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 NotBatman
    
Location: MSP
Gender: Male
Secret Cult Member
 |  | Grain Elevator (MSP)
< on 6/12/2009 3:50 PM >
|  | | | When we last saw our intrepid adventurers, they had just escaped from The Forgotten Lab Where A Shadow Crossed A Window!
In a very masculine fashion, they cast about for new adventures to be had! We rejoin them now:
SCENE: LAB EXTERIOR
NotBatman: That was pretty fucking cool!
MPuzzle: Yeah!
NotBatman: There just wasn't anywhere in there that said 'This is where we drink the scotch.'
MPuzzle: [sad clown]
NotBatman: I was really hoping we'd do that on the roof of this goddamn Grain Elevator.
And lo, they laid their eyes upon this: A Different Grain Elevator!
1.
(MPuzzle's)
Is that a tower in your pants or is your penis all fucked up?
Again, most of these are mine but some are MPuzzle's.
There were some more "regular" buildings in varying states of decay near the Lab building that looked interesting in their own right, but we had come out looking for something big, so we made our way over and started scoping out the perimeter until we found a way in.
2.
(MPuzzle's)
Inside the Silent Hill vibe came right back, this time punctuated with the sound of something metal clanging and banging somewhere in the unknown above us. The pipes and hoppers were huge and imposing and awesome.
There isn't a lot to show scale in this shot.
Not to get too far ahead of myself here, but one of my favorite notes of flavor in the place was that as we progressed further up the structure the graffiti increased rather than decreased. Not a lot of lazy taggers in this 'hood, these guys decided that if they're going to do it, they're going to do it with style. There's some tagging here in the walk-in level but the top is just colorful!
3.
Exit Only.
4.
The stuff was all rusty and cool looking and... stuff.
We wandered about on the lobby, eyeing the scary-ass metal grill stairs leading up as we made our way around. Sure, they were probably sturdy, but I couldn't help thinking about how long they've been here, largely unattended. When was their last safety inspection? What's happened to them since? Is the concrete they're anchored to still intact and secure? Have scrappers been whittling away at the stairs for years?
And then, suddenly, I realized I was alone and MPuzzle was three flights above me wondering what the fuck I was doing.
So I went up.
5.
In the upper stories, we encountered pigeon shit. Lots and lots of pigeon shit. Stock-piled and weaponized, there are literally little mountains of pigeon shit on the floor.
And open holes. That was a nice touch! I might not have thought to include open holes, myself.
6.
I don't know what the hell any of this crap is, but it looks neat. This guy kind of looks like he just crawled in and hunkered down to rest.
7.
I like the gear and the rust, I like the numbered plate thing that must be for something, but I really like the very small paint drip on the left. And the color is just nice.
8.
Higher still, the graffiti gets more plentiful and interesting.
9.
We also start getting some really choice views of downtown. (Shocker!!)
10.
And then we came to the top floor. It was just striking. The top had a lot more... stuff. It's another place that we could have stayed for hours.
11.
This "Yogi" guy has a lot going on.
12.
Window.
Yes.
13.
Downtown.
14.
Self Portrait with The Head.
15.
(MPuzzle's)
With the sun going down, everything to the west was a great silhouette while everything to the east was golden and pretty.
16.
Sunset over Kurth
17.
More Sunset.
So we took our pictures and we made our way back down. At the bottom we continued downwards into a pretty uninteresting basement. After the grandeur of the top, the bottom was kind of a downer. (har!)
As evening deepened, we realized that we'd left the tower too early, however. A few shots of downtown all lit up at night from up there would have been awesome. There's always next time...
I'm a "Leave only footprints, take only pornography" kind of guy, myself. |
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wackodood
Location: Twin Cities
Gender: Male
| |  | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 1 on 6/12/2009 5:40 PM >
| | | | It is interesting though, how the pigeon poop is all swept up, an obvious indication that someone had been living on that floor. In fact, we were there just a couple weekends ago and a dude had set up camp on the first floor. No idea why he chose ground level (maybe he was just passing by) but we left him alone and he left us alone.
Did you make it out on the catwalk? I remember hearing from others that it was dodgy as hell but it wasn't as bad as expected. Also, the roof access is nifty.
