ROYAL CROWN COLA / SEVEN-UP BOTTLING CO.

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ROYAL CROWN COLA / SEVEN-UP BOTTLING CO.

321
West Geer Street
,
Durham
NC
Cross street: 
Rigsbee Avenue
built in
1934
/ modified in
2010
Architectural style: 
Art Deco
Construction type: 
Masonry
,
Brick
Neighborhood: 
Central Park
Type: 
Industrial
Use: 
Beverage Company
,
Brewery


Looking southeast, 1953.
(Courtesy Keith Phillips)

Lloyd Brown started his bottling company on Morgan Street in March 1925, but in 1934 moved to a building on North Church St. when he outgrew this structure. This space soon proved too small as well, and he constructed a new, 'modern' bottling plant at 321 West Geer St., which opened June 1, 1939. Mr. Brown evidently only operated this plant for a few years, selling it to the Royal Crown Cola Bottling Company in 1945.

It appears that the RC Cola bottling company operated out of this building for many years following this sales, later becoming Tru-Ade Bottling Company and then Carolina Beverage Packers by the 1970s. The building is still listed as owned by the "Seven-Up Distributing Company", and it last housed the "Winter Mountain Bottled Water Co."


Looking southwest from West Geer St., near Madison St., 07.12.08.

Update: As of August 2010, the Fullsteam Brewing Company is open in the rear portion of the building. It's fantastic to have a brewery once again update the long tradition of producing beverages in this building


Fullsteam Brewery - view looking east from Rigsbee Ave.

Find this spot on a Google Map

36.003563,-78.899711

Submitted by gary on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 4:05am

Comments

  • Submitted by jcd on Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - 12:41pm

    So this is the Geer Street building, right?

    reply
  • Submitted by hovercraft on Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - 1:38pm

    Winter Mountain is gone from there--there's a sign on the west side of the building that says they've merged with another company (Diamond Springs?).

    I believe there's a business trying to get into the space, so hopefully they'll be gathering steam soon.

    reply
  • Submitted by Gary on Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - 5:08pm

    jcd

    Yes, sorry.

    Hovercraft

    Thanks for the update - I missed the sign. It's a cool building, so I hope some small business can get in there. With some cool period-appropriate windows, this place could shine.

    GK

    reply
  • Submitted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - 11:56pm

    A picture up on the Full Steam Brewery web site appears to show a view our an upstairs window of this building. I'm hoping that this will be their new location since it's only a mile from my house. I can walk over and stumble back home an hour or two later!

    reply
  • Submitted by Anonymous on Thursday, August 7, 2008 - 2:54am

    I agree GK. This is another startling example of how much windows effect the appearance of a place....in this case, its a negative and not a positive.

    Myers

    reply
  • Submitted by Sean on Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 2:24pm

    Fullsteam Brewery will indeed be in this space! Our location is at the end of the complex on 726 Rigsbee (south of the location shot referred to by anon).

    We're excited to continue the theme of producing beverages at this historic site. From "un-cola" to "un-beer?"

    reply

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