Friends,
Last Friday morning (10/10) the crews from Select Demo used a 250′ crane to lift equipment and supplies to the top of the 224′ tall Headhouse. Removal of the silver coating on the top half of the Headhouse is the last phase of cleanup at the site. All of the buildings were cleared of asbestos by late summer. The silo cleanup was completed just this past week.
One of the fun aspects of the crane lift was the fact that it provided a great opportunity to bring down the heavy blower motor for the Civil Defense Siren. Two summers ago, we documented and removed most of the 1956 siren components so that they could be refurbished. The blower motor proved to be too heavy to safely handle in getting it down manually with ropes. The crane worked perfectly. When fully refurbished, the siren will find a new home in a community needing an emergency warning system upgrade. The young man from Jacksonville doing the work is impressive.
The viewing area near 16th St. and Phillips Ave. continues to have a lot of activity. The big crane and wrecking ball have been working to bring down the 160′ tall Turbo and Bulk Storage buildings this week. They were constructed in the early 1960’s at the south end of the AB-Mill. Ground crews with trackhoes are sorting materials from the Grocery Mix building demolition. It is fun to see the heavy equipment at work and progress being made. The best active viewing times are from 8:00 to 3:00pm Monday thru Friday.
Thanks for being a part of this important community project.
~ Team Pillsbury
