Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Spooky Trad: Abandoned Raleigh Water Treatment Facility

One wouldn't think that a mundane subject like water treatment could be trad. However, Raleigh has a classy, derelict anacronysm called the E.B. Bain Water Works. -We like classy, derelict anacronysm here at Trailer Trad!

E. B. Bain Water Treatment Plant complex was constructed to accomodate a growing Southern city's water needs and this is did for many years.  Dedicated in mid-1940, the plant was named after longtime city water superintendent Ernest Battle Bain and no expense was spared. -Funny. It seems many years older than that. It resembles English Victorian industrial relics. Maybe it's the use of brick that gives it that impression.
 
While it resembles a Victorian factory on the outside, the Bain plant resembles some sort of steam punk luxury hotel/laboratory on the inside. Marble, soaring spaces and elegant oak and wrought iron are combined with machinery that looks like something out of Captain Nemo.

The grounds and insides are fenced off so few people get in to see this forgotten treasure. Don't worry, my fence hopping days are long past! However, here is a great flickr gallery of interior photos that gives you an idea of how majestic yet sadly decayed this structure is.

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