{"nrhp_refnum":"99000691","name":"Montgomery Ward and Company","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2825 E. 14th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oakland","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.77974690900004,"lon":-122.23094060899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of four reinforced concrete buildings at 2825 East 14th Street, Oakland, California, built as a Montgomery Ward retail store, mail-order center and warehouse. Three eight-story buildings date from 1923, 1924 and 1926, with a fourth added in 1959.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance at the state level under Criterion A in the area of commerce. The Oakland plant served as a major West Coast distribution center for the company's catalog business, operating alongside the Portland and Dallas plants for over sixty years. Its rail and road connections allowed quick delivery of farm equipment and household goods to rural and small-town markets across the western states.","narrative":"Oakland's largest and tallest industrial building, this Art Deco complex at 2825 East 14th Street holds 910,000 square feet on an eight-acre site. Three eight-story reinforced concrete buildings, designed by company engineer W.H. McCaully and built by Wells Bros. in 1923, 1924 and 1926, form an L-plan with arcaded bays, broad steel-sash windows and three corner towers. A four-story building was added in 1959, and a 1964 storefront addition altered the northeast frontage. The interior is open floor space supported by mushroom columns on 20-foot centers. Montgomery Ward, a Chicago-founded mail-order firm, opened the Oakland plant a decade after its first West Coast warehouse in Portland, Oregon. Good rail and road links let it fill orders for rural and small-town customers across the western states faster than before. It operated as a distribution center for more than sixty years, which is the basis for its recognition as significant to commerce at the state level. The building is now vacant.","period_of_significance":"1923-1948","architect_builder":"McCaully, W.H.","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Art Deco","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Vacant since Montgomery Ward left; interior cleared of partitions and shelving. A 1964 parking garage was demolished in 1996, and the exterior has broken glass and a dark brown paint scheme.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.908096-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/99000691.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858284","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/montgomery-ward-and-company-99000691/"}