At its peak, McLouth Steel in Trenton, Michigan only produced 1-2% of the domestic steel market, but the plant was responsible for a few innovations, which made it more well known.
In 1962, it was the first plant to use computer controls and it was the first American steel plant to finish a product using continuous casting.
The plant was purchased in 1996 by the Detroit Steel Company, but after a few unsuccessful startups, the plant became nonoperational.
(From the archives, 2009.)
This Eastern Sierra Mine was built in 1909 at an elevation of 8,000ft. It remained in operation until 1938.
(Night. Full moon. 3 minutes. Lit by moonlight.)
A safe still remains inside a back room of the basement in the administration building of the now abandoned Safe Cabinet Company in Ohio.
Marshall Beach, California.
Mono Lake Tufas, California.
(Night. Full moon. 15 seconds. f/9. ISO 200)
Many former asylums contain theatres, so I am used to stumbling upon them now and again, but finding one inside the administration building of The Safe Cabinet Company in Ohio was a bit of a surprise. Sadly all the seats had been ripped out.
The Safe Cabinet Company began in Ohio in 1905. The complex contained a large factory and administrative building, which contained a theatre that spanned from the basement (shown here) to the third floor.
The manufactured safes were scientifically tested and contained an air gap full of fireproof materials to help protect valuable materials from fire.
The company merged with Remington Rand Inc. in 1926, which combined safe manufacturing with a visible and vertical business recording system. They went out of business in 1955.
When I peered into this building at Bodie State Historic Park, I was pleasantly surprised that the room appeared as though it hadn't been touched since the town was abandoned. The quilt draped over the bed frame really struck a chord in me and reminded me why I love documenting our forgotten world.
The dinosaurs take back Mono Lake.
Dawn inside a patient room in a former tuberculosis ward at Mayview State Hospital in Pennsylvania.
These launchers aboard the USS Iowa fired the RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile. Each missile was just over 1,500lbs and had a range of between 64-85 nautical miles. A 360lb booster would propel the missile away from the ship, approximately 5 miles, then drop away.
Armored box launchers for the BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile aboard the USS Iowa glowing at night from ambient city lights. Each launcher carried 4 missiles and each Iowa class ship was outfitted with 8 canisters, which enabled her with the ability to fire off up to 32 missiles.
Last night, at 3am, I returned home from a quick 24 hour trip to Southern California to ride on the USS Iowa as she was towed from Berth 52 to her permanent home, Berth 87 in San Pedro, CA.
This image was taken looking into the bridge while the tow was underway. (Note the 18" thick steel in the entrance to the bridge.)
Hallway inside the Waldo Hotel in West Virginia.
This former hotel was converted into apartments in the 1950's but has sat abandoned since the 1990's.
This psychiatric hospital opened in 1931 in the suburbs of New York as a way for patients to escape the pollution and noise of the city. It contained a bowling alley, theatre and power plant which helped the complex operate as its own independent complex. The hospital remains in operation, though many of the buildings have been abandoned for years.
Dawn inside a patient room in the former tuberculosis ward of Mayview State Hospital, PA.
