Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant
About this property
The Nipper Building is a colloquial name for The Victor condominiums, and formerly, Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant. The structure is a historical building located in Cooper Grant neighborhood of Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, United States. Since 1901, Camden was the headquarters of the Victor Talking Machine Company, later RCA Victor. Originally a Victrola cabinet factory, the building was converted into luxury apartments and retail space in 2004. The Nipper Building, now known as 'The Victor', was originally constructed during 1909–1916, by the architectural and engineering firm of Ballinger & Perrot. Francis Barraud, an unknown British artist, painted a picture of his brother's dog, "Nipper", sitting attentively in front of a gramophone. Nipper, a mixed-breed dog with probable terrier ancestry, became the best known dog in the world. The painting, called His Master's Voice, was sold to the British Gramophone Company Ltd. and eventually became the trademarks of both the Gramophone Company and its new American affiliate, the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901. In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America purchased the Victor Company and the acquisition included the Camden manufacturing plant and the "His Master's Voice" trademark. The four stained glass windows in the buildings tower depicting the "His Master's Voice" trademark were manufactured by D'Ascenzo Studios in Philadelphia and originally installed in 1915. The windows were illuminated at night and could be seen for several miles. In 1968, RCA introduced a new corporate logo and virtually retired both the "Victor" and Nipper trademarks. The windows were removed from the tower in 1969 and replaced with RCA's new logo painted on large sheets of plywood. Beginning in 1976, in response to public demand, RCA revived the "His Master's Voice" trademark and reinstated it to RCA record labels and other products. Nipper again was widely used in RCA advertising, company stationery, shipping cartons, store displays and repainted on RCA delivery and service vehicles. Several newspaper articles and news reports about Nipper's return, appeared at the time. April 10, 1979 was proclaimed "Nipper Day" in New Jersey by Governor Brendan Byrne, and RCA held a ceremony in Camden dedicating four new stained glass windows, identical to the originals, which had been reinstalled in the tower of building 17. RCA engaged D'Ascenzo Studios to manufacture the windows, the same firm which made the original windows 64 years earlier. These windows were damaged by vandals and neglect after General Electric, which had absorbed RCA in 1986, vacated the building in 1992. The broken windows were replaced in 2003 after the building was acquired by Dranoff Properties and converted into loft apartments and retail shops.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant listed on the National Register?
Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 3, 2002.
What type of historic resource is Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant?
Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant?
The period of significance for Building 17, RCA Victor Company, Camden Plant is recorded as the industrial era.
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