{"nrhp_refnum":"12000546","name":"Southern Biscuit Company","other_names":["Interbake Foods, Inc.","Famous Foods of Virginia (FFV):","Dhr #127-6165"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"900 Terminal Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.5628,"lon":-77.4678,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"2012-08-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story reinforced concrete commercial bakery building at 900 Terminal Place in Richmond, Virginia, built in 1927 for the Southern Biscuit Company and designed by Francisco & Jacobus. It has a rooftop lighted sign and water tower and was expanded in 1940, 1950 and 1951.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the factory reflects the growth of Southern Biscuit from a local bakery into a producer of nationally known products, under Industry and Commerce. It is also significant in Architecture as the most ambitious Richmond work of the New York industrial firm Francisco & Jacobus, combining functional factory design with Colonial Revival detailing. The rooftop FFV sign and water tower are long-standing local landmarks.","narrative":"Rising six stories above Terminal Place near Broad Street and the Boulevard in Richmond, this reinforced concrete factory was built in 1927 as the headquarters and central plant of the Southern Biscuit Company. New York industrial architects Francisco & Jacobus designed it with a rusticated base, Doric pilasters, ornamental balustrades and large steel industrial windows. Wings were added in 1940, 1950 and 1951 as the company grew, after it became a licensed baker of Girl Scout cookies and developed the FFV brand. A lighted rooftop sign and a water tower are contributing features and well-known local landmarks. Inside, concrete columns with flared tops and maple floors define open production floors, and two rotating rack ovens remain on the fifth and sixth floors. The building is notable for showing how a local bakery grew into a nationally known producer, and for being the most architecturally ambitious Richmond work of its designers. The bakery closed in 2006 and the building is now vacant.","period_of_significance":"1927-1952","architect_builder":"Francisco & Jacobus, Architect; Wise Granite Co., Builder; Wise Contracting Co., Builder","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revival - Colonial Revival; Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The factory closed in 2006 when operations moved to Front Royal, Virginia, and the building is described as currently vacant. The two large baking ovens remain inside.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.761504-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/6832/41683225/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/12000546.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000546/82cddaca2c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000546/82cddaca2c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Acroterion","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southern_Biscuit_Company_Building_Richmond_VA1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Acroterion</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:Southern_Biscuit_Company_Building_Richmond_VA1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683225","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Biscuit_Company","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16900367"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/southern-biscuit-company-12000546/"}