-Photos of the site prior to demolition below-
The Pillsbury Mills site in Springfield, Illinois opened in 1929 and employed over 1500 workers. In 1991, the Cargill Company purchased and operated the plant for 10 years before shutting down and selling the site for scrap. Its impact on the neighboring community quickly became negative due to 'Urban mining', where unauthorized gutting of the site's multiple buildings compromised the structural integrity of all of the buildings onsite.
The hazardous conditions created by this scrapping had a direct impact on the surrounding neighborhood, including a devastating collapse of the site's 'dryer' building: ten stories crashed to the ground in 2014 and released a cloud of mosquitoes, gnats, and most horrifyingly, a cloud of asbestos.
The site was gutted under a falsified seal of approval that declared the building free of any toxic materials. Today, the site has been purchased by a not-for-profit organization called Moving Pillsbury Forward. A coalition of passionate volunteers and community leaders have pledged to clean the site in order to demolish it. A five-year plan is currently in progress to safely demolish the site for redevelopment. While the history of the site was not always so tragic, the importance of Pillsbury Mills will be maintained with the help of other volunteers in a permanent exhibition coming soon.
For more information, news, or to support the project, visit www.pillsburyproject.org
