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Steelworkers, union leaders, labor historians, industrial archeologists, business organizations, and university representatives have joined together as Chicago’s Steel Heritage Project to save the last vestiges of Chicago’s historic steel making structures, located in Southeast Chicago, the heart of Chicago’s early steel industry. Jerry Adelmann of Openlands Project is Honorary Chair of the Project.
The Acme Coke Plant and Blast Furnace, and two Hulett Iron 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.
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| Huletts |
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It is likely that the present owner of the world’s last operable Hulett Iron 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. Operable walls and The Huletts can be seen from an elevated vantage point on the Acme Coke Plant site.
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Click on photo for enlarged view.
Hulett Iron Ore Unloaders |
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| Chicago’s Last Blast Furnace Demolished |
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The Acme Blast Furnace, also included among Illinois’ 2004 Top Ten Most Endangered, was demolished over the July 4th weekend.
Beemsterboer Slag Corporation, the owner of the land which the furnace sat, has agreed to store and transport pieces of the furnace to a future exhibit site. Chicago’s Steel Project hopes the site where the pieces can be displayed will be the Acme Coke Plant site.
Photo courtesy of the
Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois |
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Major donations received for down payment.
Coke plant structures saved for 6 more months. |
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Chicago’s Steel Heritage Project partners have been negotiating with the owner of the structures since June 2004 to hold off on demolishing the coke plant structures. The structures, valued at $250,000 include:
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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. |
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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 pledged.
Local donors including businesses and individuals, $5,000.
The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation also made a contribution of $1,700 to help with fundraising and publicity for the project.
Next Steps
A down payment will be made to initiate a two-year payment plan. Chicago Steel Heritage Partners are continuing our fundraising efforts to pay off the $185,000 balance.
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| Acme Coke Plant Site and Conversion: |
• Preserving steel-making heritage,
• Celebrating labor history,
• Highlighting industrial archeology, and
• Demonstrating remediation technology. |
| The complex of structures at the coke plant site are well suited for housing a comprehensive steel making and labor history museum and exhibit area. The site would be an ideal way to highlight the unique juxtaposition of the Calumet region’s natural and industrial history. The Acme Coke Plant site holds the strongest potential for this concept for several reasons: |
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The structures on the site are the last historic remnants of Chicago’s steel-making industry, further evidenced by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois’ designation as a Top Ten Most Endangered Landmark; |
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Adaptive reuse of historic industrial structures has occurred with great success at a handful of similar sites around the globe:
• Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, Alabama
• Duisburg-Nord Park, Germany |
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The site's proximity to the Lake Calumet wetlands has made it the poster child for the region-highlighting the juxtaposition of industry, community and nature; |
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The historic site is directly north of Indian Ridge Marsh and directly east of Big Marsh — both are parts of the Calumet Open Space Reserve slated to become natural areas with public access; |
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The site has significance to the organized labor movement. One mile east of the site is the site of the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre at the Republic Steel Plant. |
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The historic site is located two miles directly north of the future site of the Ford Calumet Environmental Center, predicted to bring 100,000 visitors per year to the area to learn about the industrial, social, and ecological history of the region. |
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A strong case for economic growth through cultural and heritage tourism can be made in light of the potential extension of the
I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor into the Calumet region. The Acme site represents the only standing historic steel making structures along the entire corridor. |
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Existing below-grade contamination can be ultilized as an on-site laboratory for universities and as a testing ground for remediation technology. |
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Big Marsh near Acme Coke Plant
Photo by Rod Sellers |
Chicago’s Steel Heritage Project Partners
Chicago’s Steel Heritage Project is accepting donations to help secure the Acme Coke Plant site.
The Calumet Heritage Partnership, a 501(c)(3) non-profit is the fiscal agent representing the project. The following entities make up Chicago’s Steel Heritage Project: |
For more information contact Marian Byrnes,
President of the Calumet Heritage Partnership,
at 773-646-0436, or send Email. |
Big Marsh
Photo by Rod Sellers |
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