Life Savers Building

Constructed in 1920 as the manufacturing plant and headquarters of the world-famous Life Savers candy, the Life Savers Building is a testament to the industrial production of the 20th century. Built in 1920 and expandied over the decades, the building and location served as the company's main headquarters until 1984, producing an impressive amount of sweets along the way. Since that time, the structure has been converted to a condominium complex.

Before the famous Live Savers brand, the candy was originally known as Crane's Peppermint Life Savers. In 1912, chocolate manufacturer Clarence A. Crane decided to manufacture and sell hard mints, and wanted to make sure his mints stood out from the rest on the market. This led to the idea of molding the mints in the shape of rings. One year after he began making his circular mints, he was approached by businessmen Edward J. Noble & J. Roy Allen, to whom he sold the rights to his Life Savers candy.

After purchasing the company for $2,900 “Noble and Allen decided to change from packaging the mints in cardboard tubes to an airtight foil package. This emphasis on freshness, coupled with creative and unrelenting marketing, eventually helped boost candy sales. The headquarters at the time was located in New York City, but soon after the re-envisioned candy was released, demand became so high that a larger facility was needed for production and this site in Port Chester was selected owing to its location near the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. The new plant and headquarters building was designed by Lockwood, Greene and Company. Following its completion in 1920, only one major addition to the building occurred, an expansion in 1948. 

The building itself is five stories high and is constructed mostly of concrete, with terra-cotta detailing in the shape of candies scattered across the buildings exterior. “The life savers building is basically a plain, rectangular box, but it's whimsical, loosely neoclassical decoration sets it apart from the usual factory. Scattered across its facades are what at first look like Roman wreaths but are in fact oversize Life Savers. The whole exterior was conceived as an advertisement for the products made inside.”3 

While the exterior of the building is very visually pleasing, the interior was all business. On the first floor, through the main doors, was a switchboard and reception desk along with labs and spaces for as many as 500-600 employees at the peak of the building's use around 1980. After that time, the candy market started to change. A societal move towards sugarless candies began gaining popularity and labor costs also rose. With sales of sugar-free candy helping to stabilize the company's fortunes, there was still a decision to reduce costs by closing the Port Chester location in 1983 and moving the production of Life Savers candies to their Michigan plant.

Today, the former candy building has a new life as a condominium complex. The structure was added to the National Register in 1985.

1. Williams, Gray. Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County . Elmsford , NY. Westchester County Historical Society , 2003.
2. Williams, Gray. Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County . Elmsford , NY. Westchester County Historical Society , 2003.
3. Williams, Gray. Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County . Elmsford , NY. Westchester County Historical Society , 2003.
4. Larson, Neil . Life Savers Building. National Register of Historic Places Inventory. Published March 1st 1985.
5. Larson, Neil . Life Savers Building. National Register of Historic Places Inventory. Published March 1st 1985.
6. Larson, Neil . Life Savers Building. National Register of Historic Places Inventory. Published March 1st 1985.