Borden Ice Cream Factory
National Register Listing
Street Address:
711 West Washington Street, Greenville, SC (Greenville County)
Alternate Name:
Greenville Ice Cream Co.
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817723096
Description and Narrative:
The Borden Ice Cream Factory is located on the west side of the city of Greenville. The Greenville Ice Cream Company commissioned the original building in 1924. The original two-story brick main building fronts onto West Washington Street. In 1947, the Borden Company acquired the business and building as part of its expansion into producing ice cream. Over the next decade, Borden spearheaded multiple building campaigns resulting in the 1952 renovation of the original building and three Modern brick additions: a one-story Production and Cold Storage Addition (1961) was constructed to the west, a one-and-half story office and storage addition (1967) to the east, and a one-story, double-height warehouse addition (1967) at the south and west sides of the 1961 Production and Cold Storage Addition. The property also includes a c. 1948 Boiler Room, which is non-contributing due to alterations. The property is significant as a rare intact representation of the evolution of Greenville’s 20th century ice cream production industry. The Greenville Ice Cream Company was an important early producer of ice cream in Greenville, and the Borden Company was a nationally recognized dairy product brand. For nearly fifty years, Borden’s Greenville facility provided hundreds of jobs to the Greenville community and invested millions of dollars in the purchase of raw products from local and regional farmers. The gradual expansion of the property over the decades represents not just the success of the Borden Company, but also the long evolution of local ice cream manufacturing, from an enterprise conducted by a number of loosely regulated small producers to a modern, consolidated industry ultimately dominated by the Borden Company. The Borden Ice Cream Factory closed in 1991. Listed in the National Register October 13, 2023.
Period of Significance:
1924 – 1973
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Industry
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
October 13 2023
