The factory that produced the first welded steel pipe is partially abandoned. Wheeling Steel’s Benwood Works dates to 1884 when Riverside Iron Works, its earliest predecessor, became the second mill in the area to produce steel.
Tag: Abandoned
Once a bustling healthcare facility, the St. Joseph Riverside Hospital in Warren, Ohio, has been reduced to a desolate shell, ravaged by scrap metal scavengers, water damage, and fire.
Coming fresh from a visit to Vermont, I ventured on the back roads around upstate New York. The country was far too beautiful to pass up with rolling, overcast skies for as far as the eye can see. Autumn colors were plentiful. Rounding the corner, I look over and out of the corner of my eye, I sighted derelict locomotives. I did a quick turnabout in the car and hurried back. This was too photogenic to pass up.
The historic community of Sang Run is located along the Youghiogheny River in the mountains of western Maryland. The drive to this remote pocket of the state is not the easiest, with twisty blacktop roads alternating between forested hillsides and open valleys.
When the Dennison Hotel on Main Street in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio closed in 2011, it marked the end of a hoteling era. The single room occupancy extended stay facility once competed with the Browne Hotel, Fort Washington Hotel, Fountain Square Hotel, and others — all of which are long closed and demolished.
Several years ago, I was able to visit the former printing operation for the Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, once the world’s largest magazine publishing house, in Springfield, Ohio.
Before the completion of the Detroit Harbor Terminals complex along the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan, most of the commodities and raw materials used in Detroit were shipped first by water to Cleveland, Chicago, or Toledo and sent to Detroit via the railroad.
The Fisher Body Company Plant No. 21, located in Detroit, Michigan, produced automobile bodies for General Motors (GM). The Albert Kahn-designed facility was constructed in 1919 to provide wooden automobile bodies for a variety of companies, later manufacturing exclusively for GM. As early as 1930, GM downgraded the status of Fisher Body’s Plant 21 as being inefficient. GM began moving body manufacturing from Plant 21 to other, more efficient locations. However, the limousine body assembly was moved to Plant 21 from GM’s Fleetwood plant in 1955 because its output was only about 1,000 cars annually. On November 29, 1982, GM announced that Fisher Body’s Plant 21, 40, and 41, all part of Fisher Body’s Detroit Central complex, would close. Production would relocate to “Buick City” in Flint, leaving 900 hourly and 300 salaried employees furloughed. The last day of production for Plant 21 was on April 1, 1984. The Carter Color Coat Company purchased the shuttered Plant 21 in 1990, and the building was reused for industrial painting. In June 1992, Carter Color Coat declared bankruptcy, and the plant was abandoned. Ownership reverted to the city of Detroit in 2000.
The Detroit House of Correction, also known as DeHoCo, is a former prison complex near Detroit, Michigan.
An outstanding residence in the center of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, Old Hickory, has been abandoned for nearly 30 years.
Growing up in Raceland, Kentucky, I knew some of the significance behind the town’s name. It was named for the “Million Dollar Oval,” a horse racing track.
Before diversifying into wholesale leather production in New Albany, Indiana, the Moser Leather Company primarily manufactured high-quality leather for harnesses and collar manufacturers.
Once a strategically important city at the juncture of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, Cairo, Illinois, is in terminal decline after decades of racial turbulence.
National Acme, located in Cleveland, Ohio, was one of the largest manufacturers of machine tools in the United States. It began as the merger of two notable machine tool manufacturers, the Cleveland Twist Drill Company and the National Acme Company.
Several years ago, I undertook a meandering journey through the Winding Gulf coalfield in West Virginia, delving into the history of this once-vibrant region.
Yogi Berra once said to trust your instincts, keep trying, and, most importantly, act. For years, I have been traveling to the southeast corner of West Virginia, exploring its many one-lane roads and scenic byways and taking in all the Mountain State had to offer. The desire for wanderlust was just too great.
My October journey through New York state, filled with autumn splendor, abandoned buildings, and vibrant landscapes, left me with a renewed sense of appreciation for the region’s natural beauty and history.