Abandoned structures photographs

[seicer]

Following up from the last blog post, "Beautiful, sunny days," I spent Sunday, March 28 wandering the back roads of Kentucky with a good friend photographing a well-visited tobacco processing plant, a historic residence and a tuberculosis hospital. The day, unlike my prior trip, was speckled with downpours and consistently low- and dark-hanging clouds, although there was interment sunshine mid-day.

We headed out very early that morning and headed due east along the AA Highway. We arrived in Maysville, Kentucky and stopped at Parker Tobacco Company, which is currently being demolished. Unlike the last trip, where there was little evidence of work being completed, this time was a bit of a shock. Entire rooms had been emptied out of their contents. Desks, filing cabinets full of papers and furniture were all missing. Random holes in the floor and walls punched through were evidence that a mass-clearing was being conducted.

Get to know this view while it is still here.

The railroad trestle that led into the plant.

The rear was damaged in a fire several years ago.

Items from the offices were scattered throughout the plant.

The smokestack reads "RJ R Tob. Co." for RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, the original tenant.

The wooden flooring is very thick.

Then.

Now.

Goodbye, old friend. You were one of the earlier locations that I've explored, and one of the historical abandonments that I've returned to over the years. It's a sad ending to such a storied company that only several decades ago had an international presence. I'm sure that Mr. Parker Sr. is feeling a sense of sadness on the demise and demolition of the corporation he worked tirelessly for, and later petitioned for its survival only a little over a decade ago.

Click through to "Beautiful, rainy days" for the remainder (due to image posting requirements at UrbanPlanet) --

http://www.abandonedonline.net/index.php?q=blog&id=93

[seicer]

Old Taylor Distillery

Old Taylor Distillery is a defunct distillery located south of Frankfort, Kentucky. Constructed by E.H. Taylor, Jr. in 1887, Old Taylor was known for a fine, quality product that was the first to produce one million cases of straight bourbon whiskey.

Old Taylor Distillery's signature entrance, constructed entirely of Tyrone, Kentucky limestone.

Overview of the facility.

Taylor was involved in financial and political interests for the commonwealth, and was politically well connected. He was a descendant of James Madison and Zachary Taylor, two U.S. presidents, and as a result of this, he served as for 16-years as mayor of Frankfort and as a state representative and senator.

Taylor was essentially responsible for revitalizing the liquor industry that had little to no confidence from consumers due to product quality. He passed laws that would ensure quality, such as the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which was a federal subsidy via a tax abatement for products produced under particular government standards.

Offices at Old Taylor Distillery, now in a stage of collapse.

Additional offices.

When the Old Taylor Distillery was constructed, it was considered a showcase of bourbon making in the entire state. The complex included a peristyle spring house, sunken gardens and gazebos. The main office and plant were constructed entirely of Tyrone, Kentucky limestone. Inside were gardens and rooms where Taylor entertained guests and politicians. Visitors arrived on the "Riney-B," or the Richmond, Nicholasville, Irvine & Beattyville Railroad, where they would be given a tour of the facility.

The peristyle spring house includes limestone columns and ionic column tops.

A gazebo along the banks of Glenn's Creek.

Old Taylor was the first distillery to reach one million U.S. Government certified cases of straight bourbon whiskey. Times were great, to the extent that National Distilleries purchased Old Taylor Distillery in 1935. National Distilleries operated the plant for years before it passed to the Jim Bean Corporation. All production ceased in 1972. Jim Bean stored and aged bourbon whiskey in the warehouses until 1994, when the space was declared surplus.

Various proposals have been floated to revitalize the distillery complex. Cecil Withrow, a former employee of National Distilleries, along with Robert Sims, his business partner, purchased the property and incorporated Stone Castle Properties. Renovations began in 1996 at Old Taylor and in 1997, an arts and craft mall opened in the former bottling house. Withrow planned on including a natural spring bottling operation and a whiskey distilling business by 1999, but those plans failed due to financial ills.

In May of 2005, the property was sold to Scott Brady, who has been completing selective demolition of several warehouses that are in various stages of collapse or decay, and to renovate existing buildings. Wood and other materials from the warehouses are being marketed under Heart Pine Reserve.

