Here
is a view of the long expanse of the unbroken north wall.
This pretty much defined
2012. It was 55 feet long, 28 feet tall, and 23 inches thick.
Part of the philosophy
of this building is that everything is recycled, found, used or defective and repaired.
It
is hard to imagine cement and concrete falling into that category.
After City
Museum, Bob bought LeBarge Cement Works in north St. Louis near the river. That is
where he was killed.
He had owned it quite a while and these three silos sat there
in silence for years. It never occurred to anyone they contained anything.
On
a whim, Bob breached a concrete block doorway which had been sealed. Inside were
5000 tons of unused Portland cement.
It was like kids in a candy store. Dean got
about twenty blue plastic drums and each week he would take his trailer over and
fetch five tons.
Returning to the farm, he would unload the trailer with a chain
hoist and an overhead A-fram and trolley.
The drums weighed about 300 lbs. each.
Then
he had his Portland cement for each week. So, voila, recycled Portland Cement.
This
photo pretty much summarizes the activity 2012. The work was so grueling and consuming,
few photos were taken.