Eagle Knitting Mills is significant to the industrial heritage of Milwaukee and important for its innovations in the field of knit goods. Brothers David and Max Karger established the company in 1902. In 1928, they built this manufacturing facility at a time when the production of knit goods was an important component of Milwaukee’s manufacturing output and consistently ranked among the leading industries in the city.

Consisting of shipping and receiving departments in the basement, offices and stock rooms on the first floor, and upper floors devoted to manufacturing, Eagle Knitting Mills produced sweaters, scarfs and, most notably, their Eagleknit brand headwear. The firm grew to become a national leader in knitted headwear and received a number of patents for their knitted caps and associated method of construction. As their production expanded, so did their workforce, increasing from 250 employees in 1928 to seven hundred during peak seasonal employment in the early 1960s. Throughout the company’s history, they employed a majority of female workers. Prosperity led to the firm building a four-story addition in 1953. Shifting market conditions resulted in the end of knitwear manufacturing at this location in 1991.

Eagle Knitting Mills is also important as an excellent example of a reinforced-concrete industrial building. This method of construction was cited as advantageous since it allowed for better distribution of natural light (by eliminating beams), easier placement of sprinkler systems, and greater resistance to vibration. Eagle Knitting Mills features many characteristics of this form including multiple pane, steel windows and, on the interior, open floor plans and exposed structure that included mushroom-shaped column heads.