TexasUltra

Sorry, I don't remember where I captured the newspaper article photo from. I'm collecting historical info for a FaceBook page Re: the Almeda location (1949-1999) and the employees. The watercolor on the right was presented to all current employees at the time of the closeure.

In the early 40's, the canal location baked bread. The Almeda location built and opened in 1949 baked only cookies and crackers. I remember seeing some old loaf pans around the Almeda bakery and we used them for small parts, nuts and bolts.

The even older Nabisco building on Chenevert is... http://www.liveatcityviewlofts.com/

That's a great question. This is what I've found searching for local bakery history... Maybe the Canal location was a distribution facility. When National Biscuit Company moved to Houston from Galveston after the 1900 storm the small two oven bakery was somewhere in the second ward. They soon outgrew this location and built a bakery on Chenevert around 1910. National Biscuit Company (NABISCO) occupied the five story, red brick, 100,086 Sq. Ft. building on Chenevert, employing 200 people, until 1949. Following general trends, the company moved to the edge of the city, then Holcombe and Almeda to provide space for employee parking and easy access for trucks. The Chenevert building was sold to the Purse Furniture Co. and now may be lofts.

I don't know if the Canal location is still there, but it's worth a drive over there soon to see. Thanks for the link.

Rice University has commissioned Diller Scofidio & Renfro to transform an existing parking lot between Alice Pratt Brown Hall, the home of Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, and Rice Stadium into a 600-seat opera theater. Charles Renfro, a 1989 Rice graduate and the project’s lead architect, stated: “It feels really natural in a lot of ways to be returning to campus, a place I’ve spent so much time and love so much.” Completion is scheduled for 2018. Reference: Houston Chronicle, archdaily.com

As a native Houstonian and second generation employee of the cracker factory I'm thrilled to find this thread. I was employed there and witnessed the last RITZ cracker come off the oven in '99. I was not part of the demo crew that removed all of the equipment but was fortunate enough to visit twice after the new construction was in progress. It was an amazing re-use of a building built to last a long long time.

This topic may be old news but it's new to this new member of HAIF. As a native Houstonian and second generation employee of the cracker factory I'm thrilled to find it. I was even there when the last RITZ cracker came off the oven in '99. I was not part of the demo crew that removed all of the equipment but was fortunate enough to visit twice after the new construction was in progress.