A reader sent me some fascinating shots of the now-abandoned Parks College in Cahokia. It seems to have been completely given over to nature, with little interest shown to cleaning up the site. I suppose…
Metro East
Downtown Collinsville, Illinois
While looking at the Miner’s Institute, I wandered up and down the streets of downtown Collinsville. It is a beautiful, well-preserved and occupied area, and points to Collinsville’s history as a major town in the…
Miner’s Institute Theater, Collinsville, Illinois
I was invited over to Collinsville two Saturdays ago by Mike and Tami Springer, two residents who are working with others to restore and reopen the historic Miner’s Institute, a longtime institution in the city’s…
Granite City Steel, From State Street
State Street, what appears to have been the second of two major commercial streets along with Niedringhaus Avenue, is basically 100% vacant. There are some stores converted to apartments. But what is truly interesting about…
Granite City Steel Building, Revisited
Surrounded by abandoned buildings and parking lots, the Granite City Steel Building was cutting edge when it opened in 1958 to the designs of Sverdrup and Parcel, and is largely preserved in its original…
Armour Meat Packing Plant, The Slaughterhouse
The beef slaughter house at Armour, labeled clearly on the Sanborn map, is fairly well preserved. I was surprised that it was on the top floor of the slaughterhouse building, but in retrospect, it makes…
Armour Meat Packing Plant, Hides and Supply Building Ruins
Another building, which was interestingly enough not nearly as tall as the nearby slaughterhouse at Armour, was an auxiliary building that seemed to hold the hides of slaughtered animals. Wrapping around the building was the…
Armour Meat Packing Plant, The De La Vergne Engine
The massive De La Vergne engine, once one of the smaller steam engines in the refrigeration plant at Armour, is now the largest, as its larger counterparts are long gone. First you can see photos…
Armour Meat Packing Plant, The Refrigeration Plant
The refrigeration plant at Armour is easily the most striking feature of the complex; large numbers of the original machines, far too large to be removed, remain entombed in the building. Time has been rough…
Armour Meat Packing Plant, Tankage Building
I finally figured out what the “Tankage Building” was; it was where all of the extraneous parts of the cow went, such as bones, etc. I had always assumed this building was originally wider, but…
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Image by Jennifer Silverberg
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