1501 E. Fourth Street [GEHD(NR)], Ralston Purina Co. and Fort Worth Elevators Co., 1911; 1918; 1923; 1929; 1931. Although the Ralston Purina Co. feed mill, initially constructed in 1918 and enlarged in 1929 is the best known part of this plant, it actually consists of two facilities that were merged when Ralston Purina bought the old Fort Worth Elevator Co. complex in 1963. The grain elevators, west of the Purina mill across the Rock Island Railroad tracks, were constructed in 1911. Jule G. Smith was president and general manager of the company which, after additions in 1923 and 1931 was the largest elevator facility in Fort Worth. Purina, which manufactures animal feed at its Fort Worth mill, stored grain in the elevators and a grain delivery spout has long connected the two operations. The Purina facility, which opened in December 1918, was designed by Fort Worth engineer, C.M. Davis. Davis was also responsible for the 1929 expansion to the north of the original plant. An office building, constructed in 1929, burned in 1986. This plant, one of the company’s largest tonnage producers, has expanded over the years and now includes a number of outbuildings. The main part of the facility, a seven-story processing plant with a three-story penthouse, has an exposed reinforced concrete structural system with brick and industrial sash glazed infill. The Ralston Purina Co. plant is a contributor to the proposed Grain Elevators National Register Thematic Group.
