Sublunar Photography

The Bodine Aluminum Foundry in Saint Louis was constructed in Vinita Park in 1970 and closed down in 2018. Shortly before it was demolished we found ourselves inside and had the opportunity to inspect their kickass robots in person.

I was aware of this site while it was still fully operational but I had a feeling it would close down sooner than later. So I kept my eye on it and drove by every so often just in case. Eventually closure was announced, people came and went, the big sign out front was removed and things got interesting.

For the video, click here.

Missouri Mines State Historic Site in Park Hills, Missouri, was originaly constructed in 1906-1907 as Federal Mill No. 3. It was later purchased by the St. Joseph Lead Company in 1923. It was retired in 1972 at which point the land was donated and converted to a park.

Click here for the video.

DISCLAIMER: For legal reasons I must insist that you DO NOT ATTEMPT to explore this site. It is more difficult than it appears at first glance. For starters, I think someone might actually live here. Much to my surprise, there are strategically placed alarms, hidden vehicles/etc, and personnel are onsite at odd days/hours when not expected to be..

This location has been the object of my interest for a long, long time, so I did some homework. One aspect of this research was scheduling an onsite visit as a typical tourist where I saw and learned all that I could onsite, within the unreasonably strict legal boundaries they've implemented here. I spoke to the people onsite who seemed to almost brag about the fact that "nobody gets permission" to explore it. Even Ford Motor Company was denied the right to access the site for a commercial once upon a time. I was told "You can try to ask for permission but there's so much red tape you can just count on it not happening". If you decide to visit this location, you are granted access inside of ONE building-as long as you pay for the privilege: The former powerplant was converted into a museum and bears absolutely no resemblance to its original interior. Inside, it could be any other boring mid-century square brick building. The displays themselves are pretty decent, if you're a rock nerd and to a lesser extent a history dweeb (I am admittedly guilty of being these things from time to time). Many of the displays however, while interesting, don't even pertain to this site and what was mined here(!). Outside, you can peek in approximately one window and one doorway of the main plant building opposite the museum. You are allowed to walk from there, in a straight line, down to the end of the row of buildings. THAT'S IT. If you try to see more of this PUBLIC park which is maintained by our tax dollars, you are obviously a no-good filthy godddamned criminal!* (*they didn't actually say this last part, I'm just paraphrasing their stated rules here with some artistic license added).

Cool.

Ironically, as you leave the site, you are greeted with a big sign saying: "You are always welcome in [REDACTED]". So in the making of this adventure I took these parting words to heart, despite what the people onsite had to say about it. Those people were probably misinformed anyway. They had to be! It's right there on the sign, after all: We are "always welcome". Good to know. It was all just a misunderstanding. I'll be back.

I'm going to sound like a condescending know-it-all-from-the-internet, but bear with me because it's for a good cause.

As a condescending know-it-all-douchebag-from-the-internet, and someone who has spent a considerable portion of my life researching/exploring/touring unique/interesting/historic/abandoned locations, I find the management of the remaining structures on this site to be entirely counter-productive and illogical. Below, I will describe, in detail, my criticisms of the management of this site, along with my solutions to those problems. I welcome any corrections/discussions/debates in the comments below. Be advised that any attempts to message or harass me privately will be posted here publicly. Because this is a public, taxpayer funded, site.

Right. So I was told that they have been going to a lot of effort lately to keep people out. That's correct. They actively do not want to accept money/bribes to give tours of the site. Money that could go to the stabilization/preservation of the very structures which are the only reason anyone visits this place. Apparently some idiot had recently posted a video of himself to the internet hopping the fence and climbing the headframe using the mine's real name. As a result, the town council got involved and pressured management into taking greater precautions to prevent such situations. Keep in mind this place is a PARK. It is implied that you are SUPPOSED to come out and look at it. Except.. once you get there, you quickly realize you are only allowed to look from a distance. What kind of shit is that?

