As some of you may already know, Plexus recently moved to a new office space near downtown Athens in a building known as the Leathers Building. Since I'm into local history and architecture I thought I'd blog a little bit about the building and its past.

Originally constructed in 1946, the building is a typical factory in the style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with thick masonry exterior walls, high vaulted ceilings supported by iron trusses, and skylights providing natural light to work by. It sits adjacent to the main railroad line running through Athens.

The L.M. Leathers manufacturing company occupied the building for the early part of its life, cranking out various things from sheet metal for roofing and trouser guards to peanut butter crackers and Moon Pies. In the early 1990's, L.M. Leathers & Sons moved to a newer, larger facility, leaving the original building empty and unused. It sat that way for over a decade, gathering weeds and watching trains go by. Here's a picture of it from 2003, when it was just another abandoned factory:

Shortly after that picture was taken, the building was bought and developed as an adaptive re-use development for retail and professional offices. The concept of adaptive re-use, in short, is the idea that clear-cutting wooded areas on the edge of town to make office complexes is wasteful and unnecessary when historic buildings such as the Leathers building exist and are just waiting for a second (or third) incarnation. Adaptive re-use is a way to counter urban sprawl and is far more environmentally friendly than new development. It is intelligent urban planning, reinforces the local flavor of this very unique community, and enhances our appreciation of local history.

In addition to being within walking distance of downtown Athens, the Leathers Building also sits about two blocks from my house (another historic building which is actually twice as old as the Leathers), making it very easy for me to get to work these days. Look for my bike out front on nice days when I don't have to dress up for clients.

So now Plexus Global Headquarters sits beside the tracks cranking out websites from a factory that once cranked out roofing metal and Moon Pies. We still work under iron trusses by the light of the original skylights. Few things have changed -- although we probably have a much faster internet connection than they did in '46.