This building was
originally built in the 1930’s as a power house for driving belts and
pulleys of the old Union Mill Paper Manufacturing Company until it
closed in 1971. From then until late 1990, the building had been
susceptible to vandals, fire, and weather. The developer decided to
convert this landmark into office space. Due to the high cost of repair,
the first requirement was to remove 80 feet of the 160 foot smokestack
one brick and one tile at a time. The top of the chimney was capped with
a 12’ skylight that provides intense daylight during working hours and a
framed view of the sky by night. The reconstruction of the top 15’ of
the chimney above the roof complete with corbelling around the top
recreates the original chimney effect. Since expansion was prohibited,
the portion of the chimney that fell within the footprint was
incorporated into the building’s floor space making a perfect 4th floor
corner office for the CEO. This building is now the headquarters for Key
Energy Services. It is appropriate that 70 years after its original
construction this building still serves its original purpose of
providing energy, but now on a national scale.