Former offices inside the castle-like main structure were carved out for yeast tanks.

Fermentation tanks.

The East Room, which was substantially more modern, with blue-tiled walls and a reinforced-concrete structure, contained additional fermentation tanks.

Control panels.

The remains of the still room, where Old Taylor whiskey was doubled.

Bottling plant that was later converted into an arts and craft mall.

The photographs presented are the first published photographs of the interior since the facility ceased operations in 1972. Be sure to click through to Old Taylor Distillery for more photographs of the facility!

Original blog entry --

http://www.abandonedonline.net/index.php?q=blog&id=94

[seicer]

The demolition of the Friars' Club

Cincinnati, Ohio can scratch off another storied and historical site, disguised under the veil of progress.

The demolition of the Friars' Club property at Ohio Avenue and McMillian Street in Clifton Heights, near the University of Cincinnati, has been a structure I've long overlooked. Abandoned since 2006, the four-level imposing brick building was the home of a non-profit social service organization that was dedicated to serving at-risk and disadvantaged children through organized sports, activity, nutrition and fitness.

The organization was formed in 1860 when it was known as the St. Anthony Sodality for Young Men, and was later known as the Friars' Gymnasium and Athletic Club by November 1908. At the time of its establishment, it was one of the only facilities of its type operated solely by a religious order. The Club operated out of the former Saint Francis school in Over-the-Rhine at 1610 Vine Street, and over time, an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium and library was constructed. But by the mid-1920s, the property was showing its age. The population was shifting up the hill towards Clifton Heights, and the school was just becoming outdated and too small. In early 1928, the decision was made to relocate.

The decision was an easy one: Large donations were received to help build the new structure, and a large lot was donated by Dr. Paul DeCoursey. The property included a three-story building, which was used as a temporary home until the new structure was completed.

Ground was broken on May 18, 1930 and the new Friars' Club was completed on May 17 of the following year. A dedication took place on October 18 and festivities were held for a week in celebration of the new home. Handball courts, a bowling alley, an indoor swimming pool and a gymnasium were some of the amenities featured, along with boarding rooms.

Friars' Club as viewed from Ohio Avenue.

Over time, the Club established a boating club in Dayton, Kentucky along the Ohio River, a summer camp near Milford, Ohio along the Little Miami River and a retreat house.

In 1941, Lumen Martin Winter, a noted muralist who lived at the Friars' Club, began work on a set of murals that depicted industry, music, religion and literature in the residents' lounge. For four years, Winter worked on the murals, although his work was interrupted for 18 months while he was enlisted as a chief artist illustrator for the Signal Corps under the Air Force. The murals were dedicated on November 12, 1944.

The Friars Club was known as the organization that put Cincinnati on-the-map in amateur basketball. Basketball greats, such as Frank Wilberding, Joe Schoettmer, Harry Janszen, Joe Scheve, among many others, played at the Friars and brought welcomed attention to not only the club, but to the city.

On June 30, 2006, the Friars Club relocated from the 60,000-square-foot structure to 2316 Harrywood Court, citing a lack of space and high maintenance costs. Demolition began on May 1, 2010 on the 80-year-old former Friars Club location, which is being replaced with a gated apartment community for University of Cincinnati college students will replace the imposing brick castle-like building, and will consist of 129 units in five three-story buildings. Construction is slated for completion by late summer 2011 and will be certified as a LEED site.

But the demolition of a significant and contributing structure to Cincinnati's history leaves me wondering. Is federal funding, via the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Grant, being used to demolish the Friars' Club? If so, did the city pursue a review of the site, per Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act? And how does demolishing a large, reinforced-concrete structure, which was in great condition, be environmentally friendly, especially when the developer is seeking LEED status?

Progress doesn't need to happen at the expanse of our treasured historic sites. This building was well salvageable and stable, and it could have been repurposed into student housing in ways that today's cheap steel-and-wood-framed structures can never achieve. Good job, Cincinnati.

Swimming pool.

Locker room.

Gymnasium.

The historic Winter murals, being needlessly demolished.

