Chicago's
Steel Heritage Project
The Steel
Heritage Project of the Calumet Heritage
Partnership was unable to raise enough money and surmount
other obstacles regarding the Acme Coke Plant property and
no longer has any rights to the structures at the coke plant.
The plant is presently controlled by a demolition contractor
and may be torn down at any time. The good news is
that during the period that demolition was postponed many
documents, architectural drawings, photographs, artifacts
and other materials were salvaged from the plant and are
currently stored at the Pullman State Historic Site.
There were also several photographers, (some professional,
some amateur, some oriented toward history, and others oriented
toward fine arts) who visited and photographed the coke
plant and created a wonderful collection of pictures that
document this facility even more extensively that many of
the larger, more famous, steel facilities in the area.
It is planned that the Calumet Heritage Partnership and
Pullman State Historic Site will cooperate in developing
a Calumet Industrial Heritage Project on the Pullman site.
They are in the process of obtaining other large items including
an Acme switching locomotive for the planned industrial
project.
Steel Heritage Project Background
Steelworkers, union leaders, labor historians, industrial
archeologists, business organizations, and university representatives
joined together as Chicago s Steel Heritage
Project in an attempt to save the last vestiges
of Chicago s historic steel making structures, located
in Southeast Chicago, the heart of Chicago s early
steel industry.
The Acme Coke Plant, and two Hulett Ore Unloaders have been designated among Illinois
2004 Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites by the
Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois,
and judged eligible for nomination to the National Register
of Historic Places by the Illinois Historic Preservation
Agency.
Hulett
Iron Ore Unloaders
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Click on photo
for enlarged view
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Huletts
It is likely that the present owner of
the world s last operable Hulett
Ore Unloaders will reuse the machines
for coal or bulk metal handling operations.
It is necessary to establish a viewing
area since there is no access on the land
where the Huletts sit. The Huletts can
best be seen from the Calumet River.
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Last
Blast Furnace Demolished
The Acme Blast Furnace, also included
among Illinois 2004 Top Ten Most Endangered,
was demolished over the July 4th weekend 2004.
The
current owner of the land on which the furnace
were located, agreed to store and transport
pieces of the furnace to a future exhibit site.
The Calumet Heritage Partnership plans to display
these pieces at the Pullman State Historic site.
Photo courtesy of the
Landmarks
Preservation Council of Illinois |
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Click on photos for
enlarged view
Coal
Handling Structures
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Ram
end of two Pusher Cars
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Quenching
Tower
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Oil
House
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The Calumet Heritage
Partnership, on behalf of Chicago's Steel
Heritage Project, signed a contract to purchase
the coke plant structures. The structures
included:
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two batteries of coke
ovens with the attached mechanized door
systems and pusher cars;
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15 unique brick buildings
(built between 1905 and 1930) used for offices,
locker rooms, maintenance and operations,
totaling 100,000 square feet of floor space;
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elaborate and historic
coal handling structures with 100 year-old
wooden mixer cars;
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historic steam driven
gas powered exhauster fans.
Generous contributions
have come in from Steel Heritage Project partners
and a range of donors. We are very grateful
to the following donors:
- United Steelworkers of America, District
7, $40,000.
- Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois,
$10,000.
- Ispat-Inland Steel in Chicago Heights,
$10,000.
- Local donors including businesses and individuals,
$5,000.
- Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation,
$1,700 (for publicity)
- Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation,
$38,000
While the Partnership has received some donations
of equipment, it still must bear the cost of moving
it. If you'd like to help with the Partnership's
efforts, send your check to:
Calumet Heritage Partnership, 13300 S,
Baltimore, Chicago, Il 60633 or click on the
donate button below.
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Mechanized
Door Systems
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Pusher
Side of Coke Batteries
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Employee
Entrance
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Gate
House
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Click on photos above
for enlarged view. |
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Chicago's Steel Heritage Project Partners |
| Chicago s
Steel Heritage Project is continuing
to accept donations to repay loans and to help secure
the Calumet Industrial Heritage Project at the Pullman
State Historic Site
The Calumet Heritage Partnership,
a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the fiscal
agent representing the project. The following
entities made up the Chicago s Steel
Heritage Project:
For more information contact Mark Bouman,
President of the Calumet Heritage Partnership
at 773-646-0436, or email: info@calumetheritage.org
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| Everyone
who lives, works, and/or plays in the Calumet region
can be a member of the Calumet Heritage Partnership.
Members are encouraged to attend the regular partnership
meetings and are entitled to vote on important regional
issues. Working together we can make a difference.
For
information contact the Calumet Heritage Partnership
at 773-646-0436, or email: info@calumetheritage.org
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