{"nrhp_refnum":"100007137","name":"American Grain Complex (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["Perot Malthouse","Perot Elevator"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"100 Childs St. aka 145 Buffalo River.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buffalo","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.8611,"lon":-78.8656,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"2021-11-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Engineering","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A grain elevator, flour mill and warehouse complex at 87 Childs Street along the Buffalo River in Buffalo, Erie County, New York, built in phases from 1905 to 1931 for the American Malting Company and later the Russell-Miller Milling Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant under Criterion A in industry, engineering and architecture as an intact record of Buffalo's grain transshipment, malt production and later flour milling. It also cites the first national example of a continuous slip form concrete pour, the oldest extant marine receiving equipment on the Buffalo waterfront, and a 1963 pneumatic system. It is eligible under Criterion C for design.","narrative":"Along the Buffalo River on Childs Street, this complex of grain elevator, flour mill, warehouse and office buildings recorded the full chain of grain handling: unloading from lake freighters, weighing, storage, cleaning, processing and shipping by water, rail or truck. It began in 1906 as a malt-producing plant for the American Malting Company. After Prohibition, the malt house was converted to flour production, and a flour mill replaced the kiln house in 1924. A storage annex followed in 1931. The concrete bins of the mainhouse were built with continuous slip-form pouring, described as the first national example of the method. The fixed marine tower is the oldest surviving marine receiving equipment on the Buffalo waterfront. A pneumatic tube system installed in 1963 made it the nation's largest pneumatic mill. Operations ended in 2001, and the buildings are now unused. The complex is listed for its role in industry, engineering and design, including its influence on early modernist thinking about architecture shaped by function.","period_of_significance":"1905-1963","architect_builder":"James Stewart & Company (mainhouse, 1905-1906); J. W. Cowper of Boston (flour mill, 1924); Monarch Engineering to the in-house design of H.R. Wait (annex, 1931)","architectural_style":"No Style; Early 20th Century American commercial","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Abandoned by ConAgra in 2001, purchased around 2006, and presently not in use; current function listed as work in progress and vacant/not-in-use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.203087-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/12000475.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/100007137/42a4e83d3e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/100007137/42a4e83d3e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Grain_Complex_Apr_12.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Grain_Complex_Apr_12.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312797","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Grain_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14706157"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/american-grain-complex-boundary-increase-100007137/"}