THE SNEAD MANUFACTURING BUILDING

Glassworks is located in the historic Snead building, 815 West Market Street. The Snead Manufacturing Building is an excellent example of early twentieth-century functional design with almost total absence of decorative details. It is believed that its construction marked the earliest use of reinforced concrete on such a large scale in Louisville and the Midwest.

The structure was built and owned by members of the Snead family, prominent Louisville manufactures of ornamental and structural cast iron for over a century. It was designed by the architectural firm of D.X. Murphy and Brothers, successor to the practice of Henry Whitestone and predecessor to the present firm of Luckett and Farley.

The site of the Snead Building was, in the 1840’s, the location of the Market Street Architectural Iron Foundry, which then had several owners. In 1849 the foundry was purchased by Samuel P. Snead, a son of John S. Snead, prominent Louisville merchant and the organizer and first president of the Bank of Louisville. In 1851 Samuel Snead sold the foundry to Isaac Raphael, a successful dry goods merchant, who placed it in trust for his daughter, Martha Snead, wife of Charles S. Snead, also a son of John Snead. Charles Snead became manager of the iron works. According to an article in the Commercial Review, in 1857, the Market Street Foundry was supplying cast iron for buildings in many Southern cities as well as in Louisville.

The name was changed to the Snead and Company Iron Works and Charles S. Snead became president of the firm. His son, Udolpho, was vice-president and another son, William was general manager.

The Snead and Company Iron Works operated on the Market Street site until 1898. The firm was one of the country’s leading manufacturers of ornamental and structural cast iron. Ads in city directories and business biographies attest to the wide variety of cast iron products made by the firm.

The company had contracts for works on major buildings in many parts of the country, including United Customs Houses in Louisville, Cincinnati and Minneapolis; the stairway in the Washington Monument; both structural and ornamental iron work for the State, War, and Navy Building in Washington (now the Executive Office Building); and iron work for the Auditorium Building in Chicago, designed by Adler and Sullivan.

Iron work by the Snead Company can still be seen on many Louisville buildings, especially on Main Street. Numerous manhole covers bearing the
Snead name are extant along Louisville streets and sidewalks. In 1898 the Snead Iron Works on Market Street was destroyed by fire. The company’s operations were reestablished in New Jersey, and Udolpho and William Snead moved east to manage the company.

The plant site on Market Street remained in the Snead family, title being transferred to Udolpho Snead. The American Architect reported in 1909 that Snead planned to erect a $200,000 power building on Market Street. The architect was D. X. Murphy and Brothers.

No newspaper accounts of the building’s construction or completion have been found. It was probably completed in early 1910, since a newspaper advertisement in June, 1910, described the Snead Building as “ready for occupancy” and noted that space was available for lease.

The Snead Manufacturing Building housed, in leased space, many different manufacturing firms and offices. The 1912 city directory listed as occupants the National Biscuit Company, the Webster Loose Leaf Filing Company, the Kenton Company, skirt manufactures, J. M. Robinson, Norton and Company, Shymanski & Sons Clothing Manufacturers, underwear manufactures, and other manufacturers of clothing. Over the years, garments manufactures made up a majority of the tenants. Other occupants include printers and engravers.

The firm of D. X. Murphy and Brothers was a prominent Louisville architectural firm in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Dennis X. Murphy (1854-1933) was hired as a draftsman by Henry Whitestone in 1874. Apparently Murphy’s only architectural training was that received in Whitestone’s office. Upon Whitestone’s retirement in 1880, Murphy took over his practice. Two of Murphy’s brothers, James C. Murphy, an engineer, and Peter J, Murphy, became his partners in the firm.

The Murphy firm designed many buildings in Louisville and other Kentucky towns, including residences, churches, schools, commercial buildings, and industrial structures. Some of the outstanding Murphy buildings include the 1905 Jefferson County Jail (placed on the National Register in July, 1973), General Hospital (1911), the current Portland Federal Savings and Loan office at 539 West Market (1887), St. Boniface Church (1893), the German Bank (1915-now the Louisville Home Federal building at Fifth an Market Streets), and the twin-spired clubhouse at Churchill Downs (1894), probably executed plans for buildings designed by D. X. Murphy and members of the firm are preserved at the Filson Club, but do not include for the Snead Manufacturing Building.

The Snead Manufacturing Building is a significant example of early twentieth century functional design determined by the proposed uses of the building. It was probably one of the early uses of reinforced concrete in Louisville. In addition, it was designed by one of the city’s outstanding architectural firms, D. X. Murphy and Brothers.