Courtesy / B&G Foods
A historical photo shows the original B&M baked bean factory, with the original smokestack.
Updated: August 9, 2021
In Portland, landmark 145-foot factory chimney is coming down
Photo / William Hall
The smokestack at the B&M baked bean factory, off Interstate 295 in Portland, will be disassembled by the end of the month. On Saturday, demolition had already removed about a third of the structure.
By William Hall
A fixture in Portland’s skyline — 2 miles from downtown — will soon be no more.
Demolition began Friday on the 145-foot-high smokestack at the B&M baked bean factory in the city’s East Deering neighborhood, more than half a century after the brick chimney was built.
By Saturday afternoon, crews had removed about a third of the structure, and the rest will be down by the end of the month, a spokesman told Mainebiz on Monday. The stack hasn’t been used since 2000, and “due to its age, it is being removed to ensure the safety of employees and the community,” he said.
B&M was founded in 1867 as Burnham & Morrill Co., a food cannery business on Franklin Street in Portland. In 1913 the company moved to the current factory, which soon began specializing in traditional New England-style, oven-baked beans.
The four-story factory originally included a smaller stack. It was replaced by the current one in 1956, as production capacity for the beans doubled with a post-war surge in sales, according to the company.
For decades, the stack vented molasses-scented steam from the plant, and has been a highly visible landmark for travelers on neighboring Interstate 295. The factory continues to turn out a dozen varieties of B&M bean products and brown bread.
About 100 people work at the plant, according to B&M. Among former employees is Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who recounted his brief summer job at the old-school factory in a 2006 article for the New York Times.
Burnham & Morrill has changed hands several times over the years, and is currently owned by B&G Foods Inc. (NYSE: BGS), a New Jersey company with $2 billion in sales last year. B&G owns over 60 food and consumer product brands, the largest of which is Green Giant, accounting for about one-quarter of sales. B&M sales were not disclosed in the company's 2020 annual report.
Courtesy / B&G Foods
In 2017, the B&M factory smokestack was decorated to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the business.
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