About Banbury Place
in Downtown Eau Claire
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Explore history at the
Uniroyal Tire Factory Gallery
Visit the Uniroyal Tire Factory Gallery inside Banbury Place to learn more about our history. The exhibit is full of historic objects, vintage photographs, and a detailed timeline that combine to tell the story of the factory and the people who worked there.
The displays wrap around the walls of Suite 29 on the ground floor of Building 13. The exhibit is a free, self-guided tour, and it's open to the public. You can stop by Thursday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you'd like to take a guided tour or book a special event in the exhibit, contact the Chippewa Valley Museum at 715-834-7871.
Stroll through the
Mural Gallery
The artist murals that were once on the outside windows of a downtown vacant building at 2 South Barstow Street have been preserved and are now displayed for the public to enjoy at Banbury Place.
The paintings line the hallways on the second floor of Building 6. The exhibit is a free and open to the public Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Explore Banbury Place's
Unique History
Since its genesis in 1917, the vast plant along the bank of the Eau Claire River employed thousands of workers and churned out as many as 30,000 tires a day. Over its 75 years of operation, the factory had a substantial impact on the economic, social, and cultural fabric of the Chippewa Valley.
1917
Gillette Safety Tire Company produces its first tire.
1919
Rubber Workers Union No. 16454 forms with 285 members.
1925
Experiencing financial trouble, the company reorganizes under new management.
1935
United Rubber Workers of America Local 19 forms.
1940
US Rubber acquires controlling interest of the company. The plant retains the Gillette Tire Company name.
1942
The government buys the plant, converting the facility into an ammunition factory.
1942
Eau Claire Ordnance Plant opens. At its peak, it employs 6,200 workers; 61 percent are women.
1943
The factory receives an Army-Navy E Award for excellence in production.
1944
US Rubber repurchases the property for $1,025,000. Production of synthetic rubber tires resumes.
1947
The factory size doubles. The plant employs 4,400 workers, churning out 20,000 tires daily.
1951
The company builds a 77,000-square-foot addition.
1965
The facility expands, making the plant the nation's third largest tire factory.
1967
US Rubber subsidiaries consolidate under the Uniroyal name. Company employees join a nationwide strike stretching 97 days.
1986
Uniroyal and BF Goodrich Company merge.
1990
Michelin Group buys Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company.
June 1992
The factory closes, displacing 1,358 workers.
August 1992
Eau Claire developers Bill Cigan and Jack Kaiser buy the property, renaming it Banbury Place.
