Ornamental dry pressed brick, c. 1880 (Hydraulic Press Brick Co.)
Overview
St. Louis grew to become the nation’s largest manufacturer of face and ornamental brick with over 50 plants within the city limits including the colossal Hydraulic Press Brick Company, which by 1907 operated 22 plants throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States. Hydraulic became the largest and most innovative brick company in the world. The collection contains more than 23,000 ornamental dry press brick in hundreds of designs comprising hundreds of façade programs, including entrance, window, and cornice work. NBAC also holds dozens of boxes of records from Hydraulic Press Brick Company dating to its incorporation in 1868.
Essays on Brick
St. Louis Area Brickmakers
- List of St. Louis Area Brickmakers
- Alton Brick Co.
- Hill Brick Co.
- Hydraulic-Press Brick Company
- Kloess Brick Co.
- Parker-Russell Mining & Manufacturing Co.
- Progress Press Brick & Machine Co. (Tower Grove Brick Works)