August 31th - Day 13

St. Louis, Mo. - East St. Louis, Il.

       I awoke this morning wishing that I had not eaten that block of cheese. My stomach was turning and head felt like it had been in a vise all night. Nonetheless I had to explore, I was in St. Louis. I found numerous buildings to explore but discovered that I did not have the strength to climb over the barb wire fences.

            It took awhile but eventually I found a site where I would be able to squeeze through the fence. Unfortunately it was not very exciting with only a few remaining laundry carts and 40 gallon drums left to entertain me. The bare and cool concrete floor did provide a great place to take a nap after hurling my brains out.

The only interesting picture from Holloran Launderers.

            Twenty minutes later I was back on my feet and made the decision that I would head over to East St. Louis, Illinois and explore some easy ruins. Crossing the Mississippi brought me into a state of disbelief as I witnessed the transition from downtown St. Louis into downtown East. St. Louis. In the span of less than a minute I witnessed the highest and lowest property values in the metropolitan region.

            It was clear why East. St. Louis had descended into its state of anarchy and decay. In every direction there were abandoned smokestacks jutting against the hazy blue sky – the legacy of a time when industry took flight taking with it the money and jobs that supported the community. The most frustrating part of everything was that I visited nearly every one of these stacks only to find out that either the factory had burnt to the ground or it was occupied by a much smaller company.

If you like stacks, East St. Louis is the place to be.

            Eventually I happened to find the old stockyards and the large slaughter-houses that used to feed America. The nausea had not passed as of yet so I decided that a jaunt through an easy to access target was in my best interest. The Hunter Packing Plant provided such an entry with a large quantity of its walls missing or on the ground. What made the building interesting wasn’t the interior (for there was nothing but bricks and asbestos) but the state of the building. Caught between life and death the Hunter complex’s unique aura made the exploration interesting and noteworthy.

            After taking various pictures of the exterior I headed out to the Armour packing plant whose stacks were visible from the roof of the Hunter Complex. I expected to be able to see the actual packing plant from the road but was surprised to find that an urban forest had grown up around it. Aside from a small portion of the upper floors and the stacks, most of the building was concealed by a tall barrage of foliage. Thankfully, entry was easy as I only had to crawl through the brushes to enter the powerhouse.

            The powerhouse was simply stunning. Above me was blue sky and surrounding me on all sides were the relics of yesterday. The scene was so beautiful that it made me completely oblivious to the fact that only five minutes previously I downed three Motrin’s to rid myself of a migraine.

            There were three portions to the powerhouse; the east portion contained most of the exhaust equipment and the stacks; the middle portion contained the electrical vaults and bizarre mystery machines; the west portion held the boilers and on its upper floors, the locker rooms were found. Each of the rooms had one thing in common; each made me drop my jaw in amazement.

            Unfortunately the actual slaughter and processing buildings were void of any interesting features. Seeing both slaughter plants made me realize that not being able to explore the Canada Packers complex was not something I should regret as there are plenty of barren concrete rooms to explore.

            It was time to leave and as my luck would have it, I fell into a patch of Poison Ivy while making my way back to the car. Unfortunately I could not find a nearby pharmacy so I decided to let it fester rather than treat it and explore downtown East St. Louis.

            As I was driving into the downtown I had the unfortunate experience of passing some of the local street walkers. If there is an image etched in my mind of this city it is, to my disgust, the sight of one of the ugliest hookers I have ever seen coming up to me and asking me if I was looking for a blow job. This was not what I needed to ease my stomach from turning over and collapsing in on itself.

            Walking down the Collinsville Ave in the downtown was quite an interesting experience. One would expect that along a deserted main street whose storefronts are boarded up, the vehicles parked on the street would be of a lower caliber. However here was an exception; not more than six feet from the closed wig stores were Excursions and Escalades. The oddest part of it all was trying to figure out where these people worked as there were maybe one or two buildings still in use that were not wig stores.

Welcome to Downtown East. St. Louis.

One of the many Wig stores. Note the Escalade.

Stripping a building.

Stripping the ONYK Club.

            There were a lot of buildings to choose from but one in particular really stood out with its gothic architecture. Entry was easy enough as a large portion of the back side had collapsed in on itself. In every direction there were random garbage piles, each containing a great variety of disposed items ranging from bikes to plastic Christmas trees. Navigating my way from the basement up to the main floor was a difficult task but somehow I managed to perform this feat without a scratch on me. Unfortunately the upper floors were quite boring and occupied by the occasional squatter. I decided that I had seen enough and decided to go and explore an abandoned four story building just a stone’s throw away.

            Stepping into the four story building brought me into another world altogether. I was no longer in the community of East St. Louis; I was now in a community of squatters. There was a visible floor hierarchy with the “higher ups” being on the ground floor and having tents. As the floor number increased the amount of garbage and number of squatters increased as well. I did not feel comfortable being in the squatters’ home so I headed back to St. Louis and located the entry to Siologen’s Slip and Slide.

There were a few people sleeping in the tent.

Looking into one of the many kitchens.

            There were three drains at the entry point; the far left outlet is strictly an overflow; the middle was a CSO and the much smaller far right outlet was most likely an overflow as well. Not wanting to be waist high in sewage I chose to travel up the far left drain.

            Although the drain is concrete its sheer size made the draining quite an enjoyable experience. Large waterfalls and side chutes created large roars that echoed for long periods of time and created amazing spectacles of moving magic. The only problem was that the drain’s floor was quite slippery and in my exhausted state, I did not have the strength to resist falling. The result was that I spent as much time in the water as I did on my feet.

            Aside from the gentle 90 degree turn at the outlet the entire drain was straight until it met up with the CSO. When it did meet up with the CSO there was a giant lip dividing the two pipes and a side that had a concrete walkway built into its side. This side pipe did not continue for a long distance as it contained a stairwell leading to some park. Seeing natural light was a bizarre sight and so I decided to have a picnic under the grate while people ran and walked by, completely oblivious to the fact that someone was beneath them. As I began to sing “Feel like Making Love” a runner passed by and shouted to “Shut the Hell Up, You Pervert!”

            Finishing my sandwich, I packed up everything and made my way back to the outfall. When I came out the sun had set and the stars began to emerge in a deep blue sky. It would have been one of the most enjoyable moments of the trip had I not been soaked to the bone and shivering in the cold night air.

            After changing in my car I pointed my car north and headed towards Minnesota to meet a friend and continue my journey.