Category: News

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward is excited to report that over 150 people toured the former Pillsbury site Friday evening (10/13/23). 

The last two scheduled tours for this Fall are Saturday, October 21^st at 10:00 am and noon.  Our Echoes of Pillsbury exhibit will be open starting at 9:00 am and will remain open until 2:00 pm.  It is a well curated exhibit of history and artifacts from the Springfield Pillsbury Plant.

Tours are FREE and open to the public. 

As in the Spring, these site tours will be walking tours of the ground floor area of several of our remaining buildings.  The guided tours will last for approximately 45 minutes and cover about a half mile of walking distance.  These tours are designed to be accessible for everyone.  Sturdy shoes are recommended due to uneven concrete surfaces.  Cameras are permitted.

Where:  1525 Phillips Ave. (plenty of parking is available near the south dock entrance at the corner of 16^th and Phillips Ave.

Bricks from our recently demolished 1929 Warehouse #4 will be available.  Donations will be accepted.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project. 

Chris / Polly / Tony
pillsburyproject.org

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward is pleased to announce two dates for tours of the former Pillsbury site.  We have had many requests for site tours.  Our volunteers have worked hard to get the grounds ready.  Tours are FREE and open to the public.   

Friday, October 13^th at 5:00 pm.

Saturday, October 21^st at 10:00 am and noon.

Our Echoes of Pillsbury exhibit will be open before and after tours.  It is a well curated exhibit of history and artifacts from the Springfield Pillsbury Plant. 

As in the Spring, these site tours will be walking tours of the ground floor area of several of our remaining buildings.  The guided tours will last for approximately 45 minutes and cover about a half mile of walking distance.  These tours are designed to be accessible for everyone.  Sturdy shoes are recommended due to uneven concrete surfaces.  Cameras are permitted.

Where:  1525 Phillips Ave. (plenty of parking is available near the south dock entrance at the corner of 16^th St. and Phillips Ave.

Bricks from our recently demolished 1929 Warehouse #4 will be available.  Donations will be accepted.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project. 

Chris / Polly / Tony
pillsburyproject.org

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward is grateful to have had a successful Echoes of Pillsbury event this past Thursday evening. The event was our opportunity to have guests enjoy the opening night of the curated Pillsbury exhibit produced by Robert Mazrim. He did a wonderful job on the exhibit and presentation of the overall Pillsbury Project. 

The weather cooperated and guests enjoyed the exhibit, live music, limited self-guided tours, civil defense siren restoration display, and an introduction to several of our resident artists. Guests included former employees, neighborhood residents, elected officials, and generous supporters. Many thanks to our dedicated volunteers for making this such a special night!

The weather cooperated and guests enjoyed the exhibit, live music, limited self-guided tours, civil defense siren restoration display, and an introduction to several of our resident artists. Guests included former employees, neighborhood residents, elected officials, and generous supporters. Many thanks to our dedicated volunteers for making this such a special night!

MPF continues our community centered collaborative approach to remediate and redevelop the former Pillsbury Mills site for the betterment of the surrounding neighborhood in Springfield, Illinois. While we wait on the necessary environmental review work that is currently taking place to prepare for the large-scale demolition activities, we are utilizing the time to engage in sharing, not only the past history of the plant, but the opportunity that the site currently provides for the community.

For the next few weeks we will have artists on-site utilizing the buildings and open spaces for a variety of art projects. These projects currently include photography, painting, sculpture, and videography.  Additional art projects may also work their way into the mix. We are utilizing many of the industrial fixtures and elements found at the site for inclusion in these projects. An exhibition of these works is being planned for.

Thanks for being a part of this important community project. 

Chris / Polly / Tony
pillsburyproject.org

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward has been asked on numerous occasions if the 3-million-bushel storage capacity at the former Pillsbury Plant could be reused.  In other words, can the silos and grain elevator portion of the former Pillsbury Plant be retrofitted and economically reused for grain storage operations?

