farewell ye old chemical building

[shinpickle]

the place was in total chaos when I toured the building in April, before any real demo had taken place. the photos basically start at the top floor and work down. the building has basically been abandoned & ransacked. the whole building was unlocked.



































































feb 2, 1982























































if there tenants leaving did lock the doors .. someone would find a way around.





























































this room is probably as old as the building







very strange office, this room was all it was, with all the walls covered in peg board?





















































































this was the 6th floor, the only one demo'ed at the time I went.











































giant safe, drug out into hall











































dead bat











































the building was fenced in a couple weeks later.. pretty cool to see 100 years of styles & artifacts.. probably all in a landfill by now

[warwickland]

defibrillator!

[Framer]

I love these kind of photo tours!



Really neat to see the old round windows on the neighboring 705 Olive Bldg. I didn't realize that they were still there. I guess that's around back somewhere?

[Doug]

I have a great idea. When someone is going to explore a building like this, how about messaging a few of us on the board. Myself and many others would have loved this!

[JuiceInDogtown]

Are they tearing this building down, is it being rehabbed, or has it already been rehabbed (and obviously these pictures would be pre-rehab)?

[Moorlander]

reminds me of the many hours I got to spend in the Arcade and PB buildings. Once abandonded, those buildings act as a time capsule or tomb. You were lucky to get to see the chemical before the rehab. Oh and thanks for sharing th pics.

[dina]

A sales agent at the Arcade's grand opening told us that the mosaic tile is being fully restored to its original brilliance and is the ceiling of the lobby where the elevators are located. It should be a quite stunning lobby!

[STLight]

i gotta ask......how did a dead bat come to be in this building?

[Matt]

Wow, was Rothchild-Red Brick the previous owner?

[citywatcher]

Are they tearing this building down, is it being rehabbed, or has it already been rehabbed (and obviously these pictures would be pre-rehab)?

BAD Juice BAD,,, go stand in the corner and never utter those words on this forum again!!! LOL

[DeBaliviere]

Talk about POST-APOCALYPTIC.

[JuiceInDogtown]

Of course it's bad but I don't live there and I don't keep up, so it's just a question. I assume its being rehabbed.

[steve]

Stunning, thanks.



It's really cool walking around a building that was hurriedly/haphazardly abandoned.

[Xing]

Wow!! That was really freakn cool! I can't say much more than that. Stuck in time, and wow...!!

[STLgasm]

Incredible photo tour-- love your angles and subjects too. Clearly a building with a storied history. I still think they should keep the original name... the Chemical Building sounds much cooler than the Alexa. I can't imagine "Alexa" will stick-- don't you think residents will still tell people they live in the Chemical Building?



I always wonder this... how do they even begin to clean up such a mess? Could you imagine when the hard hats show up for the first day of work, knowing they have to haul all this crap away piece by piece? Those bay windows are going to make for some spectacular views.