Atkins family restores shoe factory building, demonstrates affinity for history

For Scott Atkins, owner of Atkins Investments, restoring the old Hamilton-Brown Shoe Factory is a project that has proven to pay off. His father, Tom Atkins, bought the building in 1975, and now, more than three decades later, it’s bustling with businesses.

“We knew that when the right time came along, we’d restore it,” said Atkins of the building renovation project that began two years ago. “This is the third building we’ve restored in Columbia, so people know we have an affinity for the history of the city.”

Founded in St. Louis in 1872 by J.M. Hamilton and A.D. Brown, Hamilton-Brown became the world’s largest shoe manufacturer in the early 1900s. The Columbia Commercial Club, yesteryear’s Chamber of Commerce, raised money for the land and construction, creating the first industrial revenue bond implemented in Columbia.

Upon opening in 1907, the Hamilton-Brown Shoe Factory was Columbia’s first large-scale manufacturing plant, employing more than 300 workers during its peak. After the plant shut down in 1939, it was used as a manufacturing plant for Fahlin wooden airplane propellers during World War II, as an Ar-Cel garment factory, and then as a warehouse for a moving and storage company.

Located at 1115 Wilkes Blvd., The building now houses Rain of Central Missouri, Bucket Media, Tech2, Creative Studios, OnMedia, MEC Water Resources, A Civil Group, Gerke Management Consulting and Applied Environmental Systems.

“Working in the Atkins building offers a lot of character, with the hardwood floors and exposed ceilings,” said Michele Cropp, CEO of Bucket Media. “It was nice to custom-design the space to meet our needs and style.”

Plans are in the works for the Boone County Council on Aging, Adult Day Connections, First Chance for Children and Atkins Building Services to move in as well.

“It’s a really neat building inside,” said Atkins. “There really isn’t comparable post-and-beam architecture anywhere else in the city.”

The three-level, 50,000-square-foot building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, making the renovation costs eligible for federal and state tax credits. All of the building’s original wood floors and support beams have been exposed and refinished to their natural color. The brick walls also have been restored, and all of the windows have been replaced with replicas of the original panes.

“There are about 240 windows that we replaced to be historically accurate,” said Atkins. “Our biggest challenge with the restoration was finding windows that large.”

Tom and Scott Atkins also have renovated the Atkins Centre, formerly the Strollway of 9th Street, which currently houses the Columbia Art League and the Cherry Street Artisan and soon will be the new home of Allen’s Flowers and Top Ten Wines.