On the face of it, this seems reasonable.  The concrete silos and elevator are well constructed and located in the heart of Central Illinois where grain production is high and storage facilities have been in demand for decades.  The former Pillsbury facility is located next to an active railyard which is a plus for the site.  Afterall, the railyard was used for many years to bring in wheat to the site and transport finished goods (flour, bakery mixes, grocery products) from the site.

Unfortunately, the answer to the question is no.  Retrofitting the silos and elevator with new grain handling equipment would be costly.  One estimate we received was 10 million dollars.  So, it would not be economical. 

Over the decades since it was built, the city has grown up around the site.  Trucking grain into the site is more difficult than it was years ago.  The more efficient and modern grain storage facilities are in rural areas with relatively easy heavy truck access near the fields where crops are grown.

Another negative for reuse of the silos at the former Pillsbury Plant is the relatively small size of each individual silo.  Each of the 160 silos holds 18,000 bushels of grain.  This was great for separating and blending wheat in the flour making process but not for commercial bulk storage operations of the 21^st century.

Finally, modern large-scale commercial farms now utilize technologically advanced silos bags for on-site storage needs.  These recyclable plastic storage bags typically hold 25,000 bushels of grain each.  They can be easily deployed in a farm field and safely store grain for up to two years.  Thus, eliminating the need for most large, fixed facility silo complexes.

Chris Richmond
Pillsburyproject.org

PS – Special thanks to our local commercial grain farmers for helping us understand modern farming, grain storage equipment, and movement of grain to end markets from the producers here in Central Illinois.  Your expertise has been enlightening.

A Pop-Up Exhibit and Gathering in the Shadow of the Pillsbury Plant

Moving Pillsbury Forward is pleased to announce that we are hosting a special event for the community at the Pillsbury Plant and you are invited! Please feel free to share this invitation with others.

Tuesday, September 21, 5:30 to 7pm

At the former Pillsbury Plant, 1525 E. Phillips, Springfield, IL.

Join Moving Pillsbury Forward for a very special evening of history, art, and storytelling. For the past six months, Moving Pillsbury Forward has been working with archaeologist and artist Robert Mazrin to record, salvage, and recycle not only historic artifacts from the abandoned Pillsbury factory, but also a remarkable range of relics and “ready-made” art objects. Arranged and displayed on-site, this special exhibit will b eopened fo ra public gathering and fundraiser on September 21st.

The suggested donation is $25. Former employees and our neighbors in the Pillsbury Neighborhood are invited as our guests.

The evening will include music by The End Times Trio, a presentation by Robert Mazrim, wine and soft beverages, and Jamaican food will be available from the Jamaican Me Hungry food truck. This promises to be a special evening. We look forward to seeing you!

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward had a great turnout this past week at both the Downtown Farmer’s Market and at our weekly Tuesdays on the Dock. Thank you! Since we sold out of engraved bricks this week, more have been ordered and they should be available in the coming week (download the brick purchasing information flyer).

We will continue to host guests as a part of our Pillsbury Reunion Project at the Pillsbury South Loading Dock on Tuesday mornings from 9:00am to 11:00am for the next several weeks (download the reunion flyer here). Please, feel free to come out and engage us. We still have a good supply of new in-the-box timecards and plenty of 1929 Warehouse #4 bricks available.

This week we learned more about the plant through two extended interviews with longtime employees. The project is experiencing wonderful success in capturing the history and great stories of Pillsbury.

Bricks – Since the 1929 Warehouse bricks have been a popular collector item, we thought everyone would enjoy knowing that they were manufactured locally by Springfield’s own Poston Brick. An article in the State Journal from May 4, 1930, reads:

The Pillsbury Mill is constructed of Poston brick made in Springfield and sold by Henry Nelch and Son Company. The face brick was burned at the Poston Springfield Brick company especially for the Pillsbury project following the color scheme and texture of other Pillsbury buildings.

After a series of experiments, the company found it could duplicate the dark red face brick samples submitted by the Pillsbury officials. Special treatment of the clay and shale and extreme care in burning were required, however. The bricks were selected and assorted very carefully.

Yes…the Union Made POSTON Springfield, ILL stamp is visible on many of the bricks (see below photo).

