Originally built in 1881 and located in the commercial center of Phoenix, the Phoenix Bakery was purchased by a German immigrant, Edward Eisele, in 1884. The bakery was the first in the territory to deliver baked goods by horse-drawn carriage. Other firsts included: horse-less carriage deliveries, wax-paper wrappings and pre-sliced loaves. Eventually, the business outgrew the brick building and it fell into disuse.
50 years ago, the Phoenix Bakery was removed from its foundation and moved on the back of a truck. It ended up at Pioneer Village where its condition continued to decline.
A grandson of the original bakery owners wanted to preserve his family’s history and contacted the Phoenix Zoo to arrange for this project.
In 2018, the historic building was deconstructed and rebuilt on the Phoenix Zoo grounds. WDM and engineering partners recreated the historic front elevation based on antique photographs, and utilized the original bricks and iron columns.
Looking Good, Inside and Out
All the casework was designed to replicate the original cabinetry. Some original light fixtures were modified and now in use in the new space. The re-creation includes a commercial kitchen and ADA-accessible restrooms to meet the needs of a modern event space. The building’s store front was west-facing without shade, so high-performance, low-E glazing was used to mitigate solar gain.
Scope included development of adjacent site spaces to include outdoor patio/plaza areas and a glass-doored garage to display antique vehicles.