Another endangered site, Old St. George, is in view.

Click through to the Friars' Club article for more in-depth history and for exclusive photographs of the interior prior to its total demolition. Enjoy this rather sober update.

[Neo]

Absolutely stunning photos! A drop ceiling has no place with a wall and floor like that though.

[automaticpistolx]

Seicer,

To what extent did you have to go through in order to get into this ammunition plant?

I'd rather not trespass, but how strictly guarded is this area?

Rachel

Summer 2009 at the Ammunition Plant

This is part two of a series on the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant. Part one covers the history of the plant pre-World War II, and the components of the plant through World War II. The following covers many of my recent trips into the complex.

[Jacque]

Cool collection. Enjoyed those hospital photos specially.

[lime light power]

Absolutely stunning photos! A drop ceiling has no place with a wall and floor like that though.

Absolutely right!!! I was thinking the exact same thing as I was looking through them. Really loved all of the photo's from the very beginning of the post too. Would love to track down some of those coal towns perhaps this summer when I have a little more time and the weather is a little nicer.

[seicer]

While driving through Trimble County, Kentucky after photographing the Milton-Madison Bridge, I turned onto Kentucky State Route 625 and stumbled upon an old schoolhouse.

I then came across this photograph of what was called District Number 3 School, built in 1899. The architecture of the school is very much similar, and is otherwise an exact match of Pleasant Retreat Ridge with the exception of the bell, which could have been later removed.

A fairly crude map from 1921-1922 of the schoolhouses in the county excludes Pleasant Retreat Ridge.

The antiquated schoolhouses were consolidated into the new Trimble County High School in 1932. I assume that a companion elementary school had been completed at around that time.

[seicer]

The Packard Automotive Plant in Detroit, Michigan has long been on my list of abandonments to visit. Known for its extensive deterioration, brought about by decades of underutilization and neglect, and by scrappers, the Packard encompasses 3.5 million square feet that fills vistas from all directions.

But how does one simply cover the Packard? It’s been gutted, scorched, written about, photographed, spray painted, scrapped, and adored for decades. It is often the sole subject of ruin porn, a newer terminology coined specifically for Detroit, in where visitors to the city come not for its cultural and athletic attractions, but for its abandonments and decay. With thousands of acres to slumber over, the Packard is typically at the top of most explorer’s “must see” list due to its easy access and immense size.

The Packard plant along East Grand Boulevard opened on October 12, 1903 on just 7.5 acres at the edge of Detroit, figuring that they would not need to build out any further for a considerable amount of time. They had not even purchased frontage along East Grand. It was not long until they bought additional acreage on both sides of the boulevard.

In 1905, Albert Kahn designed Building No. 10, with the Trussed Concrete Steel Company acting as engineers with work performed by the Concrete Steel and Tile Construction Company of Detroit. The building was the first reinforced concrete building for industrial use in the world, and was built in an “L”-shaped pattern so that the floor let in as much natural light as possible. The interior featured large floor plans to minimize columns. Typical industrial buildings prior to that were constructed of steel and iron supports, and were typically faced with brick with few windows.

Below is a view of The Packard in 1910, with construction proceeding south of East Grand Boulevard that runs left to right in the center of the photograph. The power house is located at the corner of the boulevard and Bellevue Street, with a coal pit behind it.

Growth at the Packard was quick – trending from 4,423 employees in 1909 to 7,121 just one year later.

Below is a photograph of the forge shop under construction along Bellevue Street.

A 1910 article in The Packard, the company’s in-house magazine, stated that just five years prior, the company had just two acres of floor space and that stockholders wanted to know what they were going to do with all of the excessive room. By the time the article was released, Packard had grown to consume 33.6 acres, with active expansion projects ongoing east of East Grand Boulevard. Twenty-three of those acres were in use, and of that, over six acres of buildings were put into use since July 1, 1909, consisting mainly of new truck shops, a foundry and additions to the wood working, body making, sheet metal, administration buildings and powerhouse. The expansion projects included the construction of new machine shops, a forge shop, power house for the forge shop and foundry, stock building, and additions to the body erecting, hardening, service and truck shops, and to the main powerhouse.