If you were to step inside any of the buildings, as I have done (allegedly), you might think they had been abandoned for several decades. Aside from some roof repairs, I personally don't see evidence of any sort of restorative/stabilizing efforts inside of any of the buildings. With the exception of one wall of window panes in one small section. There's trash and debris scattered all around the floors of all levels of all buildings. Most of the windows on all buildings are missing. Which makes me wonder what the money is going to here. Yes, the museum took lots of planning and sourcing of exhibits (not to mention the near-complete destruction of the original power plant for a new/modern/painfully bland interior space which says almost nothing about its original purpose). There's also a couple interesting pieces of history sitting inside that main mill building.. which you can only see from a distance. But haven't these things been in place for some ~40 years now? Except for going inside the museum, you'd get roughly the same experience driving by it on the highway as you do actually getting out of your car here. Meanwhile, someone appears to be enjoying taxpayer funded vehicles for personal use along with renovated building(s) which appear to be inhabited on the back end of the property conveniently hidden well out of sight of the allowed tourist area.

There are countless examples spread all across the United States of successful versions of what is being failed at here. For the purposes of this rambling and incoherent rant, as well as my own narcissistic desire for self-promotion, I will only cite the most prominent examples that I have personally visited and which thus have their own entries on this blog. Alcatraz Prison, Sloss Furnaces, Missouri State Penitentiary, Wyoming State Penitentiary, The Goldenrod Showboat and last but certainly not least: Joliet Prison which was made famous as the "Blues Brothers" prison. Oh and let's not forget that if you want to see how far you can creatively take something like this, see City Museum in Saint Louis. Keep in mind those are just examples which I've personally visited. At this point we've established that there are countless examples of what could be done here, but curiously isn't being done here.

The reality is, that as an outside observer/condescending-know-it-all-douchebag-from-the-internet, it seems clear to me that the insistent refusal of this site's management to open it up to all those adventurous tax paying members of society like myself who want to see it but aren't allowed to means people are going to continue to trespass (or attempt to do so) here BECAUSE they want to see it but are refused even the most basic of safely roped off guided tours. If they never allow people to see it, then the obvious conclusion is that they are going to be stuck fighting an unending battle wasting time and money to keep people out. What's the point of all that? If they had allowed a tour of this site on my visit, I wouldn't have been compelled to go back for my own un-sanctioned tour. I am not an anomaly. What I propose is to legalize the exploration of this site, regulate and tax it. What could be more American?

The excuses we've been told simply don't add up. So in the interest of having a productive conversation I've taken this argument to its logcal conclusion and offered a solution. Read on for a detailed plan to specifically accomplish what I, and everyone who has ever been out here, wants to see happen.

How to make money, waste less time and begin stabilizing these buildings:

Start offering guided walking tours every 1-2 hours as demands dictate. Charge something reasonable like $7.00 - $100.00 per adult (just pick any number and watch the crowds line up). You'll want an age cut-off, let's say no-one under 10 years old. Because kids are fucking stupid. Limit manageable tour groups of ~10 persons max per tour. Relevant tour areas roped off. Tours start at the front door of the main mill building across from the museum. Guide the herds of tourists down to the end and back along the other side of the displays in that room. Head to the stairs on the far end of the building and go up to the room where the foam baths removed ore from water. Then lead them back down the stairs, out the back door and walk along the path next to the water tower down towards the headframe. Weld up any safety issues with the stairs which lead up to the ore handling equipment in the headframe structure so people can see what it looks like in there because that stuff is cool. Then head out and return back to the main office. That's it! One simple solution to a variety of problems here. Specifically: "lack of funds" and "trespassers". Done and done. You're welcome.

These events may or may not have ever occurred and I may or may not actually exist. These are just words and pictures on a computer therefore they could be digitally manipulated to seem real. In fact, some might say that I have a body double that I pay (with cryptocurrency [specifically Dogecoin]) whom I've never met that does stupid things like this for me. It's entirely likely that I've never even been here. I mean, you never really know. You know?