The Nipper Building is a colloquial name for The Victor condominiums, and formerly, Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant. The structure is a historical building located in Cooper Grant neighborhood of Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, United States. Since 1901, Camden was the headquarters of the Victor Talking Machine Company, later RCA Victor. Originally a Victrola cabinet factory, the building was converted into luxury apartments and retail space in 2004.[3]
The Nipper Building, now known as 'The Victor', was originally constructed during 1909-1916, by the architectural and engineering firm of Ballinger & Perrot.[4]
Stained glass window in the building's tower featuring Nipper.
Francis Barraud, an unknown British artist, painted a picture of his brother's dog, "Nipper", sitting attentively in front of a gramophone. Nipper, a mixed-breed dog with probable terrier ancestry, became the best known dog in the world. The painting, called His Master's Voice, was sold to the British Gramophone Company Ltd. and eventually became the trademarks of both the Gramophone Company and its new American affiliate, the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901. In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America purchased the Victor Company and the acquisition included the Camden manufacturing plant and the "His Master's Voice" trademark.[5] The four stained glass windows in the buildings tower depicting the "His Master's Voice" trademark were manufactured by D'Ascenzo Studios in Philadelphia and originally installed in 1915. The windows were illuminated at night and could be seen for several miles. In 1968, RCA introduced a new corporate logo and virtually retired both the "Victor" and Nipper trademarks. The windows were removed from the tower in 1969 and replaced with RCA's new logo painted on large sheets of plywood. Beginning in 1976, partly in response to public demand, RCA revived the "His Master's Voice" trademark and reinstated it to RCA record labels and other products. Nipper was used widely again in RCA advertising, store displays, company stationery, shipping cartons and repainted on RCA delivery and service vehicles. Several newspaper articles and news reports about Nipper's return, appeared at the time. April 10, 1979 was proclaimed "Nipper Day" in New Jersey by Governor Brendan Byrne, and RCA held a ceremony in Camden dedicating four new stained glass windows, identical to the originals, which had been reinstalled in the tower. These windows were damaged by neglect and vandals after General Electric, which had absorbed RCA in 1986, vacated the building in the 1990s. The broken windows were replaced after the building was acquired by Dranoff Properties and converted into loft apartments.
During the 1970s and 1980s, some parts of the building were used by the RCA Government Communications Systems Division, for the development of computer systems for the U.S. intelligence community.
After GE vacated the building in 1992, it deteriorated, was vandalized and became a general eyesore to the surrounding area and was in danger of demolition. All but a few of the dozens of other old RCA Victor buildings at the Camden site had already been razed. In 1997, the building was listed on Preservation New Jersey's Ten Most Endangered sites list.[6]
Utilizing the Investment Tax Credit, the structure was converted into a complex featuring a mix of 341 upscale loft apartments with outstanding views of the Philadelphia skyline. The restoration was completed in August 2003 at a cost of $65 million.[7] under the guidance of BLT Architects.[8] Approximately 80% of the project's funding came from private sources, namely through Dranoff Properties, Fleet Bank and Related Capital. Remaining funding came from various public sources including the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority and the Delaware River Port Authority.[7]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nipper Building.
