Mail Pouch Tobacco – Dover, NJ 1991 © colorantshistory.org/Robert Baptista
Edgerton Photographer – Beaumont, TX 1994 © colorantshistory.org/Robert Baptista
Intercoastal Mercantile Co. 1918 – Vinton, LA 1996
Russo Auto Wreckers- Elizabeth, NJ 1994 © colorantshistory.org/Robert Baptista
Aroy Building 1930 – Pt. Arthur, TX 1999 © colorantshistory.org/Robert Baptista
Borne Chemical Co., Elizabeth, NJ 1997 © colorantshistory.org/Robert Baptista
Goodyear Tires – Myersville, NJ 1998 © colorantshistory.org/Robert Baptista
Kolsch Beer – Leverkusen, Germany 1999 © colorantshistory.org/Robert Baptista
Hi Frank,
Looking at your vast site reminded me of some photos of ads on buildings I have shot in the past. Attached are some that you are welcome to post at your site.
Best Regards,
Robert Baptista
Outstanding shots Robert! -FHJ
The Borne Chemical Co. depicted in the 1997 photo was located on a 9-acre site at 632 South Front St., Elizabeth, NJ. Chemical operations began at the site around 1917. Borne Chemical used the site for the processing and blending of various types of petroleum, dyes and chemical products. When oil prices skyrocketed in the 1970s, the company began to sell recycled motor oil and auto transmission fluid. But oil prices dropped in the 1980s so the company went bankrupt and abandoned the site. The property is now listed as a Superfund site which the City of Elizabeth hopes to redevelop it after the environmental cleanup.
Robert Baptista 2/9/2008
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The Borne Chemical Co. depicted in the 1997 photo was located on a 9-acre site at 632 South Front St., Elizabeth, NJ. Chemical operations began at the site around 1917. Borne Chemical used the site for the processing and blending of various types of petroleum, dyes and chemical products. When oil prices skyrocketed in the 1970s, the company began to sell recycled motor oil and auto transmission fluid. But oil prices dropped in the 1980s so the company went bankrupt and abandoned the site. The property is now listed as a Superfund site which the City of Elizabeth hopes to redevelop it after the environmental cleanup.
The Baker Opera House, at 16 W. Blackwell St., Dover, NJ, was built in 1880 by local mining magnate William H. Baker. At that time Dover had a vibrant economy from iron mining and forging, the Lackawanna railroad and the Morris Canal. The lavishly built theater, which opened in 1906, was the largest playhouse in the region. Broadway, vaudeville and motion picture stars performed there including Helen Hayes, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Russell, Clara Bow, Lon Chaney, Lou Costello and Harry Houdini.
In 1924 the building was converted into the Baker Theater for showing motion pictures which had become more popular than vaudeville acts. The theater closed in 1977 but was completely refurbished to its original splendor in 1998. The theater now hosts concerts, musicals and plays.
The Baker Opera House survived major fires in 1885 and 1968. The Mail Pouch tobacco ad painted on the rear of the building, hidden from view for years, was restored around 1990.