A long standing relic at the corner of McCarty and Kentucky Avenue is the now abandoned
Hetherington &
Berner iron works complex. I've heard the days for this structure is coming to an end, so I took a few shots of it before its gone...
I managed to get this shot of the inside of the main
warehouse...
Vegetation has been surrounding and consuming this place for a while...
18 comments:
Man this place could be cool. Bummer that they are taking it down. Thanks for documenting it.
From what I've been told is that it will be gone in a few weeks; although I can't exactly say for sure...Better safe than sorry.
This structure is one of the few that could actually be reused in this area; others being prefabricated metal and cinder block boxes. Lets hope it doesn't become a gravel lot that will sit there for years.
Woah, gone in weeks? Plans for the area or the owner just wants to reduce property taxes?
I noticed a little while back that a one-story brick building next to the Speedway at Kentucky/West had been leveled.
As painful as it is for people like us, clearing some of the more "unsightly" and unsound structures in the area might be a necessary first step to revitalization. As gritty-urban-cool as this site is, very few would really want to live or work near it.
The city's long-range plans tag this area SE of Kentucky for Medium-Density Mixed-Use:
http://web.bsu.edu/capic/rcp2020/download/maps/lu4_landuseplan.pdf
I saw someone taking photos the other day as I was driving by. May have been you.
I always thought that the building itself had some very interesting architectural elements. I would have loved to see it converted to artist space. The angeled portions of the roof I had thought would make nicely for solar panels to power the place. Too bad, a lot of potential getting demolished. But it has been an eyesore for quite a long while.
I am assuming that this is going to become a parking lot used a few dozen times a year.
These images are seriously fab.
Thanks everyone! I believe most of the box structures in the area have little to no potential for meaningful reuse, except possibly for this one. This could be cool loft apartments, or some cool 'ol'timey' office space. They are already using part of the grounds for parking, so I suspect this will be a gravel parking lot for a while (assuming the rumors I've heard about the building's demise is in fact, accurate).
A photographer acquaintance recently gave me what I felt was some good advice: If you know of a building that's targeted for demolition, get some pictures of it before it's too late. You did good, Matt. Plus, you got some good images here.
A sentiment I fully agree with; I've been burned before, thinking 'Oh I need to shoot that sometime'...Then it disappears suddenly, without warning.
Went by there today and took some pictures of the outside. wish i could have found the way in that you did. They are currently working on the property east of it, demolishing whatever it used to be. There were some cool architecture there from what i could peer in through the windows.
had some good potential for portrait photography. too bad it'll be demolished.
Much of the places around there problably needs to be demolished, but the main building could be reused. Getting in was easy for me oweing to the stroke of luck of someone leaving the gate open...I just walked right in.
Hetherington was my great-great-(great?)-grandfather. I'm sad to see this part of my heritage soon demolished. Thank you for documenting it so beautifully!
As Marie said, Benjamin Franklin Hetherington was our ggggrandfather. He was born in 1828 in Carlisle, England. His foundry provided material for City Market and the monument on the circle, among other things. It makes me sad that it is being torn down as I'd always thought it'd make some great lofts. Your photographs are fantastic, though! How do I get some prints?
Hetherington was so much to our city and to our state. Hetherington was my great-great-grandfather as well. He is responsible for starting the artist colony in Brown County; he is rumored to have invented the first machine gun, right in this building; he also invented the first portable asphalt equipment which is responsible for our highways getting paved. Who knows how many other things as well? I'm sad to hear it will be plowed over as if it were merely a vacant building. Thank you for the photographs.
Thanks for the kind comments and the interesting historical context! I was initially told it would be demolished soon, but that was months ago; it’s possible that I received and redistributed inaccurate information ;) At any rate, most of the buildings in that area are expendable, but this one is something special.
I just went by Hetherington & Berner last night and it is being torn down as I speak most of everything is gone other than the main structure facing Kentucky Ave. and part of McCarty Street. Im glad I was able to grab some shots of this place before anything was demolished...
There was a little street behind the ironworks called Sand street. I'd suspect that would relate to some of the sand casting that would have been done at the foundry.
King Leopardi
Thanks for your photo-documenting this building! My Great Grandfather was the Purchasing Agent at this location and it is great to have photos especially since it no longer stands.
As a Berner decendent, I was pleased to see your work.
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