An abandoned warehouse on the south side of Chicago caught fire in the evening of Tuesday January 22. The original blaze was a five-alarm fire, which required over 170 fire fighters to contain. To complicate matters the temperature was in the single digits (Fahrenheit), which caused the outer walls of the burning structure to cover with thick sheets of ice. The icy conditions made it unsafe for firefighters to venture inside the structure, so the blaze was not fully extinguished as of the following Saturday, which is when these photos were taken.

I arrived at roughly 8:45 the following Saturday morning to a brightly lit sky; the sun was to the southeast, which back lit the building's facade. Demolition crews were working with the CFD to raze the building and let the fire burn itself out - at least that was my impression as no one was applying water to the flames. The original facade spanned from 37th Street to 37th Place, or about 1/2 furlong. About two thirds of the facade was intact when I arrived.

The neighborhood was once a key manufacturing center of the city. Numerous warehouses exist in the neighborhood, some vacant, others still bustling with activity. The building is just south of the entrance to an Ashland over-pass that takes through-traffic over the intersecting streets of 37th Place through 40th St. That overpass is visible in the first image.