Frick

One of the many blast doors. Note the plunger to seal off the airflow in the event of an attack or accidental explosion.

The ’59’ is just a reference to that work station. Unfortunately the scrappers beat me to this machine–there was not much left besides the 2-ton shell and this control panel.

A long exposure of the city glow illuminating the roof, highlighting the victorian and gothic influences on the brew house.

Much of the milling equipment predated the mill itself, so I would not be surprised if this particular machine really dates to 1860.

An ajar car elevator car afar, technically.

The main shaft’s cable spooled with bird castings belies the fact that lives used to dangle from its steel-wound strength. Arrows on the circles would indicate the mine level the cars were currently at.

The copula stacks were fitted with scrubbers. Making metal is a very polluting activity.

Before the gold could be extracted, the rock was turned to powder. Depending on the size of the steel balls inside the mill, the rock would be reduced to a certain size. So, multiple mills were usually used in stages.

“Against the blue sky, its rusting central silos look like rising smoke meeting the last minutes of a sunset. These give way to a corrugated night sky of blue gray, punched-through with staggered four-pane windows, all glassless.”