Some of the land developed in the 20th century into a pigment/dye factory, having immediate access to the various imports required in Poplar. According to local lore, the local bird-life would get into the factory buildings and become contaminated with the dyes: it was reputedly common to see pigeons in various unusual colours flying around the area. The factory relocated elsewhere in the late 1980s, with the decline of the Poplar docks as a functioning commercial port in favour of larger facilities for container ships.