Email: [email protected]

Description:
Watertower Place's (formerly Alpha Beta/Acme/Nuckolls Packing Co.) historic architecture, iconic buildings, stables and open areas make it a popular location for filming and professional photography. In 1915, Norwegian Hans Peter Henschien published the very first book of its kind titled: 'Packing House and Cold Storage Construction: A General Reference Work on the Planning, Construction and Equipment of Modern American Meat Packing Plants'. During a critical time in America’s history when sanitation conditions and food safety were not consistent, this book changed the way we designed and built meat processing facilities. It was not until the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which required federal meat inspection, that packinghouse construction changed dramatically. As hygienic standards increased, wood buildings virtually disappeared from packinghouses and were replaced by reinforced concrete. His strategic alliance with the USDA at this early juncture enabled him to set very high standards and when each chapter of the book was followed carefully, the USDA would certify the production facility and also allow government inspectors onsite to actually certify and stamp meat as US Government Inspected Products which was a game changer in 1915. This publication has also been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of the meat packing and cold storage industry. This work was originally published in 1915 when the design process was near completion for the Pueblo, Colorado plant. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public via the Library of Congress. It is also being published again by a specialty house dedicated to lost and forgotten titles. Recent research has also determined that architect Hans Peter Henschien designed more than 300 meat packing and cold storage facilities around the world and the Pueblo facility was one of his first projects with his new private practice which began in 1915 in Chicago, Illinois. From about 1890 to about 1940, packing plants typically were multistory facilities in which work flowed downward. From the exterior, the Nuckolls Packing Co. complex appears to be almost a solid mass of interconnected structures. Only the administration building, the firehouse, and the ice house stand as completely separate structures. Many of the plant buildings share common walls, although all buildings are structurally independent. They are, however, tied into one another to the extent that little or no design separation is obvious from the exterior. Interior operations were arranged so that the flow of work proceeded in a more-or-less orderly fashion from slaughter through processing and manufacturing to shipping, and the plant can therefore be divided into building clusters according to function or related functions. The complex as a whole is best understood in terms of building clusters associated by function. Henschien was the most widely known packing house architect in the world and his expertise was required if the Nuckolls Family was to realize their dream of building and operating the largest and most modern packing plant in the world. Construction on the four story main building was completed in one year beginning in March 1916 at a cost of $300,000 USD. The five story adjacent ice house was built in 1926 at a cost of $100,000 USD. The vast majority of plant buildings in Pueblo are of reinforced concrete construction with exterior walls clad in brick. Geometric Art Deco detailing executed in stone is usually found evenly spaced along upper story beltcourses of patterned brick. The building facades are all brick with period architectural design features. This detail signifies buildings designed by Henschien.

Usage Restriction:
Watertower Place welcomes film scouts and production crews to utilize the unique assets of the former meat packing facility as part of their storytelling platform. With over 250,000 sq ft of indoor industrial and commercial space, and 6 acres surrounding the former meat packing plant, the immediate Grove neighborhood offers a rare glimpse of daily rail operations which have been the lifeblood of our blue-collar workforce for over 150 years. Watertower Place is a privately-owned property and daily operations are conducted with community engagement front and center, and our leadership is driven by the mission of our 501(c)3 non-profit called the 'Rational Factory'. Our facility is a mixed use development and our common areas are open to the public. Some days, visitor counts can climb in excess of 500 people per day. The recent popularity of Watertower Place as a new local destination for work and play has heightened the desire of visitors to come and visit the historic plant, so we must place safety and security as our top priority. We limit and control traffic and activity within the complex to ensure both film production crews and local tenants at Watertower Place are not disrupted nor inconvenienced. Over the past two years we have been the preferred destination for professionals working in film, music, arts, culture, commerce and more. We advise and remind all interested parties that Watertower Place is an active and fluid development site, so access is sometimes restricted due to scheduled construction or planned events taking place within the building or on the surrounding grounds. We look forward to answering any questions and encourage you to visit us so you can truly understand and experience the culture we are creating. The City and County of Pueblo are blessed with numerous public/private properties and designated districts that are on the National Register of Historic Places. We are proud to share these locations with film professionals and their stories. Whether or not you decide to film in historic Pueblo, we ask industry professionals to consider the following protocols when you evaluate Watertower Place as a possible location for film production. While these measure are not always required for filming, we feel they are important when conducting business at historic places and popular destinations: • Appoint a project manager/conservator and ensure that there will be an adequate number of staff/ volunteers on site to facilitate what may be long days of filming • Assess how much time will be required to set-up for production and how long to take-down • Obtain risk assessments, method statements and COSHH assessments from the film company (if necessary) for any activities and materials that require them. • Move, cover, and/or protect building assets and revise emergency plan when appropriate • Install protection for entrances and elevators. Floor protection is often supplied by film companies if stipulated in advance in the contract. • Consider taking images of keys areas vulnerable to damage. • If food and beverage are to be used, establish a spillage kit so that any spills can be dealt with quickly. • Prepare briefing notes for staff and volunteers and inform teams so that they know what to expect and are able to protect the property and maintain security. • Draw up a schedule for activities from the initial preparation to the time the production company leaves the premises. • Discuss the amount of time the film company will need to set up their props, scenery, equipment etc., and if activities warrant careful supervision by those responsible for the historic property and installations/collections.