Official website
About RCA - Nipper and Chipper
Dranoff Properties profile
November 02, 2023
nipper, building, colloquial, name, victor, condominiums, formerly, building, victor, company, camden, plant, structure, historical, building, located, cooper, grant, neighborhood, camden, camden, county, jersey, united, states, since, 1901, camden, headquarte. The Nipper Building is a colloquial name for The Victor condominiums and formerly Building 17 RCA Victor Company Camden Plant The structure is a historical building located in Cooper Grant neighborhood of Camden Camden County New Jersey United States Since 1901 Camden was the headquarters of the Victor Talking Machine Company later RCA Victor Originally a Victrola cabinet factory the building was converted into luxury apartments and retail space in 2004 3 Building 17 RCA Victor Company Camden PlantU S National Register of Historic PlacesNew Jersey Register of Historic PlacesShow map of Camden County New JerseyShow map of New JerseyShow map of the United StatesLocation1 Market Street Camden New JerseyCoordinates39 56 50 N 75 07 38 W 39 947284 N 75 127091 W 39 947284 75 127091Area3 7 acres 1 5 ha Built1909ArchitectBallinger amp PerrotArchitectural styleClassical RevivalNRHP reference No 02001253 1 NJRHP No 3033 2 Significant datesAdded to NRHPOctober 4 2002Designated NJRHPSeptember 18 2002 Contents 1 History 2 The Victor 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe Nipper Building now known as The Victor was originally constructed during 1909 1916 by the architectural and engineering firm of Ballinger amp Perrot 4 nbsp Stained glass window in the building s tower featuring Nipper Francis Barraud an unknown British artist painted a picture of his brother s dog Nipper sitting attentively in front of a gramophone Nipper a mixed breed dog with probable terrier ancestry became the best known dog in the world The painting called His Master s Voice was sold to the British Gramophone Company Ltd and eventually became the trademarks of both the Gramophone Company and its new American affiliate the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901 In 1929 the Radio Corporation of America purchased the Victor Company and the acquisition included the Camden manufacturing plant and the His Master s Voice trademark 5 The four stained glass windows in the buildings tower depicting the His Master s Voice trademark were manufactured by D Ascenzo Studios in Philadelphia and originally installed in 1915 The windows were illuminated at night and could be seen for several miles In 1968 RCA introduced a new corporate logo and virtually retired both the Victor and Nipper trademarks The windows were removed from the tower in 1969 and replaced with RCA s new logo painted on large sheets of plywood Beginning in 1976 partly in response to public demand RCA revived the His Master s Voice trademark and reinstated it to RCA record labels and other products Nipper was used widely again in RCA advertising store displays company stationery shipping cartons and repainted on RCA delivery and service vehicles Several newspaper articles and news reports about Nipper s return appeared at the time April 10 1979 was proclaimed Nipper Day in New Jersey by Governor Brendan Byrne and RCA held a ceremony in Camden dedicating four new stained glass windows identical to the originals which had been reinstalled in the tower These windows were damaged by neglect and vandals after General Electric which had absorbed RCA in 1986 vacated the building in the 1990s The broken windows were replaced after the building was acquired by Dranoff Properties and converted into loft apartments During the 1970s and 1980s some parts of the building were used by the RCA Government Communications Systems Division for the development of computer systems for the U S intelligence community The Nipper Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places 3 The Victor editAfter GE vacated the building in 1992 it deteriorated was vandalized and became a general eyesore to the surrounding area and was in danger of demolition All but a few of the dozens of other old RCA Victor buildings at the Camden site had already been razed In 1997 the building was listed on Preservation New Jersey s Ten Most Endangered sites list 6 Utilizing the Investment Tax Credit the structure was converted into a complex featuring a mix of 341 upscale loft apartments with outstanding views of the Philadelphia skyline The restoration was completed in August 2003 at a cost of 65 million 7 under the guidance of BLT Architects 8 Approximately 80 of the project s funding came from private sources namely through Dranoff Properties Fleet Bank and Related Capital Remaining funding came from various public sources including the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority and the Delaware River Port Authority 7 See also edit nbsp Philadelphia portal nbsp New Jersey portalNational Register of Historic Places listings in Camden County New Jersey List of tallest buildings in Camden Victor Talking Machine Company Gramophone Company His Master s Voice Nipper RCAReferences edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service March 13 2009 New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places Camden County PDF New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office January 10 2010 p 12 Archived from the original PDF on June 4 2011 Retrieved May 26 2010 a b Landmark living on the Camden Waterfront Retrieved July 18 2010 RCA Victor Company Nipper Building Rehabilitation June 17 2009 Retrieved July 18 2010 About RCA Nipper and Chipper Retrieved July 18 2010 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites in New Jersey Archive Retrieved July 18 2010 a b 2004 Preservation Awards Presented in State House Ceremony Retrieved July 18 2010 The Victor Camden 129743 EMPORIS Archived from the original on March 7 2016 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nipper Building Official website About RCA Nipper and Chipper Dranoff Properties profile Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nipper Building amp oldid 1169259250, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
