Schenley Distillery, Schenley, Pennsylvania, USA--REVISITED!
'Faster than a speeding bowel movement...
More powerful than a yeast-infected queef....
Able to destroy tall buildings with a single blast...
It’s FARTMAN!' 
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(58 votes)
Published: Jul 14, 2009 1:22 p.m.
Viewed 362 times |
In 2003, I got to visit Schenley, Pennsylvania, and see the ruins of the Schenley Distillery. You’ve seen it at the liquor store? It used to be made right here! And here
is the original egg. Now it’s 2009, and the place has been cleaned up a little, but it’s still full of neat stuff to see. So this is a Re-Egg.
In 2003, visitors were greeted by a gate, which seems to never be closed, and this directory:
I included the following commentary in 2003. All of my 2003 commentaries will be in italicized text:
’This is the gate at Schenley Industrial Park, which was once the Scenley Distillery. Among the ruins of the distillery are an asphalt plant, chemical plant, an Eljer toilet plant/warehouse, and the Schenley Yacht Club. The yacht, perched on the trailer, is for sale.’
Let’s take a closer look at the directory:
From top to bottom, it reads:
(up arrow) NORTH
SCHENLEY INDUSTRIAL PARK
UPPER ROAD
U1 ALLEGHENY BULK TERMINAL
U2 API INC
U3 DEAN’S AUTO SERVICE
U4 FERGUSON BUTCHER REALTY
U5 SCHENLEY BOTTLING CO. INC.
U6 SPARK TECHNOLOGIES INC.
RIVER ROAD
R1 ARMSTRONG TERMINAL INC.
R2 ELJER PLUMBINGWARE
R3 SCHENLEY INDUSTRIAL PARK INC.
SCHENLEY YACHT CLUB
YOU ARE HERE - No shit, pal!
The yacht is gone, and some tenants have come and gone, but the entrance is still the same.
And the first thing that greeted visitors in 2003 was this collection of grain silos:
’It’s a grain silo! This is where they stored the rye before squeezing it into America’s finest rye whiskey.’
And in 2009?
The silos serve no useful function today, but would probably be a pain in the ass to remove, as they’re in the middle of the roadway.
Up next is a brick building with white paint on it, which is the only painted building in the place:
’This looks lke a Taco Cabana or similar restaurant, but it’s just an unidentified building at the distillery that hasn’t yet fallen down.’
And it’s still there, largely unchanged, in 2009. This might have been a guard shack and visitor’s center, where visitors would have to stop before being allowed to proceed further.
Continue north on River Road, and these were my favorite ruins in the place:
’This must have been the scene of a spectacular fire. How did this portion of the building survive? I call it the "monolith."’
’Here is a side view of the Monolith, the burned-out building from before.’
And p-5297, a one-time visitor to Rotteneggs.com, commented:
Sep 25, 2007 11:50 am - burned out whisky barrel storage buildings
enormous wooden structures surrounded by non-supporting brick walls. The elevator was in the column and there were
no flammables in the elevator, so when the buildings were deliberately arsoned to avoid having to pay to demolish them, the elevator tower survived.
You were lucky to get out of there with your life -- the area is right out of "Deliverance" Captain Jerry and his crew of pirates used to operate there.
’If this were a college campus, this building would be "Old Main." It could also be a fine apartment building, except there aren’t enough people nearby to live there.’
’This is a side view of the surviving building. The bricks are falling off, making dents on the top of the tank.’
’Behind the trees in the background, you can see an unburned building, which was probably one of several similar buildings. In front of that is the Monolith. In the foreground, all that remains of a similar building is the foundation, which consists of hundreds of concrete piers.’
And in 2009, alas, all are gone.
I deduced the building I called Old Main, with the large trees in front, and lots of small windows, could have been an office building. That was the one in the background, which obscured the view of the building with the concrete columns and beams exposed. The Monolith, which was the burned out building, could have been used for anyting, but has either collapsed on its own, or was more likely razed.
But they never quite finish the job. By the way, there are several surviving buildings like this one in the background: windowless, with concrete beams and pillars exposed, separated by featureless brick walls.
Now, let’s drive to the northern point in the park.
This is Eljer Plumbingware, but it’s probably just a boring warehouse. They manufacture porcelain toilets and similar products in Ford City, Pennsylvania. Or at least they used to until recently. And there is a private residence here, not shown in the picture. Who the hell would live here?
Now, it’s time to turn around, and drive south on River Road, back toward the way we came in.
’This is approaching the dock at the Schenley Yacht Club. One of the habitable buildings is leased to them.’
Still there. On the left side of the road is a refreshment area. They’re trying to make it a place for non-boaters to hang out and drink on weekends.
