Western Knitting Mills

The Western Knitting Mills factory building is the last remaining mill in the greater Rochester area. It is historically significant based on its association with events that have made an important contribution to the broad patterns of history, and it embodies the distinctive characteristics of the mill buildings erected for the textile industry at the turn of the twentieth century. Furthermore, the property is associated with industrial events that made significant contributions to the local and national economies and labor forces. Constructed in 1896, the milling complex quickly became a cornerstone of the Rochester economy. During the First World War, the mill produced khaki gloves for U.S. soldiers. During the Great Depression, the mill produced goods for the Civilian Conservation Corps. The mill continued to produce knitting goods up to World War II. During World War II, McALeer Manufacturing occupied this building. McAleer Manufacturing was the largest producer of photo flash bombs in the United States during World War II. Later owners of this building included Higbie Manufacturing, Avon Tube and ITT.

The Western Knitting Mills factory is a two-story, 140' x 150', late nineteenth-century mill style building with a modified squared plan. The building possesses a built-up roof, covered with synthetic rubber sheet roofing, brick walls, and a fieldstone foundation and basement. Exterior windowsills and parapet caps are also stone. The front entry has a high parapet, round-headed windows and a carved name block which make the center of this facade a visual focal point. Originally, the building was constructed in a U-shape, but was filled in with steel columns, beams, windows and exterior brick in the early twentieth century. The building is located on the southeast corner of Fourth and Water Streets (Fourth Street terminates at Water Street), and is in the industrial/commercial/retail section of downtown Rochester, Michigan. The building's main entrance fronts north onto a pedestrian walkway that links the downtown retail area (west) to the Paint Creek Waterway and the Clinton River directly to the east. This building was one among many within a knitting mill complex, but it is the only remaining original structure. Other complex buildings included a brick yarn mill, two warehouses and two female dormitories, all of which were demolished a number of years ago. Several one-story metal buildings used for manufacturing and storage from the 1940s to the '80s were located east and north of the building and were demolished during the building's recent restoration in 1997-98. Alterations, including construction additions and removals, have been made to the building and surrounding properties since 1916. New parking lots are now located to the north, east and south. The site also had areas of environmental contamination, which was remedied during restoration under direction of the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.