Nipper Building, Camden (must see)

The Nipper Building, officially Building 17 of the former Victor Talking Machine Company complex, is a key survivor of the area’s musical and industrial past. Built between 1909 and 1916, with some records extending to 1918, it was designed by Ballinger & Perrot for Victrola cabinet production. The wider complex once covered about 58 acres and included more than 30 buildings.

Its most recognizable feature is the 75-foot tower, with 14-foot round stained-glass windows showing Nipper, the dog listening to a gramophone in the “His Master’s Voice” trademark. The original D’Ascenzo Studios windows, installed around 1915–1916, were removed in 1969 after RCA changed its logo. Replicas followed in 1979 for “Nipper Day,” and again during the early 2000s restoration. The four originals are now held by several institutions, including the Camden County Historical Society Museum and the Smithsonian.

Its red brick walls, broad window bays, and practical industrial form reflect its factory origins. At the same time, the tower gave the building a strong public identity, linking manufacturing with recorded sound, radio, and early corporate branding. For visitors, its shape and details still tell part of the story of early music technology.

After RCA ceased operations in the 1990s, the building stood vacant and came close to demolition. Listed by Preservation New Jersey as an endangered site in 1997, it was purchased by Dranoff Properties in 2002 and reopened in 2003–2004 as The Victor, with 341 loft apartments and commercial space. Now on the National Register of Historic Places and part of the Cooper-Grant Historic District, it shows how industrial heritage can be reused with care.