Pierce Arrow Plant

1695 Elmwood Avenue

alternate name: Pierce Arrow Lofts

architect: Albert Kahn
George Cary

owner: George N. Pierce
Erie County Technical Institute
AM&As
Pierce Arrow Holding LLC

years built: 1906

The latest portion of this factory continues the straight pre-war use of a ferro-concrete skeleton filled with glass. Unfortunately, as the building is no longer used or maintained, it has lost much of the crispness and clearness which are a desirable concomitant of modern industrial architecture. The most interesting section is to be seen in the wing at the rear where penthouses, stair towers, and other essential features vary the somewhat monotonous pattern of the basic design of oblongs.