I will be touring American Cast Iron Pipe Company at nine in the morning with my friend Andy who is a cast iron pipe nut.

your post reminds me of one of the more 'interesting' grand larcenies committed in NYC.

when the federal building was being build, several large cast iron building needed to be demolished, as is the case with any building (since Penn Station demise) people objected.

finally a compromise was reached. One building would be disassembled, and funds would be collect to have it re-erected on a new site.

well like many a cause, it lost steam. the disassembled building was stored for latter reassemble. the organize that paid for the storage was less successful in getting agreement on where and when the building should be put back together. other causes came up that demanded more time and money..
years past.

the fed's decided to build a second fedearal building (the new federal building -a political story of its own)

and more cast iron building would have to be demolished.
this awakened dorment memories of the first building, and people asked "so what happened to the first building? where is it?

interesting question.

it was 'stored' in a commercial yard.
when the committee became defunct, the storage fee's were no longer paid. the property owner tried to collect, and in the meanwhile, he ceased patoling and protecting the (to his mind) abandon property.

over time.. the cast iron dissapeared.. (junkies stole and sold it peice meal)

by the time the second federal building was being planned and build, there was nothing left.

an entire building had been stolen, and sold for scrap metal..

the political action committee, trying to save more cast iron building wwer not very successful in their attempts to save any more building..

NYC city's civic center (a block south of Federal buildings) is the heart of the cast iron district. many cast iron building remain, including the newly renovated tamminy courthouse (also a cast iron structure.. with funds allocated based on weight of material!--so cast iron painted to look like marble ended up costing 3 times as much as real marble!)but the most notable building was stolen!

Most of the cast iron use in NY was made locally (ie in NYC or NYS)--and nowdays i think most cast iron pipes end up being sewer pipes.. but they had their time of glory.


my other obsession