Sublunar Photography

The Factory was constructed in the 1940s for the purpose of contributing to the United States' war effort and it continued long after WWII ended. In fact it contributed to every major war since then, right up until the 1990s when it was finally shut down.

We hiked through the woods for miles before we saw the first structure in the distance. We left the car around noon but by the time we got to the roof of the Power Plant the sun was already beginning its descent on a low arc through the western December sky. By this time, rain clouds were gathering ominously above. From the roof we scanned the horizon to pick out the next objective and saw a cooling tower in the distance to which we figured we'd only have about half an hour of daylight left by the time we got to it. Overgrown roads that hadn't seen traffic in decades guided us to the collection of buildings we picked out from above earlier. The skies were getting dark and it was beginning to rain lightly while the wind picked up and rattled the old structures both near and distant. The first was a compressor building which had been mostly stripped but the control room next to it was full of interesting vintage gauges and mechanical monitoring equipment. The cooling tower provided another vantage point from which to take in the surroundings from above. More skeletons loomed in the distance so we set out to meet them and therein were greeted with more time-worn isolation. We had exhausted the daylight and it was clear that it would be raining more heavily any minute. So in the shadows of the warehouse near the southernmost point we called it a day, checked the maps and set a course for egress. At this point the rain had mostly held back but now there was a steady stream of gunshots very close by. These most likely were the owners of the deer stand we noticed earlier. We made the long hike back to the exit. On the way back the skies cleared a little and the moon had come out and the earth began to glow all around us. The woods were shrouded in darkness but there was just enough light to see where we were going on the path yet dark enough to keep our eyes from adjusting to the shadows on the periphery. As we walked near a massive pile of debris from a demolished structure that had once been made with reinforced concrete over a foot thick, the howl of a large group of nearby coyotes broke the stillness of the night. It sounded like they might have even been somewhere inside the rubble but either way I didn't have time to approximate their source before they stopped howling and the night grew quiet again. Knowing we weren't alone, it now felt like we were being watched from a thousand beady little eyes in the shadows. All in all we had hiked about 10 miles and it was a good way to spend a day/night.

Click here for video.

This is a revisit. For background information, see my previous visit here

We could tell something was happening out here. A construction trailer set up next to the building and the ground was being cleared out..

For half a century these structures stood in a remote corner of the woods, forgotten by nearly everyone who had a part in their existence. Few visitors would ever wander out to see them, in part due to the fact that they're on the wrong side of a fence whose disregard could earn steep penalties. Time wound on while vines slowly crept up the walls and nature worked to reclaim an incongruent monstrosity. This is the kind of place that exists outside of the watch of the general public and everyday life. The hands of time seemed to be the only ones here for many years and this was evident in the quiet stillness found inside. Even the animals didn't seem comfortable venturing inside; the only sounds were faint dripping echoes and leaves shaking in the wind. Like concrete temples they stood watch over the woods and cast an ominous presence therein. It seemed like they had been here and would continue to be here forever. But now their clock has run out and the wrecking ball is transforming them into dust once more. This trip represents probably the last time this location would host any adventurers.

"The U-505 is a German Type IXC U-boat built for service in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was captured on 4 June 1944 by United States Navy Task Group 22.3 (TG 22.3). Her codebooks, Enigma machine and other secret materials found on board assisted Allied code breaking operations.

All but one of U-505's crew were rescued by the Navy task group. The submarine was towed to Bermuda in secret, her crew was interned at a US prisoner of war camp where they were denied access to International Red Cross visits. The Navy classified the capture as top secret and prevented its discovery by the Germans.

In 1954, U-505 was donated to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois and is now a museum ship.

She is one of six U-boats that were captured by Allied forces during World War II, and one of four German World War II U-boats that survive as museum ships. She is the only Type IXC still in existence." -WIKI

Originally, the plans were to use the Nazi submarine known as U-505 as target practice, but it was spared and sent to the museum in Chicago instead.

The following historical photos were taken at the time of capture by allied Task Group 22.3 and are courtesy of the website https://uboatarchive.net.

Begin Historic Photos

End Historic Photos

The Enigma machine: