18th and Western Office Building/Factory

I pass this building and factory everytime I travel into Chicago on the Burlington Northern. I always loved the simple elegant lines of the building and thought it would always be there. I noticed a couple months ago that they were demolishing it. So, of course I had to take pictures of it and leap down steep inclines to do so and jump off piles of lumber. :-) This is by far the most extensive set of pictures of an abandoned building that I've ever taken. Enjoy

(left) The entrance tower; a stairwell runs up it. (right) The entrance. Note that it's open... Hurrah for that.

(left) The stairwell from the top of the five story building. Please note the amount of pigeon crap and debris on the stairs. It was stable though...I think... (below) The third floor of the office building. Every floor contained the same broken flourescent bulbs, left over furniture, papers scattered on the floor, and cubicle walls beginning to sag.

(above) The factory directly west of the office building slowly being demolished. I love it. It's like I'm in Detroit. (right) Interior of that high space. The floor's already gone, I think.

(left) Another factory space in between the main factory above and the office building.

(right) Inside. It was everything you'd expect from a vacant, high ceilinged space: echoing, odd things left behind, and filled with the sound of water dripping and pigeons flapping away.

A picture of the skylight. I find beauty in the broken glass blocks. Other people see it as a Rorschach test.

A corridor in between some of the factory buildings. Note the fallen skylight. Inspiring, no?