Former Curtiss Aeroplane Factory/M. Wile Distribution Center (Buffalo, New York)

 factory, aircraft, warehouse, distribution centre, historical layer / disappeared object

Constructed by the rapidly expanding Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in 1917 to house the a full-scale production facility for their Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplane fighters, in high demand by both the fledgling U.S. Army Air Service and Royal Flying Corps fighting the First World War, the Curtiss Aeroplane Factory became the world's largest airplane plant upon its completion.

Working in concert with Curtiss' Churchill Street Plant and a new factory erected in Tonawanda in 1929 following Curtiss' merger with Wright Aeronautical, the factory at 2050 Elmwood Avenue continued to produce both commercial and military aircraft into the early 1930's. Though the Curtiss-Wright corporation was at the forefront of aviation advancement from biplane, canvas-covered aircraft to advanced metal monoplanes and seaplanes, the company and its numerous Buffalo production facilities were hard-hit by the Great Depression and its resultant decrease in contract work. Electing to preserve its newer Tonawanda factory as its main base of operations, Curtiss-Wright ended their operations at their Elmwood factory in 1931 and offered the enormous facility up for sale.

Idle during the worst years of the depression, the enormous factory space was eventually purchased by the M. Wile & Co clothing company and used as a storage and distribution center from the late 1930's through M. Wile’s bankruptcy in 2010. At the time of their liquidation, M. Wile had consolidated their operations to updated and partially rebuilt into Class A warehouse space in the Easternmost portion of the original factory and sold the remaining factory space to Atlanta developer SRK Land Investment, who has since sold off the Northeast portion of the former factory for demolition, allowing the present-day Home Depot to be constructed on the site. Dividing the Westernmost portion of the remaining factory space into two warehouses, the developer presently operates the building as three separate for-rent or for-lease warehouse spaces.

www.buffaloah.com/h/aero/curt/index.html