Clyde Iron Works made the highest capacity cranes in the world in Duluth, decades after the industrial town got rusty. Then, a few years ago most of the complex was demolished to make room for a hockey rink. The machine shop is now a bar and grill.
history under ground
Metalworks
Clyde Iron Works
DMIR Roundhouse and Railworks
Two Harbors, MN
Climbing that ladder let me see through the steam, by the orange light of the sunset dumping through the sooted skylights like the shop lights on the dead crane. It had been a while since it lifted a locomotive off its chasis, but the smell of grease was still strong enough to lubricate my sinuses
Dry Dock Engine Works
Detroit, MI
What do steam engines, Henry Ford, and shipbuilding have in common? Sure, Detroit, but let’s be specific–I give you the Dry Dock Engine Works, a Detroit relic about to go through yet another overhaul…
Gary Screw and Bolt
Gary, IN
From 1910 to 1986, Gary Bolt & Screw manufactured an incredible amount of fasteners and steadily employed about 1,000 people. Then, something went wrong–today its walls are not filled with rusty equipment or even dust. Instead, hundreds of piles of rotting donated clothes fill in the space under the old gantry cranes…
Harris Machinery
Minneapolis, MN
The Harris Machinery property dates to 1870 when the Peteler Portable Railway factory built their factor here. Between then and now the tenants have changed a couple of times, but there’s still a little piece of Minneapolis that looks and smells just the same.
Sibley Machine and Foundry
South Bend, IN
Builder of drill presses for Studebaker, South Bend Lathe, Oliver Plow and even Notre Dame. This century-old foundry and factory was recently demolished, without so much as a blip on the internet. I’m here to fix that.