I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago and there is an abandoned factory a few towns over from mine. This place draws me back time and time again, aside from the ever growing amount of stupid graffiti and tags.. stuff is always being left in here and taken out, moved around and it's a different adventure each time I go. I'm an amateur photographer so I do apologize for the pictures not being super great. I'll be returning here to take pictures during the day but these are from a night visit. This is my first post so let me know what you guys think!1.


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Welcome to UER! There's a building about an hour away from me that does the same thing (been going to it for about 8 years). Sadly I think it's gonna come down here soon.

Nice pics!

Thanks for the welcome! This building will be demolished soon here too unfortunately. It's currently in the preliminary stages of demolition and they've been doing asbestos abatement for the past few weeks. I've been trying to go as much as possible before it's no longer there. There's not much in my area for abandonment you really have to drive into the city which I can't just do on a random wednesday like I can here. I'll be so sad when this is gone.

Nice pictures. You might want to get a decent respirator tho i saw one of the guy with one of those crummy paper one.

Send 4 Helps respirator guide:
http://www.uer.ca/...=1&threadid=108617

Oh, hey... I think we spoke on Instasham. I've grown up with this place, it's literally a walk in the park from where I live.

The village is saying they may preserve the smoke stack, however an in-source tells me the mayor started talking cost and it has us all worried they may not follow through... we're looking into getting it listed on the National Register. The village has been so trigger-happy with demolition of historic buildings in the last decade, and the loss of probably its most iconic structure would be devastating.

Posted by OH_ZOG_NO Nice pictures. You might want to get a decent respirator tho i saw one of the guy with one of those crummy paper one. Send 4 Helps respirator guide: http://www.uer.ca/...=1&threadid=108617

Yeah he doesn't care for safety. I do have a half face respirator but we went here on a whim so I didn't have it with me. He is uneducated about the dangers of asbestos and the fact that this building for sure has asbestos in it. I told him that mask would only keep dust out but he really doesn't care I guess.

Posted by jonrev Oh, hey... I think we spoke on Instasham. I've grown up with this place, it's literally a walk in the park from where I live. The village is saying they may preserve the smoke stack, however an in-source tells me the mayor started talking cost and it has us all worried they may not follow through... we're looking into getting it listed on the National Register. The village has been so trigger-happy with demolition of historic buildings in the last decade, and the loss of probably its most iconic structure would be devastating.

I was telling my friends about you! LOL, my friend was looking at pictures of the factory online because she though one of my photos turned out like one she had seen online and and I recognized your insta name and thought it was so cool that I spoke to you about this place! I really do hope they can keep it around, if they can renovate it into a museum or something that would be so great, we need to preserve the historic buildings we have left before we have nothing left to look back into history through. I truly love this place and would hate to see it go. Last night it was otherworldly in there, it was raining outside and leaking through the roof in a lot of places and the echoes of the rain hitting the floor in some spots sounded like growling surrounding us in every direction. Super creepy. I love every unique experience.

We were in there about a month or two ago, during a major windstorm where the buildings were making all kinds of weird noises. Was cool as hell! I got into it (legally) back in 2013 when a construction company and machine shop were still operating in back - you could still hear some of those industrial sounds going in the abandoned parts. Also at one point, I was in the boiler room and the tornado sirens started testing...

The buildings are a total loss, unfortunately... the factory was shut down in 1982 amid the energy crisis (but leased out to other tenants over the following decades), and while the 1912 parts of the structure have held up well, the mid-century expansions are all in terrible condition - especially the warehouses on the north end and next door. The stack, however, was evaluated several years ago and found to be structurally sound. The tornado that hit the area last year missed it by only a few-hundred feet. It would need tuckpointing, an evaluation of the foundation (the soil on the property needs heavy environmental remediation), and the letters need to be restored. I may write the mayor next week and try to get an update from him...

Posted by jonrev We were in there about a month or two ago, during a major windstorm where the buildings were making all kinds of weird noises. Was cool as hell! I got into it (legally) back in 2013 when a construction company and machine shop were still operating in back - you could still hear some of those industrial sounds going in the abandoned parts. Also at one point, I was in the boiler room and the tornado sirens started testing... The buildings are a total loss, unfortunately... the factory was shut down in 1982 amid the energy crisis (but leased out to other tenants over the following decades), and while the 1912 parts of the structure have held up well, the mid-century expansions are all in terrible condition - especially the warehouses on the north end and next door. The stack, however, was evaluated several years ago and found to be structurally sound. The tornado that hit the area last year missed it by only a few-hundred feet. It would need tuckpointing, an evaluation of the foundation (the soil on the property needs heavy environmental remediation), and the letters need to be restored. I may write the mayor next week and try to get an update from him...

I was thinking they had to have had some other companies operating out of some parts of the buildings more recently because in one of the rooms in a cabinet theres a calendar hanging up from I think 2014? Not too long ago. The smoke stack if anything I hope can be saved. Let me know either through instagram or on here if you find out anything new! Good to hear from you again

Thanks for posting the shots. I love #8. Do did a nice job documenting a place.

Pic heavy threads rule!! Thanks for posting!

Posted by Bilvavi Thanks for posting the shots. I love #8. Do did a nice job documenting a place.

So glad you liked them!

Posted by JohnInMi Pic heavy threads rule!! Thanks for posting!

Thanks for looking! Glad you enjoyed the pictures

Interesting building design on #6 Also a sweet looking spiral on #18. Darn paint sprayers at it again.. :p

Posted by LurkingSavage Interesting building design on #6 Also a sweet looking spiral on #18. Darn paint sprayers at it again.. :p

#6 was taken on the roof (which I would never ever walk on again) but it's looking inside to some rooms that I'm assuming were bathrooms/locker room type areas. I really loved the look of those windows but it was extremely unsafe getting those pictures so i'm glad I got them and have them and never have to step foot on the roof again. Legit had nightmares later that night about myself falling through the roof there because as I was walking across it I could feel it sinking in in several places, terrifying.

Was there for a while, tonight. Demolition of the buildings has started - they've torn down most of the warehouse, and started pushing debris out of the laboratory in the main factory.

Posted by jonrev Was there for a while, tonight. Demolition of the buildings has started - they've torn down most of the warehouse, and started pushing debris out of the laboratory in the main factory.

This is heartbreaking! I can't believe it's really going to be gone.. Any news on the smoke stack?

Daily Herald says the stack is safe.