Taken
on 02/26/09
A number of brick buildings in the area of the parking lot shared with Feel Safe
Door Company and Black River Plumbing, off from Vanduzee Street, Watertown
These Vanduzee Street and the accompanying Martin Street locations were
suggested by Hope M. of
Perceptionphotography.biz after she sent me some of her own photos of this
area.
Google Satellite
photo of the location, also shows locations of Martin Street Buildings (below) |
Taken
on 02/26/09
This is another angle of previous buildings.
Hope has been doing research and has
found that these buildings are the remains of
the old Watertown Steam Engine Company, which may have been
owned by the Palmer Brothers.
Hope writes -
"The Steam Engine Company located in Watertown, New York held patents on a
portable steam engine with the cylinder and valve chest integral with the boiler
steam dome, and a riding cut-off valve. The first patent was in 1871. Many
of the Watertown Steam Engine Co.’s portable steam engines exist today, in
private collections or in museums." The first portable steam engine made
in the United States was made in Watertown in 1847. |
Taken
on 02/26/09
Close-up of front, open door swinging.
My own research indicates that Daniel Kieff and his
builders and contractors built the extensive builders of the Watertown Steam
Company in addition to many other local buildings of the time; like the Times
Building, the Smith Block, the Opera House block, Babcock Buggy Works, etc.
It's hard to find much information on this business. One text mentions
that they occupied the place formerly used by a C.B. Hoard to build firearms and
that they had a machine shop on Moulton and Mill Street.
The company was formerly called the Portable
Steam Engine Company.
They started
business in 1866 with $40,000 and had 35,000 square feet of flooring for large
boiler and blacksmith shops, store houses, etc. It's capital then
increased to $200,000 and the business employed 100 men, and turned out 400
steam engines, saw mills, and agricultural engines sold all over the US, Canada,
Cuba and probably other parts of the world. Much of the cast iron they
used was produced locally.
There is no indication of when this company shut down but there are some
collectors who have Watertown Steam Engine Company steam engines manufactured as
late as 1920.
|
Taken
on 02/26/09
This building's crumbling brick
|
Taken
on 02/26/09
The front
|
Taken
on 02/26/09
More of the front
|
Taken
on 02/26/09
More of the front
|
Taken
on 02/26/09
More brick buildings further down the area.
Scannerman writes "The entire complex was used for years
as the regional HQ for the NYS Department of Transportation maintenance
operations, now located on Rt. 342. Around back, near where the loading dock and
old powerhouse are, you can see where road striping machines were apparently
tested. James Johnson was the district traffic signal foreman; the signal shop
was located in a few small rooms on the VanDuzee Street side of the building
closest to Vanduzee, now used by a towing company for storage. The brick
building next door, now used by JRC, was also part of the WSE complex." |
Taken
on 02/26/09
Panoramic shot of a large and long
brick warehouse. The other section has large almost-eaves-to-ground windows.
Old drawing of Watertown Steam Engine Company |
Taken
on 02/26/09
Another brick building, right beside the Feel Safe Door Company. This one
is interesting in that it seems to have a brick "silo'.
Bill writes: "This building housed boilers for all the
other buildings in the complex. The attached structure is what is left of the
large smokestack that the state took down after they left the site on the early
1980's. There is a cement wall to the left that was used as a outdoor loading
dock." |
Taken
on 02/26/09
A brick building on the other side of the railroad tracks, over near Martin and
Holly Street. The old Agway building is in the left part of this photo,
now partially used by Cota Flooring.
|
Taken
on 02/26/09
Martin Street, Watertown.
Notice the interesting little round window at the top. This structure is
on the other side of the railroad tracks from the previous photo(s).
Click here for what I
believe are interior shots of this building (not taken by me).
Hope M. of
Perceptionphotography.biz says that her research shows that this was once a
brewery but wonders if someone can confirm this? |
Taken
on 03/04/09
Here is a shot of the rear of the previous building on Martin Street,
taken with telephoto from across the river on Newell Street. A big
chunk of the rear is missing and the floor is exposed. Notice the
strange little building on top of the white building.
A note on the perspective of the photo - the
dirty snow along the bottom of this picture as well as the edge of the DPW
machine and pipe are on the side of the river from which I took the photo
from. The building itself as well as the white building behind it
and the tree are across the river.
You can find some interior shots of this
building posted by "The League if
Extraordinary Ordinaries" - a local Urban Explorer's group page -
the
photos are here. |
Taken
on 02/26/09
On Martin Street, at right angles to the previously shown building. Lots of graffiti.
|
Taken
on 02/26/09
A new
concrete block building nearby the previous buildings. Martin Street, Watertown
*Henry S. writes: "This building was once a fruit and vegetable business around
1984, It was then closed, shortly thereafter it was rented out to someone, and
remnants of the business were found on the floor, that being pot. It then became
a recycling office, as did the whole complex, for various recycling products.
PS, Early on this was a soft drink warehouse, as there is some of the brands ads
still on the walls, I believe they sold 'Squirt'". |
Taken
on 02/26/09
Another angle of previous
|
Taken
on 04/14/09
This building and location
was suggested by Hope M. of
Perceptionphotography.biz
Recently abandoned house in Dexter, County Route 53 (Cemetery Road)
Taken
on 04/14/09
Front view
*Hope M. writes that she heard that kids in Dexter called it the "Creepy
House". |
Taken
on 03/26/09
Collapsing barn behind previous house
Taken
on 03/26/09
Taken from the other side, two buildings collapsing/collapsed right in the
village of Dexter.
|
 
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