery nearby on 7th St. -- until 1988, when it closed both facilities.  The building remained mostly vacant for years following.

In 2012, Douglas Development rehabilitated the building into commercial space.

Sources:  http://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu:8080/bitstream/handle/1774.2/35987/Hockensmith_Development%20Proposal%20For%20Wonder%20Bread%20Condominium,%20641%20S%20Street%20NW,%20Washing%20DC_2011_Ely.pdf?sequence=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorsch's_White_Cross_Bakery

Image:  TBD

Hostess Cake Ad?

Two sided plaque opportunity!

Follow-Up:  Research/Draft text; identify/obtain image;

Opportunity for 2 sided plaque