But PCB's had leached into the structure, and you can see in this photo where they cut away whole sections of 18" steel-reinforced concrete floor. Still, the building remains contaminated. PCB's, or polychlorinated biphenyl, are highly toxic compounds that are now banned in the U.S. They are known to cause skin diseases in humans and are suspected of causing birth defects and cancer in animals.

The last developer that bought the site sued Alcoa and in an out-of-court settlement Alcoa took back the site. The building is now being razed and the site cleaned to residential standards. Three buildings, with four hundred apartments, are to be built. Everything hinges on the pollution having stayed in the building and not having leaked into the ground. If that turns out to be the case, this piece of prime real estate may simply become a parking lot.

I've been collecting the stories people have sent. Here is one of them:

"So you've taken pictures of the Alcoa factory that was my childhood fascination? Did you sneak through a window, and look up at fallen dust blanketed stairs? Did you hear loud thumping in the dark? Those were the sounds of the criminals who lived in that factory and plotted their crimes through out the night. I was always very quiet in there, and always got out very fast. But even when I was outside, surrounded by faded, scragally grasses and bright yellow danger signs I could still feel the life that had once come to work every day. I could still smell the sweat and see the small paths left by heavy boots in the ground. But hey, I was only eight and I really did believe that each time I left that edifice, there was a man watching me leave from the top window. He was probably an ex-worker who lost his livelihood when he lost his job, and that was probably his oil soiled, stiffened, leather glove that I had just stepped on, so I began to run as fast as I could.... maybe that's why I spend my time in the places that time has passed by."