Ruin Porn

Pointe-du-Moulin Grain Mill, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

I am away on vacation, but I couldn’t resist shooting some huge Ruin Porn sitting in the middle of a big Montreal Tourist area.

Just like Philly, this abandoned structure is part of a waterfront master plan.  They plan to do “an innovative redevelopment of Pointe-du-Moulin that will do the property justice and contribute to Montreal’s growth and reputation.“ Sound Familiar?

Willow Street Steam Generation Plant, 9th and Willow Street, Callowhill/Eraserhood, North Philly.

This is one of those hulking ruins you see from 676 all the time, but never actually drive by the place itself. This huge building is tucked away by parking lots, food processing plants and a Union Hall on the edge of Callowhill and Chinatown.

According to the fabulous Workshop of the World Site, it was “built in 1927 by the Philadelphia Electric Company as part of Center City Philadelphia’s elaborate steam delivery system.”

Now it seems like the need for a giant asbestos cleanup is preventing a rush to use it for anything else.

Pier 18  (“The Coal Pier”) part of the Richmond Coal Wharves, Port Richmond, Northeast Philly.

This popular Urbex destination used to be a pier where coal was dumped from railroad cars into ships. This old pier must feel like Brangelina hounded by the Paparazzi with the amount of photos taken of it. 

I can’t find definitive information about plans for its future, but it seems to be included in the Master Plan for the Central Delaware.

The Ajax Metal Company, Frankford Ave. and Allen Street, Fishtown, North Philly.

The Workshop of the World site has a fantastic page on the Ajax metal company, complete with an old timey photo. “One vestige of the recent past is the Ajax Metal Company complex at 1000-1052 Frankford Avenue. Consisting of four buildings constructed between 1893 and 1944, this complex, once devoted to the smelting and refining of metals…”

There is definitely activity going on in the building now — work on the roof, dumpsters around, etc. I was even able to take a peek inside because the garage doors were up and the place looked cleaned out.

I wonder if this is a part of “Penn treaty Village,” developer Michael Samschick’s plan to develop “ten city blocks, with residential and commercial uses, effectively linking Northern Liberties and Fishtown.” What ever it is, I hope it preserves the building’s facade on Allen Street, especially since it is one of the most prominent, graffiti-covered, abandoned buildings people see as they drive through Philly on I-95. You know, the kind that causes people to say “it’s such a shame.”