The Bowman Biscuit plant adjacent to North Yard at 5000 Osage Street operated from 1961-2001. The famous D&RGW “Cookie Box” insulated boxcars were loaded there.
BACKGROUND
Supreme Bakers logo. Originally Merchants Bakery, the company became part of United Biscuit in 1927 and was renamed Bowman Biscuit in 1950 in honor of its founder.
Supreme Bakers announces construction of the new plant on Osage Street.
The original property plan for the plant. Image courtesy of the Denver Public Library.
The architect’s drawing of the office area front elevation. Notice the detail showing the circular staircase off the lobby. Image courtesy of the Denver Public Library.
1964 aerial of North Yard area. Notice all the open space between plant and the yard. Photo courtesy USGS.
Closeup aerial view of the plant in 1964. The inbound tracks enter the receiving building at the right end. The outbound track leaves the warehouse building at the lower left corner. Photo courtesy USGS.
An aerial view of the plant in 1972. The area between the plant and North Yard was just open space when the plant was constructed. Photo courtesy of Kellogg,
Another aerial view of the plant, this time in 1976. Photo courtesy of Kelloggs,
1978 aerial of North Yard area shows changes have come. The Bowman warehouse has expanded east. A portion of the Bowman main building just south of the receiving building has also been expanded. Weyerhauser track is in place just north of the wye off the top of the yard. I-70 is open and the 48th Ave viaduct is under construction. Photo courtesy USGS.
1993 aerial of North Yard area shows more changes. The Bowman warehouse has been expanded south to accommodate a new automated warehousing system. Photo courtesy USGS.
April 2, 2001 was a sad day as news article reported the pending plant closing in May following the acquisition by Kellogg Co. It’s the end of an era and a sad day for many. Photo by Michael Smith / Newsmakers.
Keebler logo circa 1960s and 1970s. This logo can be seen on the 48th Avenue side of the warehouse in 1972 aerial photo. It is also part of the more modern logo on the monument sign seen in the 2001 photo.
It is scary how fast information disappears. The plant has been gone less than 20 years but except for the front office photo above decent street elevation color photos are nowhere to be found. I would like to thank the Denver Public Library Western History and Genealogy Dept for finding the architectural plans, and Kellogg Media Relations for sending two aerial photos.
MODEL by Dick Roberts MMR
The footprint for the model. Space constraints required significant compression – the actual plant would be 7.5′ long by 2′ wide! The proportions of various sections of the plant have been adjusted to maintain suitable inbound and outbound track capacity while still preserving the character of the plant. Drawing done in CadRail.
Overall view of the initial mockup.
Building mockup showing the Receiving Building track doors. CBQ transfer run can be seen in the background.
Completed Bowman Receiving Building, Nov 22, 2020
Completed Bowman Receiving Building side view showing 2 inbound tracks and truck dock. Nov 22, 2020
Completed Bowman Warehouse viewed from the 48th Ave side, Dec 7, 2020.
Bowman Front Office, Dec 7, 2020.
Bowman Front Office entrance, Dec 7, 2020.
Bowman Front Office lobby, 2020-12-07. The amazing Dick Roberts included a spiral staircase image in the lobby to mimic the prototype!
Bowman in place on layout, aerial view. December 21, 2020
Bowman in place on the layout, looking northeast. Dec 21, 2020
Bowman in place on the layout, looking south. Dec 21, 2020
Bowman entry closeup, first day and night on the layout with many more to come! Dec 21, 2020
N3IX Engineering