[last edit 6/12/2009 5:41 PM by wackodood - edited 1 times]
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NotBatman
Location: MSP
Gender: Male
Secret Cult Member
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 2 on 6/12/2009 5:55 PM >
| | | | We didn't see the guy himself, but we saw his "place" in the lower coveyer tunnel-thing. The one we saw looked like it had been well established, though, so if there had been a camp in the first floor proper we might be talking about different people.
As for the skyway, we looked at it. My friend (MPuzzle) wants to go back and try it. I don't think I want any part of that, but I told him I'd be willing to give it a better look, anyway.
There was light coming through the wooden floor in several places. There's just no way that can be good... 
I'm a "Leave only footprints, take only pornography" kind of guy, myself. |
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Glass
   
Location: Chicago
as one does
| |  | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 3 on 6/12/2009 8:03 PM >
| | | | That catwalk is pretty stable, as of a couple months ago. If there's trouble you can always hop onto the conveyor.
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NotBatman
Location: MSP
Gender: Male
Secret Cult Member
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 4 on 6/12/2009 9:26 PM >
| | | | Good to know, thanks. I saw the report on your site when we were preparing to go out but I hadn't realized how recent it was.
I guess I'll check and see how large my balls are the next time we're out that way.
I'm a "Leave only footprints, take only pornography" kind of guy, myself. |
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Clockwork
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Gender: Male
I WILL KILL THIS MONKEY! I'M CRAZY!
| | | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 5 on 6/12/2009 9:31 PM >
| | | | Wow, I haven't been there in years. Nice place. Glad you had fun!
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Glass
Location: Chicago
as one does
| | | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 6 on 6/13/2009 3:04 PM >
| | | | Posted by Clockwork
Wow, I haven't been there in years.
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Did you know that there are homeless sleeping in there?! 
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TCdrainer
Location: ur moms house
Gender: Male
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 7 on 6/13/2009 9:38 PM >
| | | | The name of the grain elevator that you guys got into is Kellog&sons, I believe, although most explorers know refer to it as the "Pig Nut" mill.
It's probably the least interesting of all the elevators in that vicinity and it's only virtue is the conveyor skyway that seems to be held up by only a single "v" support.
The group of mills that you guys discovered was coined "Mill Hell" a long time ago. That area was once riddled with grain elevators, but over the past decade or two, many have fallen victim to the wrecking ball. A few years ago, they took down a pretty big one to make room for the new stadium. Along with that one, they also razed an adjacent elevator in the middle of the rail yard (the tallest one in Mill Hell) and that one was no where near where the stadium and related infrastructure.
Nowadays, only a few elevators remain in a once thriving, milling district and also, they have really been trying to secure the still existing buildings much more now, more than likely due to the idiot taggers who I run into there on a regular basis.
[last edit 6/13/2009 9:41 PM by TCdrainer - edited 1 times]
"Reality is an illusion created by a lack of alcohol." |
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mowthelawn
Location: last one out of michigan please turn off the lights
Gender: Male
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 8 on 6/14/2009 1:04 AM >
| | | | the thing in #6 is a steel element mill, like in "steel ground oats" as it says on the oatmeal box. sorry, just the farmer in me coming out!
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Gatsby
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Gender: Male
Like all UER people, I've only explored your mom.
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 9 on 6/15/2009 1:10 PM >
| | | | Great post by TCdrainer.
Yeah, I haven't been there in years. Glad to see it's still doable.
As Glass and TC pointed out, the "skyway" crosswalk is very dodgy and scary, but safe (at least when I crossed it about 5 years ago)...
...and the roof access point is indeed very interesting as wackodood mentioned!
[last edit 6/15/2009 1:12 PM by Gatsby - edited 1 times]
I only listen to 104.7 Poop. I'm always in deep shit, so I may as well listen to poop. |
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Macsbug
Noble Donor
Location: St. Paul, MN
Gender: Male
Safety First!
| | | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 10 on 6/15/2009 5:40 PM >
| | | | I had a picnic on the roof a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't been there before and the roof access was fun to find. Too bad I picked a windy day...
"Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it." |
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ToXiC
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Gender: Male
Original Jackassary.
| |  | | | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 11 on 6/15/2009 7:19 PM >
| | | | Theres always been a guy there. Last time we were there we almost ran into him, he was whistling dixie lol.
Savage Hooligan |
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GreyKat
Location: Minneapolis/St Paul MN
Gender: Male
I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 12 on 6/15/2009 11:39 PM >
| | | | I thought that place got torn down a couple of years ago. Glad to hear its still there! I dug out this shot from 04 the people on the rope (Katwoman & myself) were PS added in afterwards. Thats Flame in the foreground, Gatsby and another guy who was afraid of heights on the roof. By the shots you posted it looks like its been tagged up a lot more but that kinda seems to give it a bit more ambiance than when I was last there. I named the place Pig Nut because thats what someone tagged in the head house by the roof access "Pig Nut was here" when Jade & I explored the place the first time in 03. The old U of M science building (you also posted) and some of the other mills around were a lot of fun too. Glad to see new explorers having a good time in some of the old places.
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Clockwork
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Gender: Male
I WILL KILL THIS MONKEY! I'M CRAZY!
| | | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 13 on 6/16/2009 2:49 AM >
| | | | Posted by Glass
Did you know that there are homeless sleeping in there?!
|
LOL!!! That was such a fun day, Glass. We did the mills of Mill Hell with Russian! Awesome trip. It was funny when we ran into that guy living inside that place. We were trying to open that door, and suddenly that dude is just standing there in the doorway. Freaky at first! He was pretty cool, though, and the resulting conversation was... ...interesting. We did that lab building that same day too. Then afterwards we got chased by that other crazy homeless man who had dogs. What was that place again? Some kind of old tractor manufacturer or something? That dude was insane! Good times.
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Clockwork
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Gender: Male
I WILL KILL THIS MONKEY! I'M CRAZY!
| | | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 14 on 6/16/2009 2:53 AM >
| | | | Hey, I was just wondering, how many of the mill hell mills have been torn down now in the past few years? I know the place where we saw those cool old 50's style safety posters got torn down, and also a really ruined dodgy place over by scooterville (also torn down now). I'm really surprised that Pig Nut is still standing, as is that campus laboratory. That campus laboratory, I really enjoyed. I'm shocked it's still standing. I'm going to have to return there soon, for old times sake.
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Gatsby
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Gender: Male
Like all UER people, I've only explored your mom.
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 15 on 6/17/2009 2:14 PM >
| | | | I'm also surprised some of the greats are still standing!
I only listen to 104.7 Poop. I'm always in deep shit, so I may as well listen to poop. |
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Glass
Location: Chicago
as one does
| | | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 16 on 6/17/2009 2:43 PM >
| | | | Posted by Clockwork
What was that place again? Some kind of old tractor manufacturer or something?
|
Harris Machinery Co has seen better days. This was taken from ADM last September, shortly before even more of Harris was bulldozed:
...and my two writeups about Mill Hell:
http://substreet.n...-the-inner-circle/
http://substreet.n...bs-of-the-inferno/
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NotBatman
Location: MSP
Gender: Male
Secret Cult Member
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 17 on 6/17/2009 3:15 PM >
| | | |
We went out last night and I have pretty much this exact shot (at home). I'll post it tonight or tomorrow for the compare and contrast.
I'm a "Leave only footprints, take only pornography" kind of guy, myself. |
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NotBatman
Location: MSP
Gender: Male
Secret Cult Member
| | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 18 on 6/19/2009 3:31 PM >
| | | | Greener shot of Harris from a few days ago:
Looking at the two, the green obscures some, but I can't see all that much that has changed. Consequently this isn't as interesting as I expected it to be, but I said I'd post, so here it is...
I'm a "Leave only footprints, take only pornography" kind of guy, myself. |
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Glass
Location: Chicago
as one does
| | | Re: Grain Elevator (MSP)
<Reply # 19 on 6/19/2009 8:37 PM >
| | | | Pretty close! I'm going to jump into Harris sometime next week and take some pictures of the wreckage so I have a before and after comparison of the old assembly shop.
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