forums
new posts
donate
UER Store
events
location db
db map
search
members
faq
terms of service
privacy policy
register
login




Location DB > Canada > Ontario > Sarnia > Holmes Industrial Compound
 Name
Holmes Industrial Compound
 Viewing Options
Log in to activate viewing options
 Database Info
created by Tour de Force on 12/4/2005 6:39 AM
last modified by fr00tCake on 11/16/2022 2:39 PM
 Viewability
Publically Viewable Publically Viewable
This location has been labeled as Demolished, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
 Overview
 Description
There used to be about 7 buildings that made up Holmes Foundry, only two remain now - Holmes Rockwool Factory, and Holmes Insulation Plant. They lie at the edge of a fenced in lot. You can enter the lot by either the gate (which is usually wide open) or through a hole in the fence, hidden in the bush beside the over pass going over the 402. Both buildings have massive doors, but one is covered by shrubbery so its hard to see. If you can't find it you can get in through a broken window. Both buildings are empty except for a few scattered tires, bike ramps, and some randomness lying about. There are paintball markings and graffiti all around the walls. There’s a piece of scaffolding on one side of the building where you can get on the roof, but it's in plain sight of the 402, so anyone passing by can see.

11.2022 - Based on Google Street images from ON-402, the remaining 2 buildings were demolished sometime between Sept 2021 and Sept 2022
 Basic Information
Type: Building
Status: Demolished
Accessibility: Easy - it's gone
Recommendation: forget it - It's gone!
 Physical Information
Address
Christina
Sarnia, Ontario
Canada
Owner:
  • See a map of this location
  •  Hazards
  • asbestos
  • lots of asbestos -
  •  Interesting Features
    In the middle of one of the rooms there’s blankets and foam lying through bike tires, and the tires are tied to a rope & hang from the ceiling. It's not the best aspect of the building, but its extremely creepy. Also, there’s a large circle that was deliberately cut out of one of the building’s wall when it was built. It's at the top near the ceiling, so when the sun hits that side of the building it looks like something out of Indiana Jones.
     Security Measures
  • fences
  • barbed wire
  • Police HQ across the street
  •  Historical Dates
    Built: 1950
    Closed: 1988
     Required Equipment
  • breathing mask
  • gloves
  • asbestos mask
  •  Recommended Equipment

     History
    This place has a very sad history for its workers. It was an asbestos insulation plant, but it's hard to believe something like that once existed in the middle of Sarnia. Holmes Foundry was made up of about 7 warehouses, and only two remain now. I'm not sure when (you can find it in the links posted below) but I think it was around the late 1950's when the government found out about massive asbestos counts in the buildings, but they did nothing about it other than report it. The people continued to work there until 1988 when it was shut down on account of the asbestos. Now I don't want to exaggerate, but this place looks like it’s the asbestos hotspot for North America. The counts of asbestos found were astronomical. It sickens me to think that the Canadian government did nothing after finding out about the condition of the buildings. Just about everyone that's worked in that place for over a few years has died of or has a lung disease/cancer. Even the wives of the men that worked there got asbestosis from washing their clothes! The milkman died of asbestosis, and he was in there for only a few minutes a day! I was shocked to hear about this, and more people in Sarnia need to know that the Canadian government is responsible for the lives of many people who've worked in Holmes Foundry. But since 1988 it's been used as an unofficial paintball arena/bmx park.
     Media Coverage

     Future Plans
    It seems as though the government keeps 'forgetting' about this place and is a case that they don't want to deal with. The city is constructing on/off ramps beside the building to get onto the 402. The workers must have tested the land because they found the massive asbestos levels. So the last I heard of any action on it from the city was another asbestos clean up that was suppose to be done by the end of October 2005. I looked for signs of a clean up every time I passed the place and it looks like they’ve never touched it. The land is currently up for sale.
     Stories
    First UE
    Sun, Dec 4th, 2005
    posted by Tour de Force


    Add your own story
     Photo Galleries
    Click to view gallery
    Nov. 2012
    Sun, Nov 25th, 2012
    posted by The Secret Lens
    25 pictures
    Click to view gallery
    April, 2013
    Sat, Apr 13th, 2013
    posted by phrenzee
    13 pictures
    Click to view gallery
    Google Street images
    Wed, Nov 16th, 2022
    posted by fr00tCake
    2 pictures
     


    Add your own photos

    Mark all galleries as Seen
     Web Links

     Contribute

    Edit this Location
     Moderator Rating
    The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location.

    This location has not yet been rated by a moderator.
     Validation
    This location's validation is current. It was last validated by Emperor Wang on 11/16/2022 11:45 PM.

     Latest Changes
  • on Nov 16 22 at 23:45, Emperor Wang validated this location
  • on Nov 16 22 at 14:39, fr00tCake changed the following: Description
  • on Nov 16 22 at 14:35, fr00tCake changed the following: Description
  • on Nov 16 22 at 14:33, fr00tCake added some pictures to a gallery
  • on Nov 16 22 at 14:32, fr00tCake created a new gallery
  • on Nov 16 22 at 2:56, Emperor Wang validated this location
  • on Nov 16 22 at 2:41, Emperor Wang validated this location
  • on Nov 16 22 at 1:03, Emperor Wang changed the following: Description
  • on Nov 15 22 at 19:08, fr00tCake changed the following: Status, Accessibility, Recommendation, Media Coverage, Web Links
  • on Jun 30 14 at 8:40, Steed validated this location
  •  Forum Threads about this Location
    New Thread
     SubjectStarted ByRepliesViewsLast Post
    You must log in for this feature to work.Holmes PicsSarnia Boy1100311/26/2010 5:18 PM by phrenzee
     Who's been looking?
    Click here to see who'se been looking.
     Report Problems
    Is this location inappropriate / broken / missing key info?
  • If it's something you can fix, please scroll up and click the EDIT button.
  • If this location was only posted a few days ago, give the creator time to work on it.
  • Please try sending a message directly to the creator of the location. You'll find that info at the top of this page.
  • Otherwise, ONLY if you've already tried to contact the original creator,: Click here to notify an administrator.



  • All content and images copyright © 2002-2024 UER.CA and respective creators. Graphical Design by Crossfire.
    To contact webmaster, or click to email with problems or other questions about this site: UER CONTACT
    View Terms of Service | View Privacy Policy | Server colocation provided by Beanfield
    This page was generated for you in 78 milliseconds. Since June 23, 2002, a total of 737083317 pages have been generated.