Update: Readers helped identify this plant as having once been owned by Pfizer and that it once produced pigments. While it may have been operational in 2012, when this post was originally made, as of 2021, it is almost certainly abandoned.
I continued down the hill and entered a neighborhood off of St. Clair Avenue. I can imagine a century ago, men would walk these sidewalks from nearby houses, and work in the factory.
I have no idea what the factory was, or when it closed, but the relatively new looking office wing (not pictured) suggests it only closed a decade or so ago.
This place is right near our family business. There are some great urban ruins down in that area.
There is a building at 5th and St. Louis (right down the track from the 5th and Missouri MEtro station) that looks like an old hall or an old industrial building of some kind. Haven't been able to learn anything about it though.
I think you're referring to this:http://stlouispatina.blogspot.com/2009/01/catholic-community-center-east-st-louis.html
This factory isn’t abandoned….. A quick google search will even uncover their phone number.
“The Elementis Pigments Inc. East St. Louis plant has been at 2001 Lynch Avenue since the early 1900s. The plant produces inorganic pigments and specialty barium sulfate intermediate chemical products.”
Elements Pigments in the past was a division of Pfizer and previously was once known as the C K Williams Company. Across the street was an old East St Louis gas company. Parsons Field, the sports field of the High Schools was across and west on Lynch Ave. My grandmothers house on Baugh Ave had the gas jets on the walls but I was never able to see them work because of the electrification of the city
Interesting!
I searched for C K Williams Paint knowing that was near the athletic field, hoping to discover the name of the field. Success! Parsons Field brings back many school memories from the 50s and 60s.
I worked at this plant from 1974-76 when Pfizer owned it. At that time, it produced yellow paint pigment, red paint pigment, and magnetic iron oxide used for magnetic cores in IBM computers, as a coating for magnetic tape for storage purposes, and for other purposes. The basic process was dissolving scrap iron into giant stainless steel tanks which contained heated acid, and then at a certain point removing and crushing the rust to one of the other processes. They also had a barite plant which at that time was used as a soundproofing material on automobile undercarriages.
Thank you for helping identify this plant! Was it Pfizer branded or did it have a different name?
I worked there in 1953 secretary to Voce president, just wondered if they were there.
Yes Pfizer owned it up till the early 90’s I worked there till 1999. Ton of history was in that old pigment plant.
I believe was Pfizer over 60 years ago when my uncle worked there.
60 years ago it was still CK. I worked there then too.
My dad retired from Pfizer in I believe 1990 after working there for 25 years. I think he worked there when it was C.K. Williams, as well as my grandfather. Early on, when my dad worked out in the plant, he would come home with red pigment on his clothes — white socks were a permanent, pale orangey-red color. Later he worked in the front office. I worked there on a temp basis in the early 80s (switchboard-reception, typing in front office, data entry out back in plant office). My father is now 93 and has many memories of this place.
I worked there about 60 years ago for 2 summers. For a budding chemist it was an interesting place to work although several of us were given the hard jobs lie working in the “hot end’, cleaning out the chasers, firing the kiln and handling endless bags of pigments from box cars and baggin barium sulphate.
These stories about this factory are great! Keep them coming!
I remember that factory. It was behind my elementary school. We would go to school with white shirts on and come home with pink shirts on because of the smoke. That couldn’t have been healthy for us kids, but no one cared because it was in the ghetto.
Chris- a note
this paper on ESL history be useful in your documentation: https://websites.umich.edu/~snre492/Jones/stlouis.htm
and here’s an invitation with (probably too much) background from Breathe Better STL.
The Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled an important meeting in the permitting process for Veolia’s hazardous waste incinerator in Sauget, IL that affects the air we breathe.
Please help us pack the Room and the Zoom!
Saturday, Sept. 28 – 1-3 PM at the Jackie Joyner Kersee Community Center in East St. Louis:
101 Jackie Joyner Kersee Circle, East St. Louis, IL 62204
There is a MetroLink Station there, which makes it very convenient.
This will be the agency’s ONLY meeting before the public hearing on the draft permit later this year and the ONLY meeting where the agency can respond to your questions.
Show up to be seen; speak up to be heard; and to Breathe Better, STL!
The QR code on their flyer,, will take you to their registration page or you can go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/veolia-sauget-air-permitting-process-community-learning-session-tickets-1009765685347.
Registration is most important if you want to ZOOM from your personal device.
Be advised that their event requires names and addresses if you register online.
Also, help us SPREAD THE WORD. Share, Share Share!
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How Close Are You to the Hazardous Waste Incinerators?
Residents of Sauget (of course) and East St. Louis are closest to the Sauget incinerators yet it may surprise you to know that parts of St. Louis on the Missouri side are just as close.
The Soulard Farmers Market (1.35 miles) is closer to the incinerators than the Cahokia City Hall (1.93); Benton Park (1.88) is closer to the incinerators than the East St. Louis Police Dept. (2.27 miles); Busch Stadium (1.86 miles) and Lafayette Square (2.2 miles) are closer than Cahokia High School (2.4 miles); and Fox Park (2.44 miles) is closer than East St. Louis Senior High (4.37).
On both sides of the river there are a number of public parks, (and a certain baseball venue), residences, and schools within 2.5 miles of the site.
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We want answers not excuses
We have submitted a number of questions to the EPA so they can bring answers Saturday, Sept. 28th and not excuses:
* What is being burned at Veolia, and in what quantity?
* How is the effectiveness of the incinerator in destroying toxic chemicals measured? By whom?
* What will be done to bring Veolia’s 2 of 3 impaired incinerators up to standard? Currently we understand that they are not burning hot enough to destroy the chemicals which are then emitted into the air.
* Will these two incinerators be permitted to continue operating when they have failed Clean Air standards for years?
* What is being stored in the 3 new storage tanks, and will Veolia be permitted to increase its burning of toxic chemicals?
* We understand that the permit can be reissued for another 5 years even if the problems are not addressed “as long as there is a plan in place” to address them. Please speak to this plan.
* What are the consequences to Veolia for failing to keep to the approved plan?
* How was Veolia assessed for violations in the past? How will this be different?
If you want to nerd out we have docs on the Breathe Better STL website under the reporting and docs tab.
Yes, thank you! I was just reading about this earlier this morning.
I worked for Pfizer Pigments Inc, Harcros Pigments Inc, and Elementis Pigments at this plant for 26 years, 1974-2000, when my position was eliminated along with many others over the age of 50. I did Payroll, Materials Management and Purchasing. After that I spent nearly another year with Elementis’ headquarters in Fairview Heights in Customer Service. My experience was best under Pfizer. At the time, IMHUO, a very good place to work. Apparently, the most recent owner (Rock’something’) couldn’t succeed.
My dad and grandfather worked there in the 70’s and early 80’s. There clothes were always tinted red and yellow. It was Phizer then. He made good enuff money to support 10 kids. We were thankfull.
In the 1960s I often visited my grandparents house, which was located on 23rd Street just east of the plant. Several of my aunts and uncles who grew up there suffered from neurological disorders. The neighborhood has long since been cleared away. Does anyone know how that happened? Did Pfizer buy and clear it? Did the state or Feds clear it? I recall seeing house remains there in the 1980s.