Alabaster, MI Abandoned Offshore Gypsum Loading Dock
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2020
- An abandoned ship loading facility stands 1.25 miles off the west shore of Lake Huron south of Tawas City, Michigan.
For more detailed info, Google: alabaster loading dock lake huron
also, see this video: • Video
This video shows the progress of demolition of this facility on June 28, 2020:
• Alabaster, MI Gypsum L...
Here is a link that a viewer posted in the comments, to a picture, circa 1928 of the gypsum loading tram, taken from the shore. I wish I had had this when I made the video, I would have included it. Here's the link: usgalabaster.com/wp-content/u...
The stories here in the comments are pure gold. Thank you all for sharing them.
I grew up a couple of miles to the south. It used to be a fun trip as a kid to boat under the moving red buckets on their way out to fill a freighter with gypsum. Quite a few years back the cable suspending the buckets broke and it was too expensive to repair so it was decommissioned. As of now only the concrete platforms remain. The building is gone. On shore from the tram there is a newer bicycle path that winds through the property. Also a historic sign at the beach commemorating what once was. That area is an amazing part of Michigan.
Thanks for your memories of the place, Hammertime. Yes, it has, unfortunately been torn down during the summer of 2020.
Watch: th-cam.com/video/XEM7_KOKtgk/w-d-xo.html
my grandmother tells me stories of this from when they were growing up. it was a summer trip for me (i’m in my twenties) so i only get to go but so often. such a beautiful place
I was stationed at the Coast Guard base up the shore in Tawas. It was one of the major landmarks we used.
My grandparents lived on Townline road in Tawas city and owned a laundromat and dry cleaning business in East Tawas. I’m 71 years old now. Lots of wonderful memories.
My parents had a A&W root beer stand in Alpena back in the 50's and as a kid I remember going through Alabaster on highway 23 on the way to Alpena.
Very cool man
My Grandma had a small cabin on Benson road. Used to go swimming right down there by that facility. I remember when it was still in operation when I was a kid. It used to lite up at night and I'd watch those conveyor belts go back and forth absolutely fascinating to me as a child. I always wondered what it looked at like on the inside. After it closed down, right before it got dark at night. With the right weather conditions, it was like a mirage or a ghostly shadowy appearance to it on the water!!!
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing!
theres some photos online of the inside if you'd like the link!
@@mizdrmcdoogles3858 that would be great!!!
My mother’s uncle worked for that company. As a child he would take me on the train out to the mine and then a few times I got to go on the boat out there. Thanks for the memories.
They also had a 3 Par golf course. That was fun!
You're welcome T Pilot. Thank you for your memories!
What's more amazing than the fact that the structure stood up to the weather and other factors all those years without completely collapsing after it was abandoned is the extreme ingenuity of the people who designed this and built it before 1930. It's amazing to me to see things like this and just to picture in my mind how all of it was built with mostly manpower instead of computers, gps, satellites, hydraulic machines and so on.
I've fished this spot with my dad several times, place definetly has an eerie feel to it, but at the same time when your there all you hear are birds and maybe a couple other boats. Very cool and I was shocked to see this in my feed.
That looks like an awesome spot to fish did you guys have any luck
My guess is snapper and sheepshead
Thats impressive. It's hard to imagine what the tramway construction labor and material must have cost.
I grew up I grew up spending the summers in Oscoda at our cabin when coming up US-23 the first time you'd see the lake was just north of aue gray and you would see Alabaster this brings back a lot of memories
I remember seeing this on my way to camp up north. Funny that I forgot about it, until I seen this video. I wish it was possible to get some video on the inside.
Thanks for the memories.
The big pylons are great perch fishing. Or they used to be! I used to go as a kid when everything was still standing, about 40 years ago. Good memories, thx!!!
Lake Michigan perch are some of the best
Great video, thanks for posting. Have a cottage nearby and been by this place a few times since I was a kid. Can't believe its gone!
Thank you, I've always wanted to see this up close
Used to love watching the boats load up.
So many memories of this from childhood trips to northern Michigan in the 80s and 90s.
Interesting. Thanks for driving out and filming that. Loved all the background information you provided down below. You likely didn’t want to tie off and explore the bird shit laden facility.... can’t say I blame ya.
how about those poor guys working there... 😷
Just imagine 100+ years of bird poop...
God forbid someone see's that video these days... He would probably be blamed for a new Bird flu and then Whitmer would have the whole state triple 😷😷😷masked and getting more mandatory vaccines....
@@stihlguessin210 calm down, fox news
@@Ryan-yo4dg 🤣 you made me laugh
@@PPAATT248 that's what I like to hear 🙂. It's hard not to laugh at these conspiracy theorists
@@Ryan-yo4dg Drink all the kool-aid like a good little boy.
