How many threads do we have about the same mill now? Not enough, apparently. I'll try to focus on what hasn't already been covered. These photos are compiled from 2 trips.
This foundry began operating here in 1848, making heavy machinery for all kinds of industries. The mill was abandoned starting in the 80s (and kept operating under a new owner for a few years after being sold), but the company still operates today at a much newer facility nearby.
These buildings have been slated for demolition. Fortunately for us, that hasn't been moving very quickly.
01: Meth TrailerThere was no meth. We checked.
Like most of these buildings, this one is an amalgamation of construction from different eras. The far end of the building was built in 1889. The rest was probably added on in 1938.
02: WALK-WAYUp on top of one of the big ovens.
03: Green StairsThese rooms had an eerie thin green light coming in from translucent plastic windows.
This part of the building is from 1961.
04: Mold FormsI think these are forms for sand molds. Sand would be packed into these forms around a wooden pattern of the part to be cast, making a mold for iron to be poured into.
05: The Sand JungleIn this part of the building, a system of elevators brought sand up to lofts on the roof. From there, the sand went downwards through an incredibly dense and complicated series of chutes, conveyors, sifters, and hoppers.
06: Sand HopperI lifted up one of those square panels to find that the floor here was actually the roof of a giant hopper.
07: Map of MarsSand and dust covered everything, including the windows.
08: P&H 6 TONAt the start of the big skybridge craneway going from the upper mill to a loading bay across the tracks. In the cab of this crane, there was a calendar from December 1982.
It says "6 TON" and "3 TON" on this crane. The 3 Ton signs look newer, maybe they downgraded the crane as it got older.
Before the walls were built, this crane could ride on rails all the way to the other end.
This bridge existed in 1897, but was probably rebuilt or at least extended since then.
09: Elevator LoftThis machinery drives the freight elevators at the far end of the craneway.
10: DOWNWe didn't go down these sketchy stairs on the outside of the elevator shaft.
11: The Last CanalIn back of the foundry, this little water treatment plant is built around a small section of the old canal that one channeled water from the river to the mill's turbines. Except for this part, the canal was mostly filled in and built over in 1938.
12: Down BelowSaladking looks down a pipe.
13: Mercury ThermostatThis is the biggest mercury switch I've ever seen in a thermostat.
When I warmed it up with a lighter, it moved and sloshed the mercury around.
14: Window 
15: BuildingpileIn the cavernous Lower Mill. This giant space predates 1897, and some of it was added on or rebuilt in 1972.
In between two visits, a bunch of debris was swept up from this building. Demolition planned for this winter might get going at some point soon.
16: Quality and Service with Safety 
17: Crane ViewThese old cranes are incredibly skookum.
18: CatwalkHigh above the Lower Mill
19: Across the RoofIn the distance is the big craneway, at the right end are the freight elevators.
20: Wire Ropes 
21: It Pays To Be SafeThrough those big double doors are the catacombs that had the high voltage switchgear for the electric arc furnaces in the foundry above.
In the 1890s, there were engines and dynamos here. I'm sure this bit got rebuilt many times as electrical technology developed.
1897 Site PlanA section of an 1897 plan showing the buildings we saw on this trip. The upper mill is on the right, the lower mill is on the left.
Hope you enjoyed. This exploration and all the others still only cover a tiny bit of what there is to see here. I feel like there's years worth of exploring to do here, and these buildings don't have years left. The wrecking ball is coming.
