Standard Underground Cable
(1911)
In 1911, the Standard Underground Cable Company of Pittsburgh built a plant on this site on unoccupied land that had been part of the Hoepfner Refining Company property next door. The building’s architects, Prack and Perrine, who were also from Pittsburgh, had recently established a Hamilton office.
Standard Underground Cable started out making lead-covered cables for the transmission of electricity. By the time the Hamilton plant opened, it had branched out into all types of electric cable manufacture. At its peak, this plant employed over 500 workers. However, production was short-lived. In 1927, Standard Underground Cable became part of the Canada Wire and Cable Company and soon moved to Toronto. During World War II, the Department of National Defence used the unoccupied buildings as a barracks for 750 soldiers.