The Budd Factory
A cavernous interior room at the abandoned Budd Factory in Philadelphia
Updated June 20, 2023 | By Matthew Christopher
Edward G. Budd founded the Budd Company in 1912 after leaving a job manufacturing parts for train cars. His new company started by producing the first all-steel auto body, and also manufactured all-steel versions of seats for train cars, auto wheels, and block pulleys, which proved so successful thast by 1915 the Budd Company had over 600 employees and was producing car bodies and roofs for Dodge. According to Workshop of the World, “during World War I, Budd's production focus shifted somewhat; they manufactured steel helmets, artillery wheels, shell casings, and so on.”
After the war, Budd flourished, and soon was manufacturing bodies for Rolls Royce and expanding to Detroit. After the Depression, Budd pivoted to railroad cars, eventually competing directly with Pullman with their Zephyr line, and continued car production in the 1930s, assisting car manufacturers worldwide. The 1930s also saw Budd begin development of aircraft, including the first airplane with a steel structure, the Budd BB-1 Pioneer.
Edward G. Budd was succeeded by his son after his death in 1946, and the company continued to grow, producing tank and jet engine parts. There seemed to be no end to their diversification and success, but by the 1980s their sales slumped and the Hunting Park plant was closed in 2003 to consolidate with a Detroit plant. It remained abandoned for nearly two decades, although it was purchased in 2019 by a real investment firm that plans to turn it into a life sciences hub as part of a larger series of biotech projects in the city.
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