Motor Wheel Lofts
Motor Wheel Lofts is an apartment building converted from a former industrial building. It was listed it on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
History
William K. Prudden was born in 1859, attended Michigan State Agricultural College, and lived for several years in Indianapolis and Chicago. He worked as a real estate broker, and was also part owner of the Lansing Wheel Company, which provided wheels for carriages and wagons. The company was a great success, and in 1903 Prudden launched his own enterprise, W. K. Prudden & Company, to manufacture wheels. The company became a major supplier to the fledgling automobile industry, particularly Olds Motor Works. The original factory was located on Michigan Avenue, but in 1905 Prudden acquired this site along East Saginaw Street. By 1913, the company had constructed at least 18 buildings on the site, using both sides of May Street. In 1916, Prudden built the current structure for use as office and assembly space.The company continued to expand, and in 1916 reorganized as the Prudden Wheel Company. In 1920, Prudden merged with local companies Auto Wheel and Gier Pressed Steel, and the Memphis, Tennessee form of Weis & Lesh Manufacturing to form the Motor Wheel Corporation. The headquarters of the company remained at this plant. Motor Wheel moved into making steel wheels in the 1920s and brake drums in the 1930s.
In 1961, Motor Wheel moved its headquarters to another facility, and demolished many of the buildings on the old site. Motor Wheel became a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1964, but left Lansing entirely in 1996. Meanwhile, the former headquarters building remained vacant until it was purchased by an investor in 1996. The building was converted into the Motor Wheel Lofts by developer Harry H Hepler in 2007.