Republic Steel - Coke Battery and Byproducts plants

According to research, built in 1952 and shut down in 1982.
Coke is a purified form of coal that burns smokeless and hotter, suitable for smelting iron.
Coke is made by purifying it in an oven, burning off the impurities. The burned off impurities can be used to create various other products, hence the byproducts plant.



A view of the roof above the coke ovens, the coal hopper in the distance.

























A boat and an old record player desk? Interesting things to discover at a semi-abandoned industrial facility.



A curious find.



Tubs.



Inside the byproducts plant.





I may be wrong, but I suspect power may have been generated here. There were steam turbines and what looked like generators.









July 8th, 1982. Final day of work at the byproducts plant.















An equally curious find as the Superman painting, a tail section of an airplane.



It looked like someone had turned part of the byproducts plant into an art studio at one time. An old kiln, paint and a few other artsy things were found.





There was more to see. Perhaps a next time.

TCI Ensley Steel Works

This abandoned steel works opened in 1888 and closed in 1976. This place was legendary in its time - And the facility is massive.

 A view in time to 1937.

It has seen better days, for sure. Most of the buildings are gone, only foundations remaining. Some parts of the facility that appear to be solid ground are actually the roofs of old parts. Pitfalls 20 feet deep concealed by plant growth, potentially shifting or collapsing ground, rotten wood floors, degrading steel and concrete structures and stairs, wild animals, concealed rusty nails, and fields of thorns are just a few of the potential dangers here.





What I suspect was the old power house. It contained piles of shattered ceramic electrical line insulators, among other things...





The basement of the power house contained a water reservoir. There are several holes in the concrete floor of this building.





Sad sun is sad :(



Massive hot metal mixer. These images don't do justice to the size of this relic.



Yes, those are trees growing out the top of the mixer.



A 15-20 foot deep pitfall that is nearly totally concealed by foliage - During late winter/early spring!





Oxidize



An entire row of stacks was recently cut down, probably due to concerns about their structural integrity, and their proximity to the nearby railroad and overpass.



An old tug.





Steam pipes inside the old Machine and Wheel House



Another nearby structure had this Ambulance Station sign on the front door.



Inside the same building, this elevator once took workers down 8 stories to an ore mine below. I wonder what the state of that mine is today, and if there is another way in other than the elevator shaft. I would be reluctant to go into a 100+ year old mine that has been abandoned for over 30 years.







The weather couldn't have been better for a 3 hour hike through fields of thorns.


This work by http://augustusurbex.blogspot.com/ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.