Feeding a Need.
The younger Mr. Reily grew up in the world of coffees and teas. Being exposed to the alternatives of peanut butter and, especially, mayonnaise inspired him. Being something more than a coffee and tea man meant something to him. Every successful business feeds a need.
Even if he didn't say it in so many words, William B. Reilly, Jr. had a mission to feed the world. With the purchase of JFG, Luzianne Coffee and Tea became O'Reily Foods Company
Across the river in Gretna, Blue Plate Mayonnaise was invented in 1927. Luzianne Iced Tea was just an idea. Had the Reily's known of it, they may have acted sooner. Blue Plate soon outgrew Gretna. In 1941, Blue Plate Fine Foods moved lock, stock, and barrel, everything, to a new, modern factory at 1315 S. Jefferson Davis Parkway, as it was known at the time. There was plenty of time for the United States to enter World War II.
Blue Plate Artist Lofts was once the home of Blue Plate Fine Foods. The factory was ultra-modern for its time. The technical term that architects use for this type of art deco is Streamline Moderne. You cannot miss it from the street. It is one of a kind. A local firm designed it to stand the test of time. Tastes may change, the Blue Plate does not.
A factory becomes housing. It is times that change. The last alteration made to the Blue Plate Building was in 1947. The architect, August Perez, Jr., doubled the footprint to 93,000 square feet. Excellence never goes out of style.
There are a lot of juniors in this story.
The Blue Plate Building has all the textbook characteristics of Streamline Moderne style. It has a dramatic, streamlined, horizontal form; ribbon window frames; curving, glass block windows; a flat roof; and a smooth, gleaming white surface devoid of ornament. It says so on the application for the building to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Blue Plate Building is listed on the National Historic Places. The plaque is lost.
Streamline Moderne and Brutalism are two schools of architecture that employ continuously poured concrete for their buildings. The Blue Plate Building is solid concrete, as solid as a three story block of stone. Most unusual for New Orleans, the building also has a basement. The basement, too, is made of continuously poured concrete. The Blue Plate Building is a solid as a four story block of stone. Parking is in the rear, by the old loading docks.