The Demise

As heavy industry gave way to modern products and processes, (heavy castings were replaced by lighter and easier to produce die castings), the foundries that once dotted the landscape fell on hard times. High unemployment of an un-skilled labor force plagued the city for years. Urban blight descended on the City of Benton Harbor. Brammall Supply stood watch from its location on Water St. as retail stores closed, occupancy levels plumetted and vacant, boarded storefronts bemoaned the decline of the vibrant town that thrived just a few years before.