Peek Inside This Historic Abandoned Factory In Western New York

Often, we don't realize how great it is to work and live in Western New York. Throughout the history of our area, we've had some amazing pieces of architecture that cover just about every style of construction, built by some of the greatest minds around.

All around the region, you can easily find buildings and streets created by people with names such as Frederick Law Olmsted, Calvert Vaux, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, Louise Blanchard Bethune, H.H. Richardson, Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Elbert Hubbard, and more.

There are tons of examples around that are architecturally significant that still survive today, like the former Sattler's Theatre on Broadway, and sometimes there are buildings around that aren't unique architecturally but are still significant to Buffalo's history.

The Wonder Bread factory in Buffalo's MLK Park neighborhood is one of those.

What Is The Wonder Bread Factory?

Originally adjacent to The Parade, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted & Calvert Vaux, George Urban bought a large piece of land from Grover Cleveland in 1903, who was Sheriff of Buffalo then, to build a mill for his company, George Urban Milling. During that time, he built Urban Street and a mill that eventually led to the construction of the Wonder Bread factory.

Designed by Corry B. Comstock and built in 1914, the five-story factory has more than 180,000 square feet of space and was built on a 2.8-acre plot of land that sits in the heart of Buffalo. During its heyday, hundreds of pounds of bread and other baked goods were produced everyday. According to Buffalo Rising, the plant had a daily capacity of 100,000 loaves plus 50,000 cakes and 20,000 rolls.

For many years, this factory was the primary producer of some of my favorite snacks. Over the years, if you ever ate a Twinkie, Sno Balls, Ding Dongs, or Ho Hos, it likely came from this bakery bounded by Urban Street, Barthel Street, and Fougeron Street.

What Happened To The Wonder Bread Factory?

As the economics of mass baking changed, plant owner Interstate Bakeries Corporation filed for bankruptcy and eventually closed this factory in 2004. The last 150 employees left the building in October 2004, and it has sat largely vacant since then.

There have been a few attempts to revive the structure over the years. Most recently, Canadian-born developer Harry Stinson has plans to renovate the structure, but those plans have been on hold due to a large fire at another one of his properties in Buffalo.

In 2012 the "B" and "N" went missing, followed by the two "E"s sometime later.

Take A Look Inside The Factory

The Facebook page Abandoned Buffalo, NY, has a knack for exploring areas all around Western and Central New York that are worthy of taking a look at. A while ago, their explorations took them inside the historic factory in Buffalo.

I, like many people from the 716, have very fond memories of a time when this neighborhood smelled like fresh bread, and you could just walk into the Wonder Bready Factory Store, which was on the Fougeron Street side, to buy all sorts of Hostess Cakes treats. Wonder Bread bags also made great insulation for boots during the winter.

Check out all of the photos that were taken below:

Warning

The information shared here is meant for entertainment and educational purposes only. Under no circumstances should you enter this property. Doing so risks bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you do not attempt to investigate the inside of abandoned buildings without proper knowledge, experience, and legal authorization.