Continuing south:
’Some of the larger buildings are in decent shape, and are rented to others. A chemical plant is here. A worker rolled by on a forklift, which was hauling a 55-gallon drum, and he shot me a nasty look as I stood there with my 30-year-old Minolta around my neck.’
That’s still there. If you turn left, you’ll get to Upper Road, and see this nonde5cript, empty building in between the roads:
And here’s some more structures that don’t seem to be there anymore, and have been removed without a trace:
’You can see how the woods "march" down the hill, as there have been no humans to cut the trees back for a long time.’
’Beyond the fence, and mostly underground, are some tanks. You can almost smell the whiskey now. There is also a rail spur for loading tanker cars. The sign refers to D.O.T. rules, and mentions Schenley Distillers, Inc.’
Also missing are the abandoned cars with 1977 registration stickers on them.
It’s about time to leave. Here is an abandoned train from before:
’Here’s a long-abandoned Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad train, loaded with rusting scrap metal. Locals have taken to stuffing the locomotive with household discards, including a toilet. It’s too bad you can’t flush a toilet down itself; they’re hard to get rid of.
It’s been replaced.
I think the railroads park surplus cars on tracks here and there, sometimes for years, but eventually remove them when they’re needed. I hit a hole in the road, shaking the camera at the worst possible moment.
Now let’s look at the nearby dam.
’The US Army Corps of Engineers built a series of locks and dams on the Allegheny river, which are operated by the US Coast Guard. A small, hydroelectric generator was attached to this one in 1988.’
’The spillway of the dam is a great spot for fishing, as the unidentified guy with the fishing rod would tell you.’
This is still much the same, but truss bridges, like the rail trestle in the background, are becoming an endangered species in Pennsylvania.
Now we’re 4 miles from Schenley. Let’s check out the abandoned school.
’Not far from the Distillery, an elementary school falls to ruin. The school was closed in about 1996, and had been part of one of the smallest public school systems in Pennsylvania.’
’The roof of the old school has failed, and the windows inexplicably removed, filling the building with rain and meling snow.’
’You can purchase this building from the school system for $35,000. Even in one of Pennsylvania’s smallest school systems, this would not even cover the salary of a first year kindergarten teacher. What a waste of taxpayer money.’
But someone is intent on fixing it:
They razed half of the old L-shaped, two level structure, but have left the underground portion of that part of the building exposed. They also installed a proper roof. I hate flat roofs.
The first big round of school consolidation in Pennsylvania came in the 1950s and 1960s. All remaining one-room schoolhouses were closed, and adjacent cities and towns were forced to merge their schools. It’s funny the way people bitch and moan about funding schools with tax dollars, but claim civic pride in them. This school system did not merge, and remains one of the smallest in the state, despite considering merging every five years or so. But the Governor has ordered the school systems to merge into even bigger consolidations, so this system won’t be independent for much longer.
And lastly, here’s a geodesic dome house:
They are teh awesome.
I had to run through the place fast, as I was losing daylight rapidly. |
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 | Jul 14, 2009 2:12 pm -
5*
You should make a second egg of the inside...I wish i could post my UE egg. :’( |
 | ul 14, 2009 2:57 pm - Cool as hell!
This is great. :D |
 | Jul 14, 2009 5:50 pm -
5!!!!!
I like, I wanna see the inside though. Good pics, good observastions |
 | Jul 14, 2009 7:35 pm -
Holy 5*! Nice. 5’d the older Egg too. |
 | Jul 15, 2009 11:41 am -
5*, was your camera dodgey at times? |
 | Jul 15, 2009 12:25 pm -
The pictures from 2003 were taken with my trusty old Minolta, and the prints scanned. The pictures from 2009 were taken with my Samsung Digimax. In 2009, I didn’t want to get out of the car and take pictures, as I was losing daylight fast, and I’m pretty sure I was being watched. There were lots of people there at the Yacht Club, who watched me with great interest as I drove past. |
 | Jul 15, 2009 7:37 pm -
awesome egg. 5s |
 | Jul 16, 2009 6:41 am -
This is kinda boring, and some of the pics didn’t work. TL;DR so 3* |
 | Jul 16, 2009 5:00 pm -
Quote: Holy 5*! Nice. 5’d the older Egg too. |
 | Jul 18, 2009 2:33 pm -
Fived it, good job. |
| Aug 02, 2009 7:31 am -
Quote: Would you like to sit on the floor and have me read it to you while manipulating the mouth of a sock puppet over my hand?
5* again. Good Egg. |
 | Aug 04, 2009 5:33 pm -
Great egg, though i didn’t really read it (ot your fault, I have pretty bad ADD and didn’t take my ritalin this ’morn.)
5*
No one will ever read this, but I just realised that I spent that entire time typing the code for this. |
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