Hunter Meat Packing Plant, Demolished at Last

I've watched the slow death of the Hunter Meat Packing Plant for close to four years now, and it's finally coming down into a pile of rubble, replaced at least for the time-being with a tanker truck lot.

I never like Hunter as much as Armour, but it still had its charms, from the paper-like slabs of concrete hanging by its rebar, to the smokestack itself.

Presumably, it is finally being torn down to make way for new industrial space or warehouses in anticipation of the new Mississippi River Bridge.

The view of the city from the stockyards is truly spectacular.

Apparition

East St. Louis Slaughter Houses

Image courtesy of Andrew Faulkner.

Hunter Meat Packing Plant #2

Here is the Hunter Meatpacking Plant, hiding in plain view, so to speak. It is in a state of partial demolition, in which it has remained for many years. You might think I am a complete idiot for stepping inside this building, but it is remarkably stable--and incredibly treacherous.The pictures above and below demonstrate how stunning the ruins of Hunter really are; concrete and steel are behaving in ways they should not normally behave. The floors, their supports removed, drape down like they are made of paper or cloth.Below is one of the various atriums of the building, allowing natural light to flood down into the building.Concrete clings to steel tie rods, seemingly defying gravity like in the picture below, in the heart of the complex.

Hunter Meat Packing Plant "American Beauty" Moment

Do you remember that scene from American Beauty where the weirdo dating Kevin Spacey's daughter shows her a tape of a plastic bag blowing around in the wind? I thought of that when I saw this piece of paper dangling between the staircases in the offices of the old Hunter Meatpacking plant. How, after the building has been repeatedly hit with various demolition equipment, did this piece of paper come to be dangling so peacefully in the wind?

East St. Louis Stockyard District Preview

Here is a preview of much new material that I will be focusing on for the next couple of weeks:Above is the remnants of the Hunter Meatpacking Plant in East St. Louis.Above is an old B&O Railroad roundhouse buried in the underbrush along I-70.Above are a fragment of the original Nationa Stockyards, once the largest stockyards in the world.Above are the spectacular ruins of the Armour Meatpacking Plant, inside the powerhouse.And finally, the view of the city of St. Louis from the upper floor of the slaughterhouse.

Hunter Meat Packing Plant First Image

Hunter Meatpacking Plant #1

Wandering around aimlessly, my crew and I found the partially demolished Hunter Meatpacking Plant in East St. Louis. I mused that maybe the reason they stopped demolition was that they realized what an architecturally interesting building the plant was. OK, I admit that there is 98% chance that is not the reason why.Nonetheless, the building displays some wonderful terracotta touches that make modern-day, bare bones industrial buildings look sad and plain.The complex is absolutely gigantic, sitting not far for the National Stockyards. See an aerial view of the plant here.