Our (last?) Visit to Milwaukee Fertilizer Co.

I'll start where this story ends and work my way backwards. Matt, Howie, and I were admiring the open factory floor which was lit brightly by diffused light bounced into the hole ridden factory from every angle. We were taking the factory in one last time (it was recently sold to the state to extend the adjacent park further north up the lake shore). This would be our third, and in probability, last visit to the Milwaukee Fertilizer Co. I was the first out the large garage door that faced south, to the driveway out to the dead end of Depot Road. As I walked out the door I glanced up toward the dead end and through the bushes I saw a parked Police SUV presumably waiting for us. Not more then 2 feet out the door I immediately put my hand back, getting a fist full of Howie's coat, and pushed him back in the door saying nearly under my breath "cops". Howie turned and ran toward the far end of the warehouse with me still attached. His feet slipped a few times on the floor as I pulled him back toward me and said shhh shhh no need to run, lets take it easy. We walked swiftly and quietly to the nearest form of cover, being a 6 foot tall concrete block wall half way through the open floor. We all looked at each other, being put in this situation for the second time at this location. Howie decided it was best to hide and slipped inside of a large upturned half pipe on the floor about 4 feet in diameter. Matt and I stood and raced through what options we had. I peeked very slowly around the edge of the wall toward the door every 30 seconds or so. We decided we had a few options. Get out, stay here and get hidden, or go up into the upper floors of the factory where we could keep watch out the 3rd story windows at the road, and could get very hidden, very fast. Floors full of large conveyors, 6 foot tall gears, and miscellaneous machinery will provide a hiding spot for anyone in no time flat. I decided it would be best to slide out the side door on the opposite side as the previously mentioned door, make down the side of the factory to the back, which faces the lake, and hunker down on the hillside. If nothing else, the police would find 3 of us with cameras set up on a hillside photographing the lake, not in any danger, or doing any harm, or potential harm to anything or any one. We jumped the burm next to the circle drive on the back side of the factory and found some snow free grass near a tall leafless bush. We sat down, and immediately began talking under our breath about anything on our mind, surprisingly comfortable. After about 10 minutes I decided it was time to check to see if our friend had left. I made my way to the corner of the factory and looked down the long wall to the road, only to see the vehicle still parked. I whistled to Howie, who had his head up over the burm, and gave him the thumbs down and shook my head. His head dropped and I was back on the grass within seconds. Howie took my knife and started widdling a stick he had broken from the tree. Matt asked if anyone had their telephoto with them, as to start to document the police that we keep almost getting caught by. None of us did unfortunately. After another couple minutes I checked again and no Police were in sight. This time Howie got the thumbs up and an arm wave, and up they stood. Within the minute we had all of our equipment (in all 5 cameras, 7 or 8 lenses, 2 tripods, and probably enough filters to start a small store with) and we made our way for the corner again. I asked for confirmation from the other two members of the team. They saw nothing either so we quickly put the opening between the offices and factory behind us. We were once again under the cover of a large building and were safe, as we rounded the side of the offices we decided to pick up the pace. Matt said double time boys, and we swiftly made our way to the front entrance to the factory. We made it to the sweet public road and we felt better, but not great. 3 guys fully decked out in photo gear still doesn't sit right in the mind at the end of a dead end. We made the walk to the main road (we parked the car on a residential street so as not to raise any suspicion of an out of state plate parked at a dead end with nothing but old factories surrounding it. As we finally came around the last corner and stepped on the sidewalk, the car was in view, and we all literally gave a simultaneous sigh of relief. Click click, the doors unlocked, the trunk popped, and inside we were, all laughing and giving each other fives and pats on the back. Prior to this experience we basically reversed our walk out, making our way around back to scope out the situation. We entered through the back, making our way through the conditioning rooms, the elevator room, and into the conveyor room. We worked our way slowly up to the second floor, and finally up to the third floor, which is where the large conveyor from outside dumped something onto a funnel, which drops onto four chutes at 90 degrees from one another radiating outwards into four large holes in the floor, these holes lead to very large hoppers on the 2nd floor, which presumably fed conveyors and bucket conveyors that went to different parts of the factory. After the 3 floors had been shot, we made our way to the open part of the factory, climbed the ladder to the roof, did a little careful exploring of the fans and so fourth, and then promptly reverted to where this story began, at the end.

Even if we had been caught, the trip would have been worth it. Its a slice of history that will be lost in the pile of rubble it will inevitably soon turn into.

This is what happens when large carts get found by local hooligans... Pushed into the elevator shaft. The elevator is at the bottom of this shaft, with a metal grated ceiling. It is somehow holding back this... thousands of pounds of metal and wood.