Thanks for engaging the project,

The Reunion Project Team
pillsburyproject.org

Friends,

The Moving Pillsbury Forward / Pillsbury Reunion Project is pleased to announce weekly open office hours for former Pillsbury employees, neighbors, retirees, and families.  We have a comfortable, shaded/indoor sitting area at the old south truck loading dock.  We also have plenty of collected artifacts from the plant…and we would like your help in identifying how many of them were used.  Please, bring a cup of coffee and plan to spend some time with us.  It is a good informal setting that we hope will allow us all to learn more about the history of the Springfield Pillsbury Plant. 

When: Every Tuesday morning from 9:00am to 11.00am.  (Starting 7/18/23)

Where: At the Pillsbury South Loading Dock (corner of 16^th St. and Phillips Ave.)

Why: To connect and learn more about our local history centered around the Pillsbury Plant.

Download the Flyer… (PDF)

We have already connected with several retirees and families.  The stories are fantastic, and we want to hear more of them.  We are working to compile a comprehensive list of Pillsbury employees and their start dates for families.  Old seniority lists have been very helpful.   Several have been scanned and can be shared via email.

The Pillsbury plant had a positive impact on the Greater Springfield Area that was tremendous and long lasting.  A huge part of that was the people involved…the workers and the great productive culture they established.  Certainly, a history worth remembering and recording for future generations. 

Thanks for being a part of the Pillsbury reunion Project.

MPF Reunion Project Team
PillsburyProject.org

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward is actively working to capture the history of the Springfield Pillsbury plant. We have formed a working group for what we are now calling the Pillsbury Reunion Project.

After our April 29th gathering of 34 Pillsbury employees for the group photo on the front lawn it became clear that this is an important aspect of the overall Pillsbury Project. There are hundreds of families in the area that are connected to Pillsbury in various ways. We want to embrace and record the great Pillsbury stories and memories before they are lost.

Here are a few aspects of the Pillsbury Reunion Project we are working on:

Tours — one of the primary things we would like to do is connect with as many former Pillsbury employees as is reasonable and offer small group tours. We would love to walk and talk with the employees to learn more about the site and record their stories. Note: General public tours will resume in the Fall with advanced announcements.

Pictures — if families have pictures of the site and people working at Pillsbury, we would love to have copies. Seniority lists of various years would be great also. We currently have 1946, 1974, 1977, and 1990. We also have the 2007 retiree list.

Memorabilia — we would love to have items to consider loaning for exhibit. Team shirts (bowling, softball, etc.) and other items would be great! We are planning an exhibit for this winter. We are working to identify the right venue and solidify dates.

Gathering — we would love to bring together the former employees for a gathering (maybe a picnic) in the Fall. We are also planning a fundraiser/exhibit/auction for the Fall in the dock area.

Oral Histories — we would love to record a few employees as they talk about their time at Pillsbury.

Timecards — we have a good supply of The Pillsbury Company Springfield Plant timecards for employees and families to have for mementos and scrapbooks.

Bricks — we have a good supply of bricks from the 1929 Warehouse #4. Folks can have as many as they want. We also have a limited supply of engraved bricks with a minimum donation of $20 for each engraved brick.

Please, consider being a part of the Pillsbury Reunion Project.

Here are a few ways to connect with us:

• Via email at:
• At the Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday, July 22nd from 8:00 to noon
• At the Pillsbury South Loading Dock most weekday mornings throughout the summer months

The Pillsbury Reunion Team
pillsburyproject.org

Friends,

Moving Pillsbury Forward participated in the USEPA Technical Assistance Program this past winter. Through this program MPF consulted with Vita Nuova, an innovative consulting firm that creatively tackles complex industrial redevelopment projects throughout North America.

This month Vita Nuova chose to feature MPF in their new Project Spotlight series. This is exciting news for MPF. It gives our project national exposure within the industrial redevelopment community. The team at Vita Nuova delivered everything we asked for and more!

https://www.vitanuova.net/project-spotlight-a-new-vision-for-the-former-pillsbury-mills-site/

Thank you for being a part of the Pillsbury Project.

Chris / Polly / Tony
pillsburyproject.org