Economy

AK Steel Ashland Works plant, form and function

The AK Steel company’s Ashland Works plant includes a pig iron blast furnace and oxygen furnace. It stands on the banks of the Ohio River in the small industry town. As you drive by the industrial facility on Highway 23, one cannot help but stop and be amazed by the facility’s purely utilitarian function and form. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

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Portland’s industrial landscapes

Portland seems to be associated with Nike, Portlandia, Intel, and hipsters in the national imagination. But for those of us who live here, the city itself tells a story of international shipping, truck manufacturing, rail traffic, shipbuilding, and other heavy industries. And still, this Portland never seems to make a blip on the national consciousness. Well, here are a couple of pictures of the Portland I see every day.