There is another access point about 4 or 5 miles north. Water depths are over 40’ right up to shore so small freighters still come in and load up gypsum for drywall. It to is in the middle of no where and I was on my jet ski and came around a small point in cottage country and almost hit the freighter beam side. When you are looking for a freighter you aren’t prepared. That’s what is neat about the Great Lakes. They were industrial sources of raw materials before they were million dollar cottage country. They just knock down EJIW (East Jordan Iron Works) and are going to sell the property for million dollar condos. Anywhere you go in the Midwest you will see EJIW on the man hole covers. Made in East Jordan, Mi on the shores of Lake Charlevoix which runs into Lake Michigan. That’s why America was hard to beat in a war, from the civil war to WWII. Great Lakes could go from raw materials to finished goods 365 days a year with the help of the Coast Guard Ice Cutters.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing. It's too bad these old relics have to be razed. They are interesting pieces of history. It's a shame to see them go.
My stepdad was a shift supervisor here in the 90s. I would go fish all the time off the dock for walleyes in the fall and spring. 😊
Thank you. I always like seeing unique things like this.
"The meek shall inherit the world, when the rich and powerful are done with it." Some wag once said, but when it is gone no one will weep. It is now just an eyesore without purpose. Thank you for the video, very few will get the same chance to get this close.
It was demolished last year. It’s gone.
One more reason to Love this State Thank you!
I go up to Oscoda Several times a year and I've seen that offshore. never could figure out what it was. It's nice to finally know after all these years. Very cool.
I remember when this was working and watching the ships come in from our cabin.
Nicely shot and edited, nice work sir
love the video, interesting to see it up close and some of the history.
Unfortunately it seems a lot of the really cool stuff like this is abandoned or torn down these days 😕 Thanks a lot for documenting it so we can see it. I had no idea that was a thing or I would have traveled to see the operation before they gave it up.
thanks for the Video. I've kiteboarded in Tawas for years and have seen that in the distance (well kinda) and have always wondered what it was... now I know. Cool. Place looks haunted ;)
I grew up in Alpena and heard of this place I wanted to see it before it was gone . Thanks for sharing very cool
Use to fish there as a kid with my dads buddy. When they would load ships it was so loud as the cargo fell to the bottom of the ship. Awesome video.
So interesting! Would have lived seeing the inside. Appreciate the post. I subscribed. 👍
Yes. I would have gone inside but there was a NO TRESPASSING sign on the west end of the foundation. Too bad. The old structure would have been interesting to explore.
There is no way you would keep me from trying to enter that place
Now homeless people will be stealing jetskis to get out there to live..it will be like mad max.lol
@@Splitshot1 "SMOKERS" from Waterworld
@@testosteroneinc.3800 lol
The NO TRESPASSING signs kept me out.
@@rodneybrocke lol
Hi. I worked on the Great lakes freighters in the seventies. Hauled gypsum many loads. One ship was the SAGINAW BAY. Built in 1909, steamer converted to Deisel, and modern self unloading system. I'm sure I've been to Alabaster more than once. Another Ship I worked on was the Sam Laud, both ships owned by American Steamship Co.
Sad to see it go. 😢
You had a good calm day to be on a jet ski on lk huron! Have gone past the entrance numerous times visiting inlaws in Augres and heading to Tawas and Oscoda. What fun to explore that place!
Calm days on Lake Huron are a rare treat!
This is fascinating. Thank you for sharing!
That place is kind of creepy looking and amazing all in one ! I so enjoyed the tour of one of many grand docks in the Lake :)
I would have to tie up the jet ski and see what's left on the inside
And wear a helmet.
Caught many big fish trolling on the north side of the buckets,thanks for video,don't go up that way anymore so I didn't know they down down the lines
My cabin is not even a mile away from there and it is beautiful there, i explored it a day ago before this comment was posted. Sad to see it get demolished 😢
Interesting history of Gypsum mining transport. Thank you👍🙂
What amazing stories & accounts of life in a simpler time
Be a nice place to live if you've got the money to convert it to residences
I worked on several lake freighters that loaded gypsum there back in the 90s.
The crew who were not on watch used to catch a ride to shore in a small tug/workboat.
Was always tough getting a ride into Tawas and back.
I have also SCUBA dived and fished there since.
Lots of junk on the bottom around the big pier.
Lots of good uses for the old pier now that that scrap pile is gone.
How deep is it?
Looks like a great place for a rav.
Cool video experience, thanks.
Thank You for the history lesson, I didn’t know it existed 👍❤️
Great video!
I grew up in that building! Great memories
Unfortunately the building was removed over the summer.
That's what I had heard.
The old guys on the ship I work on have some cool stories about loading here.
When was this place last operational? The video says the late 19 century I thought
@@blindabinda1234 does that look like a pre ww1 building to you?
@@nonnaurbisness3013 that's actually none of your business!! Lol I definitly read it wrong. I thought that seemed awefully old
"now humbly serving as a mansion for seagulls" lol!
Wow, so much potential! Could be an Awesome home, or a boating Bed and Breakfast, or even a boating restraunt destination with exquisite cuisine menus, add a few helipads on the roof and good to go! 👍👍
Now I want to see the inside
Pocket change!
