Acme Steel, Chicago Coke Plant
It was quite an undertaking to collate and research some 150+ cards found in the assistant division managers office, but that is exactly what I have accomplished. There were a number of interesting cards – interesting for a number of reasons – which I’ll cover here. They shed more light on the plant operation and […]
I guess things have really gone off the rails when you have to make a ‘to do’ list in outline format before you visit the coke plant. But on my 12th visit, that is exactly what I did. It starts innocently enough – you think about all the fun activities that await you the following […]
Very excited to share another great contribution from my friend Doug. Doug worked for Interlake/Acme from the mid 70s until the plant closed. At that time he was area manager for ovens. After more than two decades between the coke plant and Riverdale mill, Doug has seen it all and again he shared info that […]
I have been lucky enough to find a total of three lidman training guides. The most recent, was a giant 50 page binder, complete with quizzes for each chapter and an answer page. I first watched the video above a couple months ago. Even at less than a minute long, I am fascinated. But after […]
I have used Google Maps satellite view as a tool for exploring the property since before my first serious visit. This overhead view reveals details of every structure including the remains of other since fallen or destroyed. More than once, I have been unable to see or understand a structure even when I was nearly […]
I have found three large tools at the plant in the past month or so. I took them home to clean them up and give them a new life. There is something magical about giving these abandoned tools a new, safe home where they can live out their days. When I hold them in my […]
I’ve lost track of how many consecutive weeks I have risen early on a Saturday to make it down to the plant for more research. I was out the door by around 9am and was at the plant about 90 minutes later. It was a wet night and morning and roads were foul so I […]
Another Saturday with a singular plan – back to Acme I shall go. Had a couple loose missions in mind but felt a bit aimless – in the best way possible. The weather was in the balmy mid-30s range, I took advantage with an extended jaunt up Ave. O all the way to 100th before […]
Every time I visit Acme, I end up having a a few missions I know I want to complete on my next visit. But it is self-propagating, once I return new missions reveal themselves. I suppose eventually I will run out of things to do. That’s OK, when that time comes I will just pack […]
The best way to take advantage of a ruined holiday is to spend it doing something that you enjoy. I think that most people don’t have something they enjoy enough to just sit and do it for hours, with no other stimulation and only yourself as company. I slept poorly, drank too much and my […]