The former Larkin Building U is being cleaned out by Rogers Foam Corp., the automotive parts manufacturer that bought out the now defunct Par Foam Products, Inc., a competitor. Par Foam Products, which occupied the historic factory complex at 237 Van Rensselaer Street for more than two decades, was closed late last year and its assets are now reportedly being shipped to other plants or discarded.
Larkin Building U is now getting closer by the day to a clean slate, a cleared, highly adaptable structure poised for a new economic purpose. While the future of the building is unclear, its potential becomes even more vividly apparent as the building is vacated.
Larkin Building U, constructed in the early 1890s, is a classic industrial loft building constructed in the Romanesque Revival style. At three stories, the structure is a combination of brick masonry, cast iron columns and wood floors held up by thick wooden support beams. Large windows, including a series of fabulous arched windows at its Van Rensselaer Street frontage, flood much of the building with natural light. Tall ceilings create a fantastic sense of openness and space common to this building type.
Emptied, the building has a lonely feeling inside. The quiet after a factory closes is palpable. It’s an experience that has become associated with Rust Belt cities, and is one that is not likely to become less common as the American automotive industry continues to wobble. Par Foam Products may have bitten the dust, but they have been good stewards of the heritage structure. The building endures. And what a great building it is!
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