Very interesting , thank you
I could live there after a remodel. My labs would love it.
Very cool video.
Very interesting!
Interesting! Thanks!
There's something going on if there is dumpsters there and that white building looks new
And two porta-potties. Contractors are probably doing some asbestos abatement.
@Sharquavon McGillicutty Yup, sadly just read that in this article while looking for the date of closure. Just says, loading building torn down in 2020. So between May and Dec sometime.
lostinmichigan.net/alabaster-ghostly-loading-dock/
Beautiful piece. Sort of a Great Lakes version of the abandoned mines, mills and camps that dot the deserts of California and Nevada.
Neat history lesson thanks!
Very cool. I hope to get to the great lakes someday
I live by an old gypsum mine. Not used for gypsum anymore though. It's used as storage.
Perfect place to stock up and live in if the world ended
If only this video hadn't been made, right? Lol
all those delicious birds...
@JustIn credible you ate one bro ?
For about two months in summer, maybe.
Awesome 👍🏼👍🏼
That is really cool! would love to seen the inside
That dumpster and those out houses don't look too old are they working on it in some capacity?
Awesome place to live. I wonder if it would be for sale or if it is too far gone to save.
Very interesting.
I really wounder if it is for sale?
Amazing
Wow that’s super cool. What was the company called? In my industry that’d be called an aerial ropeway (or cable way). Funny that the towers have been removed but not the discharge/loading terminal? Maybe the towers were easier to scrap? In any case, well done. Would love to see an explore of this facility 😎
Great voiceless presentation. Is the site explorable or off limits?
How fast did ya get going on the ski boat there? I counted about (very rough approximation of course) 6 1,000's in between those 750 ft markers. That comes out to about 85 mph!
Hi Phil! Actually I wasn't going that fast. I sped that part up in the video editor to save time. But if you don't know that, it makes it look like I have a super fast jet ski!
How come you did not go in? Thanks!
I would so stop and get on it and explore for sure
My first thought was it was similar to the lair used by Dr. NO in the James Bond movie.
Crab Key! There's a dragon there, you know, captn!
I like to buy that and make it a gas station bar and grill use the piles to build a dock going back to shore. Great fishing great experience
I say gas station for boats. Grill because I probably couldn’t afford the license for liquor. Co - Op with wildlife and game.
That’s nuts. Would be awesome to buy and completely renovate for a house.
Looks like future mini luxury apartments;)
I drive through there going to my sister's in Alpena. I never stopped to look and thought it was a floating vacuum for gravel.
No way! So that's what that place is...I graduated Tawas class of '08. Lived in Hale, worked in Oscoda til I had the money to leave.
How deep IS the water where this facility once was? What draft of ships were used in this gypsum transport industry? I can't imagine having such a hazard to navigation being left in place for so long after it was mothballed.
The water is about 27 feet deep there.
Probably an amazing fishing spot now
Plenty of fishing around building and huge rocks 1960s
Many times
What boat launch did you use
All I can think of is all of the abandoned wind turbines that may sometime visually pollute the lakes
It would be great to see someone buy that place outright, completely gut that platform whilst retaining some of the elements of the building, modernise it, give it a massive haul over, turn in into a small combined community for folks either living there or a legit training facility for the USCG, a base station for the USCG or into their own private island. Damn, I wish I had that kind of money to do something incredibly beautiful and interesting with it.
can the writing get any smaller or I'm getting ild
It's amazing that plants and a tree made it on there. I wanna see where that tree is rooted lol
Here's a timelapse of the demolition: th-cam.com/video/XEM7_KOKtgk/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for that.
Nice find. Thank you. Sad in a way. Hope someone saved the big pulley!
Thanks for sharing this link, Chris. I have included it in some of my replies. Very interesting!
That would be a great place to play some paintball. Lived in michigan my whole life(boyne area) and never knew that was there.
This information is not correct. They stopped using this bin because a supervisor did not listen to the employees and tried taking off all the buckets on shore. This over loaded the cables and bend some of the towers that were on the concrete islands. Thats the real reason why they stopped using it. My dad used to work there.
Interesting. Thank you Jeff. I did not run across this in the sources I read regarding the history of this offshore facility. But oftentimes key events like the overloading that you describe are covered up or downplayed and then never get recorded. Thank you for sharing this and if you have stories that your dad has told you about working there, feel free to share them.
Thanks for explaining why they quit utilizing this. Is the quarry still in operation?
Neat vid
2 dumpsters and 2 port a shitters would say a scrapping operation going to start.
Yea looked like Pitsch wrecking, from here in gr.
That is nuts they put that that would have been one hell of a job site too work on.
How deep is the water out that way?
about 30 ft on the loading side 15 on the other side
its gone now
:c
Cool video- but that far out one better hope nothing happens to that watercraft, lake's dangerous!
A bird takes a dump on an old loading dock 1.25 miles from shore. 20 years later, a seemingly healthy tree exists where nobody expects to see a tree.
I’d love to fish around that structure
So where's the video tour of the inside?