Guide to the Nabisco Corporation, Pittsburgh Plant Records, 1921-1994
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Nabisco Corporation, Pittsburgh Plant
- Creator
- Nabisco Corporation, Pittsburgh Plant
- Collection Number
- MSS 903
- Extent
- 0.25 linear feet (1 box)
- Date
- 1921-1994
- Abstract
- The Nabisco Corporation is a food processing company that has been making cookies and snacks since 1898. Nabisco opened a Pittsburgh plant in 1918 that was expanded twice, first in 1928 and then in 1948. The Pittsburgh plant closed in 1998. This collection includes photographs, advertisements, newspaper clippings, recipe books and baking instructions that pertain to the Nabisco plant in Pittsburgh.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
The National Biscuit Company (NBC) was created through a merger of the New York Biscuit Company and the American Biscuit Company, creating a company consisting of 114 bakeries. Adolphus Green, the former owner of the American Biscuit Company, served as president of the newly-formed company. In 1901, the name Nabisco first appeared as part of a name for a new sugar wafer.
In 1918, NBC opened a bakery facility in Pittsburgh. The bakery was built in East Liberty due to its proximity to downtown Pittsburgh and major transportation lines. The bakery eventually employed over 1,000 people from the surrounding neighborhoods. Additions were built in 1928 and 1948 which allowed for more production space and improved production rates.
Just as the Pittsburgh bakery opened, NBC saw rapid growth. Newly-merged companies such as the McLaren Consolidated Cone Corporation and the Shredded Wheat Company allowed NBC to expand its product range to include pretzels, breakfast cereal, ice cream cones, Ritz crackers and dog milk bones. In 1941, NBC officially changed its name to Nabisco, a move undertaken in part to avoid confusion with the newly-established National Broadcasting Company.
Nabisco Brands was sold in 1985 to R.J. Reynolds who formally changed the company name to RJR Nabisco, Inc. By the 1990s, Nabisco had become the largest consumer-products company in the United States, but as many of its factories were last renovated in the 1950s or earlier, the decision was made to close some factories rather than spend the money to renovate and modernize the facilities.
The Pittsburgh plant was one such facility that contained outdated equipment. The number of employees had decreased over the years and when the announcement was made of the plant closure, only 350 employees remained. The Pittsburgh Nabisco plant formally closed its doors in 1998, ending 80 years of production. In 2000, Nabisco was sold to Philip Morris Companies for approximately $19.2 billion and became incorporated into Kraft Foods, Inc.
Scope and Content Notes
The Nabisco Corporation, Pittsburgh Plant Records consist of photographs, advertisements, newspaper clippings, recipe books and baking instructions related to the Pittsburgh branch bakery. Small booklets contain the recipes and cooking instructions for various items that were produced at the Pittsburgh plant. An album contains photographs of the 1948 bakery expansion, which show the different stages of the construction project. There are also four photographs showing various employees of Nabisco. One oversized photograph depicts the first annual banquet of the department heads from Pittsburgh bakeries in April 1929. An advertisement for Fig Newtons (November 1921), two daily baking schedules (1922 and 1926) and a company newsletter (October 1966) also appear in the collection.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of J.B. Crossey on behalf of former Nabisco employees on March 25, 1999.
Accession number 1999.0058.
Preferred Citation
Nabisco Corporation, Pittsburgh Plant Records, 1921-1994, MSS#903, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center.
Processing Information
Preliminary processing by Meghan Hall on January 16,2013.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Subjects
- National Biscuit Company.
- East Liberty (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Food Industry and trade--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.