Evans Manufacturing Company Building
industrial building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
The Evans Manufacturing Company Building, also known as Metropolitan Supply Company Building, is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. The Brown-Evans Manufacturing Company, which made men's work clothing, was relocated from Sedalia, Missouri to Cedar Rapids when this building was completed in 1919. It was built in the 4th Street Railroad Corridor, which had attracted various industrial enterprises in the years before and after World War I. The Modern Movement building was designed according to the principles of industrial design of the time in light of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. Its fireproof masonry construction was intended to lessen the risk of fires. Storage of raw stock was located in the basement, cutting and storage of finished stock was located on the first floor, and sewing was done on the second floor and balcony. Its open floor plan allowed for assembly line production.
The company reorganized in 1933 as the Evans Garment Company, and it expanded to producing women's house dresses the following year. As the Great Depression wore on, their market declined and the plant closed three years later. It was replaced by the Metropolitan Supply Company, who moved their printing and school supply operation here in 1936. They moved to a different facility in 1995, and closed a short time later.
“Evans Manufacturing Company Building” enters the record as industrial building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Evans, Manufacturing and Company can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Evans Manufacturing Company Building” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Evans, Manufacturing and Company provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q38250917. Authority coordinates are 41.975, -91.663. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1919, 1911, 1933 and 1936.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Evans Manufacturing Company Building”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Evans Manufacturing Company Building primary sources, Evans Manufacturing Company Building archive and Evans research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Evans Manufacturing Company Building”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Evans Manufacturing Company Building” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.