Acme Steel, Chicago Coke PlantDocumenting the restorations of artifacts I have recovered from the coke plant, to bring home and give a new life to in my own personal archive.
Using more material from the lumber I took for my thermometer stand, I wanted to build a display for the golf balls you can see above, which I purchased on ebay for next to nothing. I had seen the Interlake golf ball for sometime and was tempted, but passed. Once I saw the Acme ball, […]
During an investigation of the collapsed electrical shop, I located this beautiful specimen. It is still in it’s original box and seemingly never opened after 20 years in a natural landfill, and some years even older than that. It not only works but seems quite accurate when compared to another thermometer. It would not be […]
This project was months in the making and while it required substantial time to execute, the time to percolate ideas was even greater. I think about rich people (‘rich’ by my standards at least) and how they probably never do anything satisfying in their life. Not saying that all rich people don’t work hard, but […]
My TQI bulletin board and my suggestion box were found on different dates but are inextricably linked by their original intended use. So finding duplicates of both was quite a thrill – and yes, I had to take those too. So I’ll just say it one time, for the record, as clearly as I know […]
On January 15 2022, I was on what must have been my 35th site visit. I wandered into the coal bunker for the first time in months and came across this. Another yellow suggestion box! This one is also cracked open and ‘TQI’ has been scrawled onto the door. Above it is a bulletin board […]
I doubt very much that too many people (perhaps none) have been curious or stupid enough to walk or ride along the tracks to investigate this western border of the plant. If they had, they would have discovered this very unique sign and certainly someone would have scooped it up long ago. But to the […]
There is a saying amongst urban explorers (not sure if I count myself amongst their ranks) which says “leave things better than you found them”. To me, this especially applies to raiding a site for ‘souvenirs’. I think everyone has to stop and question their motives before removing an artifact from a site, but carry […]
This sign was a real mess. Unlike all the others I have found, this one showed some serious corner cutting to save a few bucks. The backing is a painted steel plate. But the lettering is just attached to a cheap transparency which was somehow adhered to the steel. It wasn’t adhered very well, that […]
Always go back for just one more look – advice (that I give myself, and now you) which continues to serve me well at Acme. While kind of walking through the gate house in a bored stupor I noticed that a door (which of course was torn from it’s hinges, like every other one in […]
I first discovered this item in the BP office weeks (or months?) ago. It was tipped over and right in the middle of the room, resting on it’s side. I wasn’t shocked that some animal had felt the need to kick it over, but it did seem odd it was in the middle of the […]