Recently a neighbor, who is on the board of the City of Warwick Historic Board, asked if I would accompany her to take some images of Pontiac Mills and some surrounding historical homes. This post only focuses on the Mills itself.
Originally a textile mill that was purchased by Robert Knight in 1863 where he eventually tore down and rebuilt the textile facility that produced the national brand “Fruit of the Loom”. During the American Civil War, the mill manufactured uniforms for the Union Soldiers. The success of the mill itself gave way to the building of mill houses and homes in that prestigious area. The mill itself was sold to Consolidated Textile, a New York company in 1920. Consolidated Textile cut laborers’ wages and mandated a 54 hours workweek resulting in the largest work stoppage “strike” of that time. There were riots and many were evicted from their mill housing according to Wikipedia.
The mill ceased operation in 1970 and the new owner, in 1995, repurposed some sections of the mill to house Antiques, Furniture et. al. In 2018 the mill reopened as the Pontiac Lofts. The first building renovated became the NYLO Hotel which opened in 2008 and thus closed in 2010 during the historic floods. The mill is located on the historic Pawtuxet River.
In 2018 the mills reopened as the Pontiac Lofts luxury mill apartments, with additional tenants Apponaug Brewing Company, Studio B salon, and On The Ropes Boxing facility, and a dog park. Having been in and around the mills in the late 90’s I was taken aback at the quality of the evolution of this property. The architecture was respected while the modernization of the facility, to me, was done with thoughtfulness and regard to the history of the site.
We were surprised to find the Apponaug Brewery which after peeking in the windows and looking inside open doors “the brewery opens daily at 4 pm,” I returned the next evening with my wife and a friend to sample their beers and menu. Inside comprised of brick walls, high ceilings, and tall glassed pane windows with a full bar, and casual eating atmosphere. The menu is small however we enjoyed sliders with a huge delicious order of onion rings.
The beer selection is what one would expect from a local brewery. They offered a selection of samplers to help one choose a beer to one’s liking. Some of the buildings on the ground were small in size like the train station building. I climbed on the fire escape on one of the buildings to take a photo only to have the occupant appear and ask what we were doing. After explaining it turns out that the small building was that person’s home. We apologized for the intrusion.
The last building on the site is now in the midst of becoming lofts. All lofts are rental units as far as I can tell. Studio, one and two bedrooms are offered. Utilities are included in the cost of the rental. Attached are some of the images taken on this excursion. A few links to the historic information of Pontiac Mills follows below.
Nice documentation, Jim. you had the whole place.
Cemal
Love it!