Located on the main thoroughfare in western Raleigh, the long, low bakery of blond, banded brick with large windows was considered quite modern in its day, with the name ROYAL spelled out over an entrance in blocky, stylized letters. A feature seen in many plants that produced food and drink, the long, horizontal bands of windows provide views of the workings within. Completed just after Pearl Harbor, the bakery supplied not only local customers from its large and modern facility but also various military installations and troop trains coming through Raleigh during World War II, a role facilitated by the position of the bakery beside a line of the Southern Railway. Founded in 1916, the company had a retail shop and bakery downtown, which specialized in bread and rolls, including its famous “Bamby” bread (Best American Made Bread Yet) and was reportedly the first bakery in Raleigh to produce pre-sliced bread (1930s). The retail shop continued for a time after the new bakery was built on Hillsborough Street. Eventually Royal used a fleet of trucks to deliver products to wholesalers in distant cities. The building was enlarged somewhat in 1946 and after 1960. The architectural firm, W. E. Long of Chicago, specialized in bakery design. See News and Observer May 7, 1950. In recent years it has been rehabilitated for new uses and remains a landmark on a principal thoroughfare. Source: J. Daniel Pezzoni, Royal Baking Company National Register of Historic Places nomination, 1997.