Abandoned Factories

factories

These factories are no longer working the mines.  They are left abandoned and deserted by the closure of the mines and the departure of residence that have left to find work elsewhere.  Now all that is running through the vacant halls is the spirits of those who used to work there.

The first two photos were taken in Superior, AZ



The photos below were all taken in Miami, AZ

The Sugar Beet Factory

factories

In the 1900, sugar beets were a profitable product in many states around the country. One person who took note of this was businessman W. J. Murphy, who was the founder of the Arizona Improvement Company for water and land development. Glendale was one of the many growing agricultural communities connected to a canal and irrigation system, which makes it a great location for a sugar beet factory.

Since the early 1880’s, sugar beet factories were built in many states with the desire of changing sugar beets into granulated sugar. Murphy pushed for a large factory to be built in Glendale after successful experiments proved that sugar beets can be manufactured in the Salt River Valley.

In the summer of 1903, construction began on the Sugar Beet Factory just on mile east of Glendale’s business district. But by December, construction had to be temporarily stopped because of financial woes leaving only the steel frame standing. By 1906 with construction resuming, the huge factory was completed by the end of July. The main building was five stories high in one area and three stories in the rest. It was surrounded by a boiler house, a lime kiln house, a repair shop, and a 165 foot smoke stack with a 30 by 30 foot base. Also on the land were a sugar warehouse, beet sheds, and an office building. With all the machinery in place, and all the beets in the sheds, the factory was ready to go. On August 11, 1906, with many residences watching with excitement, the switch was thrown, and operations had begun. The first bags of sugar that came off the line were rich in color and very high grade.

Throughout the years the sugar beet factory went through many changes. It had few different owners, was referred to by different names, sustained weather damages, and lost its smokestack after being hit by lightning in 1951. In 1985 the factory closed its doors for good. Today the building is just a shell of what it once was.  It is abandoned with the spirits of the workers still roaming its deteriorating walls.

Mother Nature's Fury on the Domes

factories

Since we had a guest traveler with us, Vinnie, Sharon thought he might want to see the Domes in person.  Even though they say there are "No Trespassing" signs posted, we did not see them.  We were just there to take pictures and admire the uniqueness of the structures. Unlike the vagrants and party peeps, we were not out to destroy the place.  Besides, Mother Nature has done a good job of it all by herself.

It had only been a month since Sharon and I visited the Domes, but within that time the cruel and harsh weather that went through our state played havoc on the Dome's structures.  The walls and ceilings of each building had more holes especially the last building.  There were huge chunks of the ceiling lying on the floor where there was none before.  The walls that had various cracks where the sunshine poured in, and there were now holes that we could walk right through.  We don't think that last structure is going to last much longer especially after another one of Mother Nature's wild storms passes through.

The Beast, Box and Warehouse

factories

Right after catching a quick lunch in Casa Grande, we headed back towards the place where the abandoned shop was located.  Another large building caught our eyes and it looked deserted.  Yahoo, another place to sneak into.  Even though we didn't see any "No Trespassing" signs, we knew that the locals wouldn't want us in there, but we didn't care.  We walked towards the large warehouse building which had other structures around it, and noticed all the windows broken and graffiti on the walls.  On the inside near the entrance is a line of what looked like it used to be electrical boxes.  We didn't know who the "Beast" was, but he put his name on almost every wall.  It definitely looked like a recent Halloween party was there because of the costumes and party favors we found.  There were a couple of cages and a jack-in-the-box looking object in the middle of the place.  We could only imagine what kind of wild party the attendees had, eeehaw!  This huge warehouse became our last abandoned site Sharon got a reading at but wasn't the end of the places we visited on our trip...

The Forgotten Shop

factories

Just on the outskirts of Casa Grande and near the dump, sits an empty building that looks like it may have once been a store or some sort of business.  This town is so small that if you blink, you will miss the entire place, and where driving your lawnmower from place to place is normal.  We didn't get any hints from the mess all over the floors of what the building once was, but at least Sharon picked up a story from a pole in the middle of the room.  It was the second abandoned place we found on our day trip.

The Secrets of the Domes

factories

One of the places Sharon wanted to take me on our Gila Bend/Casa Grande trip was the mysterious Domes. These strange dome shape structures sit in the middle of the desert of Casa Grande only a few miles from the interstate. As you drive up on them, you notice that one object is shaped like a flying saucer and the other three structures resemble caterpillars. How did they get there and what was the purpose of the building shapes?

In July of 1982, Patricia Zebb, who owned InnerConn Technology Inc., was speaking to a group of around 75 people about her new computer manufacturing company. Her plan was to move the company headquarters from California to the newly constructed site in Casa Grande she called, “The Domes”. The new offices were dome shaped with a Thermoshell construction with the main office resembling a definitive flying saucer. Zebb was very excited about the new plant and couldn’t wait for that first circuit board to roll off the assembly line. Sadly, that was never to happen.

When the domes were first built in the early 80’s on the 135 acre site, there were high hopes of manufacturing not only circuit boards but all kinds of equipment such as quartz watches to huge computers. Using the dome shape was decided because of cost and insulation efficiency. It would be expedite as far as construction and only took six weeks to build. The domes were constructed by pouring three inches of polyurethane, and then three inches of concrete against a balloon inside, which was held up by a steel skeleton. I have to tell you that it was over 100 degrees at the time we were there and inside the domes it felt much cooler.

A year after the dedication of the new company in 1983, InnerConn Technologies defaulted on a loan and the bank took over ownership. The site remained abandoned until it was bought by a couple in 2006. Throughout the years, ghost hunters and UFO enthusiasts would trek across county to check out the odd shape objects in Casa Grande they read about online. It became a place for the young to hang out and have parties and raves. The Domes are a dangerous place to be with the walls in disarray and the ceilings falling in piece by piece.

There have been many bizarre stories of ghosts and possible satanic worshiping in the dark worm-like tunnels. Some say that at night you can hear footsteps and whispering in the back dome. A shadow figure has been seen roaming from dome to dome and sometimes out in the surrounding desert. People have report odd tapping noises on their cars if they parked them near the domes. There is a bad vibe inside the domes and an uneasy feeling like something evil is going to happen. Rumors of black magic, rapes and murders are also being told with warnings to stay away. It isn’t known for sure that the stories are just that and what really goes on there is nothing more than underage drinking and occasional squatter just spending a night or two there.

Whatever the rumors are about the domes, it is certainly an appealing place to check out. But be wise about it, not like us, and remember there are “no trespassing” signs posted around the property and a hefty fine if you get caught.