Chicago
Acmecoke Chicago
The coke plant located on Chicago's south side was incorporated in New York on June 23, 1905, as the By-Product Coke Corporation (name changed to Interlake Iron Corporation on December 29, 1929).
In 1964, Acme Steel Company and the Interlake Iron Company merged, combining Interlake's extensive mining, iron, and coke production facilities with Acme's steel producing and finished product capabilities. The new company became the Interlake Steel Corporation -- then the nation's 11th largest steel producer. Following a reorganization of Interlake in 1986, Acme once again became a public company. The newly formed Acme Steel Company consisted of Interlake's former iron, steel, and domestic steel strapping operations.
News: Solar farm proposed for toxic Southeast Side industrial site
The Cook County Land Bank is in talks to lease land for up to 35 years on part of the massive former Acme coke operation. The property is part of a sprawling former site of the former Acme coke operation, which has been dormant for years. The land bank wants to lease the land to California solar company SunPower for up to 35 years. A lease-option agreement is being drafted, and the company will have two years to decide if it wants to enter into a long-term lease.
Source: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2020/12/29/22205305/solar-farm-toxic-southeast-side-industrial-site-sunpower
Image photography
By Viktor Macha in 2009.
Plant facts and figures
The plant have an annual capacity of 550000 tons.
The following processes are conducted in the plant:
- Coke plant
This plant produces the following type of products:
- Coal&Iron&Minerals
Full description
Historically important and significant industrial part of southern Chicago is in the end. After Acme Steel Co. bankrupted at the beginning of our millennium, the coke production in the city of Calumet was no longer sustainable.
Coke plant itself was founded in 1905, consisted of two batteries after fifty chambers originally was feeding the blast furnaces across the river. Although the batteries lifespan was estimated up to 2015, the last coke was extinguished in 2001 already.
Despite the fact the whole mill was proposed for conversion into an industrial museum within the project Chicago´s Steel Heritage, silent demolition began during unfinished negotiations in 2004 already. Today these ambitious plans are reminded only by handful of reinforced concrete skeletons and fireclay bricks rubble.