A 109000 square foot 2 story art deco style masonry and concrete building on 2.5 acres with a full basement and abandoned rail spur.

It sits on the same property as an active armored transport company and the status may change at any time. Recent activity noted. Accessibility and status changed to moderate and active.

Most recently this location was the operation center of an armored transport service. But before that it was a small meat processing plant.

This was the Dallas branch of the Rath Packing Company, a Waterloo Iowa based company that ceased operations entirely in 1985 after the United Food and Commercial Workers Union helped the employees take control over its board of directors.

At some point that brand appears to have been bought and re-marketed by the John Morrell company which still produces sausage, bacon and ham under the Rath Blackhawk brand name

This building was purpose built as a meat processing plant with glazed tile walls, cork insulation, a massive refrigeration system and cold storage locker. Even a few parts of the old conveyor and production line are still present. My guess is it was built in the late 1930s or early 1940s.

The building was later partioned off and leased by various tenants, the armored transport company used part of it as their office and collection facility, a produce company had a small office and warehouse in the other end.

The Armored Transport company built a newer building next door on the same property and it appears to be semi-active. Aerial photos suggest they stopped operating here sometime after 2005. There were several armored trucks and vans still parked here in 2006.

HISTORIC UPDATE: demo team on site bringin her down

FINAL CHAPTER: the statute of limitations has run, the spoiled wine has been drunk, the kittens got rescued and the weeny factory is no more