Ever since the fire that largely destroyed the Crunden-Martin complex on Thanksgiving of 2025, the buildings have largely stood in ruins. But the demolition of the multi-block former manufacturing company is commencing. Millions of brick must make up the walls. Unfortunately, there probably won’t be a way to save the Crunden-Martin signs on the bridge…
Tag: Crunden Martin
Crunden-Martin, Destroyed
Update: The ruins were demolished in the summer of 2026. “It’s Thanksgiving, so the fires will be starting now,” someone remarked on social media–I recall reading somewhere. What a far too accurate portent. I woke up on Black Friday, and sadly, they were right. Crunden Martin, that stunning abandoned warehouse/factory complex I’ve looked at around…
Chouteau’s Landing, Early October 2025
We were back down on Chouteau’s Landing much like I was almost a year ago and the the buildings and bridges were looking good in the evening light. The MacArthur Bridge’s road deck is now completely gone, and is only used for trains. I’m always impressed by the massive concrete footings for the other rail…
Crunden Martin, On the Cusp of Redevelopment
Update: After a devastating fire, the ruins were demolished in the summer of 2026. There is a slight chance that the redevelopment of the Crunden Martin buildings might actually happen this time, and I’m cautiously optimistic due to the involvement of some people I know in the project. Looking at the building damaged by fire…
Northeast Side of Crunden-Martin, October 2021
Update: After a devastating fire, the ruins were demolished in the summer of 2026. I photographed the east side of Crunden-Martin back in the summer of 2020, and not much had changed. The hulking buildings are still vacant, and are built of a sort of pale red brick. A portion of the terracotta cornice, which…
South Side of Crunden-Martin October 2021
Update: After a devastating fire, the ruins were demolished in the summer of 2026. It’s been almost exactly a decade since a fire ripped through one of the massive buildings of the Crunden-Martin complex in December of 2011. I came back in January of 2014, and little had changed since the conflagration except some of…
Chouteau’s Landing, June 2020
Update: I went back to the area to photograph Crunden-Martin in October of 2021. I took a look around Chouteau’s Landing a couple of Saturdays ago, and I still marvel at the stunning buildings that fill the area. Particularly after looking at Dubuque’s revitalization of its former industrial core, I wonder why that rebirth can’t…
Crunden Martin, Still Waiting
Update: See Crunden-Martin in the spring of 2020 here. I went back in October of 2021. After devastating fire at the complex, the ruins were demolished in the summer of 2026. What a huge company Crunden-Martin must have been back in the day, occupying all of these massive buildings. But then a fire ripped through…
Crunden-Martin, Waiting
Update: When I went back in August of 2018, the buildings had not changed. There had been substantial collapse of the interior when I went back in October of 2021. After a devastating fire in 2026, the complex was demolished. Crunden-Martin Manufacturing was one of those industries East Coast types like to cite when talking…
Crunden Martin Fire
Update: When I revisited the complex in January of 2014 and August of 2018, little had changed since the fire. Substantial collapse of the interior had occurred by October of 2021. The entire Crunden Martin complex was destroyed in a giant fire in late November of 2025 except for this building and one other to…