Finkl Steel

Christopher Cairns commented on a post
This is what we had at A. Finkl & Sons in 1975 when I started working there.

Bird's Eye View

(Shortlines) Because the Goose Island area is changing from heavy industry to retail/residential, Finkl Steel has moved from around Cortland Street to Verson's former site on the south side.

Once again, I use Bing maps as a time machine. Note that the bird's eye view and the aerial view use different images because the bob-tail swing bridge in the lower-left corner is open in the bird's eye view but closed in the aerial view. But their aerial view is still older than Google's because it catches the site with the demolition of the buildings in progress.

Bing's Satellite

Google Satellite

Because the last remaining rail-served industry on Goose Island, a lumber yard, quit using rail service, I went there one (unfortunately hazy) Sunday and took pictures of the street-running track from the south end of Goose Island to Cortland Street.

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At their old site, all of their buildings have been torn down on both sides of Cortland Street. But this let me see that there was a bridge in the distance. (Note the red rectangle in the middle of the picture on the right.)

Zoomed in

It is a good thing the leaves were off the trees. It turns out it is the Deering bridge.

Google's street view car ran down Cortland recently because it shows the same empty lot pictures I took. But Bing's last run was before they tore everything down.

Streetview  looking East at their western street crossing.

Streetview at western crossing, looking North

Today's view

Streetvew looking East at their eastern crossing.

Looking Northeast across this eastern crossing.

Below are three pictures from the eight on their tour page because, when they update their web site, these pictures will be gone. These are at maximum resolution. Clicking an image did not provide a bigger picture.

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I wonder if they have moved that sculpture to their new site.

Update:

Bruce Edenson posted two photos with the comment: "Finkl Forging, Chicago.   North side, circa 2010."

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Robert Jordan posted
8/22/2007 Finkl Steel industrial crane loads scrap an their near NW side plant on Cortland and the N. Branch of the Chicago River. Online there is a rather fanciful development plan, looking on Google maps seem to be empty land. The junk yard looks to be still there.??
Mark Simmons Nope. That area is almost closed off. No activity till the plans are finalized and bids go out.

Bob Lalich commented on a posting: "Take a look at recent aerials of the new Finkl plant. There are interconnecting tracks between buildings that look like Lionel 027 curves."

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bob's comment
 I noticed that they also have some short freight cars. https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...

2016 Crains

A drone's eye view of their new location behind Pullman Junction.

Ean Kanh-Treras posted
Marty Gatton: Finkl Steel, formerly Verson Allsteel Press and before that a NKP Maintenance facility (if I recall correctly)
Bob Lalich: Marty Gatton - yes, some of those buildings were NKP's shops - part of Stony Island Yard. Stony Island Yard was NKP's original Chicago terminal. A freight yard, coach yard, locomotive terminal and car repair shop were located there. The locomotive terminal and coach yard lasted until the early 1950s, when replacement facilities were built within Calumet Yard.