Tag Archives: history

Armour Meat Processing Plant

Just to the north of East St. Louis in National City is a very large abandoned meat processing plant. Armour and Company are perhaps best known for developing Dial soap, but they were primarily a slaughterhouse company. This meat processing plant was built in 1928 and ceased operations in 1959.

The Armour and Dial brands continue to exist, though these properties are now held by new owners.

Research Links:

Ecology of Absence – Hog Capital of the Nation

Arial view of the Armour Meat Packing Plant

Historical timeline of Armour and Company

Bodyworlds

Bodyworlds

“Anatomical dissection gives the human mind an opportunity to compare the dead with the living, things severed with things intact, things destroyed with things evolving, and opens up the profoundness of nature to us more than any other endeavor or consideration.”

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832)

This last weekend I went to go see Bodyworlds at the Milwaukee Public Museum. It was certainly worth the approximate $20 cost for admission. In the late 1970’s Herr Doktor Gunther von Hagens patented his technique for polymer impregnation of biological tissue and revolutionized medical specimens. Doktor von Hagens shatters the stigmata of dead bodies with his tasteful pieces. The donated bodies are perfectly preserved in lifelike poses for inspection by museum goers. The goal of the exhibit is not to create a circus side-show, but rather demonstrate to the public the intricate complexities of the human body, the history of anatomy, and its integration into modern medical science. Do yourself a favor and catch this exhibit.