Trapezoid
Yesterday we had to take our car in for service, which meant driving out to the west side on Division. It’s an old industrial no-man’s-land, with a rusty old bridge over the Chicago River and an old paper factory made of aged red brick.
Burhop Paper
Banded smokestack of brick
Shades of age
Tin can bridge
2018 update: The Burhop factory building has since been demolished.
Harley says
I don’t know that area too well, but the Burhop paper company looks to have been a decent-sized entity. The building looks like it has been abandoned for years. I will google it to see what used to occur there. By the by—very good pictures with high resolution. . . .
Celia says
Harley–thanks–I don’t know much about the building, either. There are a lot of these dormant-looking buildings around the city that you can’t tell much about. This one looks well-cared-for, though not up to date. I guess it could date from the late 1800s, given those metal star-like objects studding its sides. And the windows are small, suggesting it was built before the age of plate glass. Celia
Shawn Hazen says
I love wandering around down there. And like you, I wish there was a way to find out more about these old places.
I’m just glad that whether abandoned or being used by someone else, they kept the cool painted sign intact!
Celia says
Right. In the brief time I’ve been blogging I’ve already documented two now-vanished signs. One was for the Diplomat Hotel; the other–oh, here: celiahercity.com/2013/01/20/beneath-the-facade/
Celia
Shawn Hazen says
Good catches—I Googled the Diplomat and saw some pics of that sign, very cool. And love the “Surgical Supplies” sign in your other post. Thanks for sharing!