This week’s big blank wall was found on Mellwood Avenue between Frankfort Avenue and Brownsboro Road. To be fair, this area is dominated by big blank walls of various factories and warehouses, but this one overwhelmed us with its sheer size. The wall is actually two identical warehouses sitting side by side belonging to the Stiglitz Corporation, manufacturers of stamped metal products such as appliance parts.
Like last week’s Big Blank Thursday, the Stiglitz Corporation is a local family-owned business. It is, in fact, operated by the great-great-grandson of the original owner. Back then the company was located in Portland and operated a foundry making furnaces, stoves, sewer covers, and the like.
Here’s some history from the company’s web site:
Established in 1818, The Stiglitz Corporation specializes in the stamping, powder coating and assembly areas for many different industries. Our primary customers are currently in the appliance industry; more recently expanding into the automotive industry.
The ability to assemble parts for distribution from the UPS hub makes Stiglitz an excellent candidate to assemble and distribute your product with the most reasonable shipping rates.
Like we said last week, these building typologies exist due to poor urban policy of the 20th century. This stretch of Mellwood Avenue, connecting two major streets and adjacent to Butchertown, will potentially one day see an end to its industrial days and transform into a mixed-use neighborhood. The Stiglitz property is particularly interesting as it backs up to Beargrass Creek. The urban Beargrass Creek corridor has quite a lot of potential to link urban neighborhoods via a slender, green park system and once cleaned up, could be a community focal point modeled potentially after Indianapolis’ Canal Walk.
- Stiglitz Corporation (Official Site)
- Big Blank Thursdays: Main Street’s Giant Blue Whale (Broken Sidewalk)
