This week, the DC Preservation League celebrated their 40th anniversary at the long abandoned Wonder Bread Factory (formerly the Dorsch’s White Cross Bakery), located a half-block east of 7th Street in Shaw.

The oldest section of the building was built in 1913, expanding on Dorsch’s White Cross Bakery. Dorsch and his brothers worked at bakeries throughout the city before opening their bakery in Shaw. Born in D.C., Dorsch was the son of a Bavarian immigrant who had come to Washington in the 1870s and sold imported German foods. His father also opened a restaurant on 7th Street, but it’s not clear where.

As Dorsch’s White Cross Bakery prospered, he acquired nearby real estate until his factory grew to a huge complex that encompassed retail space, a baking plant, stables, and garages for delivery wagons. The white crosses seen throughout the building’s facade, similar to the American Red Cross’s logo, were meant to relieve fears that their bread might not be safe to eat after Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle struck fear into people that factory food was unsanitary.

Greater Greater Washington shares stories from residents who grew up in D.C. when the factory was in use:

“When I would take the streetcar to Griffith Stadium as a child from my Northeast neighborhood, you knew you were getting close when you began to smell the bread and the bakeries. You could close your eyes and know when you were within three blocks,” said Dr. Sandy Berk.

“When it closed it was a sad event. A lot of people depended on them. Wonder Bread has always been a number one seller. It beats Sunbeam and Giant brand. You know that Wonder Bread makes the best sandwich and their prices are reasonable,” said Wilford Williams.

Wonder Bread, which had already bought a neighboring bakery, bought Dorsch’s White Cross Bakery in 1936. It seems likely that by the 1940s, the company made Wonder Bread primarily at the bakery next door and Hostess Cake products at Dorsch’s former bakery. The two bakeries closed in the 1980s, when Wonder Bread moved their operations elsewhere.

Douglas Development Corporation currently owns the property, buying it in 1997. It is currently assessed by the city at $6,810,580. It has sat empty with disuse. Douglas Development, who owns many similar historic and empty properties, plans to turn the bakery into condos. However, there seems like no definitive timeline of when the project will start or finish.