American Chicle Company Building, building in Louisiana, United States
The American Chicle Company Building is a historic factory in New Orleans built in 1911. The three-story brick structure features decorative corner towers topped with pyramid-shaped tile roofs, large arched windows on the ground floor, and ornamental details including brick roundels and stone bands separating each level.
The building was constructed in 1911 when the New Jersey-based American Chicle Company opened a gum factory in this port city to benefit from local sugar refineries and chicle imports from Latin America. After the factory closed in 1918, the building served as warehouse space for various industries and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The building takes its name from the American Chicle Company that operated a gum factory here. Its Italian Renaissance design details set it apart from typical factories of the era, reflecting how industrial companies wanted their buildings to express pride and success.
The building is located in the Gert Town neighborhood and is easily visible from the street, with its distinctive corner towers serving as a reliable landmark. Interior access is limited, but the facade with its ornamental details can be fully appreciated from the outside.
The building survived Hurricane Katrina's flooding in 2005 but sat empty for several years before being restored between 2008 and 2009. Today it houses offices for Landis Construction Company, showing how historic industrial structures can find new purpose in the modern city.
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