Metz Ice Plant

"Used to ride my bike down there and skip stones on the creek. Loved it there."

"Plant is closed to the public. Although i was Privileged to photograph inside one day where it is pitch black inside. So light painting interior was done. I include an excerpt from a article from Popular Science Pub 1891 which explains what went on here in water powered plant. Interior of an Ice Factory. tank, between the rows of cans, run the coils of pipe through which the ammonia passes. The evaporation of the ammonia constantly going on within this system of pipes cools the brine down to 15° or 18° Fahr. In order to equalize the temperature in all parts of the tank the brine is kept in constant circulation by a revolving agitator, which resembles a propeller-screw. Surrounded by this frigid liquid the water in the cans becomes congealed to uniform hard blocks of ice, weighing about three hundred and twenty pounds each. A tank of the dimensions above given contains five hundred cans. About sixty hours are required for the freezing process. In Fig. 1 the tank, with its flooring, is shown in the middle of the building. To the right of this is the pump, and at the extreme right is the boiler-room. Over the tank is a traveling crane, by which the cans containing the ice are lifted out and conveyed to one end of the room. The crane consists of a beam, with a pair of wheels under each end, which travel on tracks six or seven feet above the floor. By means of the tackle hung from this beam a man raises a can of ice above the floor, and then pushes the crane with its load to the end of the room. Here the can is put into a sort of swinging box and tilted over into a slanting position, mouth downward. Tepid water is then allowed to run over the can from a line of small jets on each side. In two or three minutes the block of ice is melted free from the can and slides through a chute into the ice-house. The box is an automatic contrivance, and, as soon as the ice has left it, it reverses, turning the can upright and shutting off the water. In some factories the can is dipped into a tank of warm water to loosen the ice. In the figure, a can is seen suspended from the crane; at the back, under the middle window, is the small tank of warm water for dipping the cans; and in front of the next window two blocks of ice are lying. The room at the left is the ice-house. It has double walls packed with non-conducting material, and is shown with two layers of blocks in it."

"By working closely with the NPS my husband was able to get me and a few of his close friends into this Historical building"