The first powerhouse was put into operation in August 1908, fronting East Grand Boulevard. The plant featured a 1,500 HP Corliss engine coupled to a 1,000 KW Western Electric Dynamic that operated at 250 volts, and three vertical boilers, each at 400 HP capacity. In the well were two water pumps with a capacity of 1,000 and 1,500 gallons, with the floor of the well level with the floor of the tunnel that ran parallel to Packard Avenue.

The first addition to the powerhouse was completed in August 1909. The addition also included the erection of a 175-foot-high smokestack.

Due to the location of the power house across East Grand Boulevard, a means to connect it to the plant was necessary. As a result, a tunnel, which carried steam, water and compressed air pipes, and electric cables, was constructed. The 1,843 foot tunnel, 9 feet high and 8 feet wide, enabled safe distribution of the products without overhead interference. Each tunnel included three steam pipes, one being a 10-inch high pressure line carrying 150 lb. of steam to operate fan engines that circulate hot air currents used for heating some of the shops. Another 12-inch low pressure line carried steam for direct steam heating of some buildings and to warm the air of the fan circulation system of other buildings. It also furnished steam for the dry kiln. The third pipe, 10-inches wide, is a return from the heating apparatus. The 8-inch compressed air pipe carried a pressure of 80 lb. Other pipes included two 4-inch water pipes, with one connected to the city main and the other connected to the power house that produced hot water for use throughout the factory. Trunk line cables carried electric current for power and light, suspended by hangers and insulated.

Compare the above to a 2011 view.

In February 1910, the Truck Department relocated to a new building south of East Grand. The building, designed for the production of one truck per day, was quickly found to be inadequate. Through much cramming of machines and people, production was increased to three trucks per day, with some assembly being done outside in tents to relieve overcrowding. Construction began in mid-year on a one-story extension to bring production up to four trucks per day. The extension, however, was unique in that it was simply a glass roof between two buildings.

Throughout the following decades, the facility expanded to encompass 74 buildings and 3.5 million square feet over 52.5 acres.

The Great Depression knocked off sales for the Packard, but the company was not financially hurt due to strong marketing and automobiles that were priced lower. An introduction of a mid-priced vehicle in 1935 signaled to some buyers that the Packard was moving more downmarket and was not as luxurious as it had originally been, but the vehicle was a success, selling 109,518 cars in 1937.

Post-World War II, the Packard was in strong financial shape and had refreshed its pre-war vehicles for 1946. But as the company began dabbling in lower priced automobiles, which did not return as high of a profit margin, and began selling to taxi and fleet car markets, the luxury marquee that the Packard commanded diminished. Sales began dropping quick after 1949. By the mid-1950s, Packard sold just over 27,000 cars per year, and in 1954, merged with Steudebaker to save on operational and manufacturing costs. In early 1956, the company signed a three year management advisory agreement with the Curtis-Wright Corporation. The last Packard automobile was moved off of the assembly line on June 2, 1956, when the company dropped the Packard line in lieu of smaller cars that were its “destiny.”

The Packard plant closed in 1958 when Steudebaker opted to merge operations at South Bend, although the Packard buildings were reused by as many as 100 tenants. That number dwindled to just a few by 2007. The last tenant, Chemical Processing, who had rented space in the plant for 52 years, moved to Madison Heights in 2010 – leaving the entire Packard plant vacant.

The offices were ravaged but still identifiable.

The Packard is just massive, and it’s hard to miss. I hate to sound like a broken record in a sea of other web-sites that feature content from the Packard Automotive Plant, but add this to the list of ruin porn. While it’s status is all but solid as a mecca for anyone who lusts over abandonments, it’s fate as a standing structure is still not clear. Sections of the complex have recently collapsed due to advanced deterioration, and it is the site of frequent fires. The city has made repeated promises to have the structures demolished, but finding a legal contact for the complex was next to impossible until just fairly recently.

I’ll be back.

Further Reading

a. Packard Automotive Plant, with 30 recent photographs and 47 historical scans: http://www.abandonedonline.net/industry/packard-automotive-plant/