There’s an old steel mill smack dab in the middle of the North Side of Chicago, A. Finkl & Sons, which has been open since the late 1800s. It represents one of the last what was likely a slew of factories that sat along the north branch of the Chicago River before that section of town was redeveloped. Everything else along that stretch of Clybourn now has turned into a strip mall or condo buildings. The steel mill must still be turning one hell of a profit, because it hogs up acres of land that could easily be turned into tens of millions of dollars worth of real estate developments.

As much of an eye sore as it is, it’s kind of a neat thing to walk through at night in the summertime. If you go south on Southport straight through the complex you pass one of the pouring plants and you’ll notice they leave the building’s huge doors wide open. Almost every time I’ve walked past the place there have been a handful of onlookers — Lincoln Park or Bucktown residents out for a evening walk — watching in awe as flames and sparks fly while the massive melting pot does its work.

There’s also usually a handful of workers sitting outside taking a break, all of whom are tired and filthy beyond recognition. They look at you while you leisurely stand and stare in fascination at what is the bane of their grimy existence as if to say “If you think it’s so fucking neat, then why the fuck don’t you go in there and do it?”