I had learned, shortly after the implosion demolition of the refrigeration plant at Armour Meat Packing Plant in 2016, that the famous De La Vergne Engine had survived the collapse of the building, and its parts had been relocated to the American Farm Heritage Museum in Greenville, Illinois. As of the summer of 2020, the engine…
Search Results for: Armour
Armour Meat Packing Plant, Slaughterhouse Coming Down, Late August 2016
Slowly but surely, the slaughterhouse, the last major building left at Armour, is coming down, brick by brick. It’s fascinating, in a sad way, in that the structure of the building is becoming apparent as the walls come down. There is some value in watching deconstruction.
An Amazing Discovery, Armour, July 2016
I headed back over by Amour on Saturday, and not much has changed on the slaughterhouse, but a tons of rubble have been removed from the site of the refrigeration plant. Giant husks of metal, some recognizable as refrigeration tanks, and others as the pipes that once snaked around the building, lay about, probably about…
Alleyways, Armour, September 2014
It dawned us finally one time that this was the final alleyway that cattle were forced down, with the hose on the left used to wash the path down. Look at the worn-down bricks where millions of cattle once walked. Around the corner, I am certain this passageway was where scalding hot water stripped off…
Carcass Elevator, Armour, September 2014
I used to think this massive elevator took carcasses up into the building, but that is incorrect. Like beer brewing, slaughterhouses brought the cattle up to the top of Armour, and then lowered them down floor by floor. It’s an interesting machine.
Armour from Above, Before Demolition in 2016
I don’t know why I didn’t post this long ago, but for those who’ve never been, this is what was left of most of Armour in the last decade. Amazing, there were huge refrigerated warehouses right in front of the surviving buildings. The refrigeration plant is at bottom right, and the slaughterhouse, which will be…
Roof of the Refrigeration Plant, Armour, September 2014
We were never really sure what this structure was for; old Sanborns label this as condensers, but if they were ever there, they are long gone, and were left open to the elements for decades. There was a certain abstract beauty to the structure. Update: Demolished by implosion in April 2016.
In Between the Buildings, Armour, September 2014
That quiet spot in between the slaughter house and the refrigeration plant always seemed to boast the most lush flora around Armour. It’s weird seeing the site stripped of vegetation now, as it was always so heavily concealed by nature.
Up Above the Boilers, Armour, September 2014
Climbing the rickety stairs, we emerged up above the boilers, which you can above, with the coal hoppers on the right. There were a whole forest of pipes up here, probably covered in asbestos insulation, and their use is a mystery to me. I assume all of the pipes were part of a heating system,…
The Boiler Room, Refrigeration Plant, Armour, September 2014
The giant boilers, once searing hot, were being ripped out one by one, by someone. They’re now buried under the rubble from the implosion. Below, here’s a boiler that was dragged a little ways before being abandoned. Above, the pipe that led to the other smokestack hung from the wall in the boiler room. These…