{"nrhp_refnum":"05000413","name":"Armstrong Cork Company","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"23rd and Railroad Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.456910992000076,"lon":-79.98268714099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-05-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of industrial buildings for the Armstrong Cork Company on a 2.5-acre site in Pittsburgh's Strip District, bounded by 23rd Street, 24th Street, Railroad Street and the Allegheny River. It includes the Factory (1901), the Warehouse (1902) and the Tower (1913), designed by Pittsburgh architect Frederick J. Osterling, plus six smaller buildings and a 200-foot brick smokestack.","why_significant":"The complex is argued to be a rare, nearly intact group of interrelated industrial buildings built by and for a growing Pittsburgh business early in the 20th century. It is significant for the company's leadership in the national cork industry and for its architecture, with the main buildings constructed between 1901 and 1913.","narrative":"Built in the Strip District along the Allegheny River, the Armstrong Cork Company complex comprises three large brick buildings: the Factory of 1901, the Warehouse of 1902 and the ten-story Tower of 1913, all designed by Pittsburgh architect Frederick J. Osterling. The Factory and Warehouse are seven stories tall and stand parallel across a yard, linked by steel truss bridges at the seventh floor. The company began in 1861 as a one-room workshop cutting cork bottle stoppers, and grew into the largest cork manufacturer in the United States, with Pittsburgh's plant employing 1,135 people by 1914. The complex is considered important for its business history and its architecture. The company sold the property in 1974, and the buildings have since deteriorated through lack of maintenance, vandalism and salvage.","period_of_significance":"1901-1954","architect_builder":"Frederick J. Osterling (architect)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian / Richardsonian Romanesque; Late 19th and Early 20th century Revivals / Beaux Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Closed by the company in 1974 and no longer maintained; weather, vandalism and salvage have damaged it, with steel stairs stolen and debris throughout the Factory.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.325948-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/05000413.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000413/748873afd1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000413/748873afd1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArmstrongCorkCompany.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee Paxton</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArmstrongCorkCompany.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997820","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4793925"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/armstrong-cork-company-05000413/"}