Retro fan in tuberculosis hospital
steel mill in Michigan
This steel factory outside of Detroit was the first to use computer controls. On a related note, I've been reading an academic piece that analyzes the downfall of Detroit. A major reason for Detroit's demise - or so says the thesis statement - is the increased mechanization and automation of the steel production process. No more workers were needed, so blue collar jobs disappeared, while white collar managerial classes prospered. The paper posits that Detroit was hampered by a combination of automation, government policies encouraging dispersed, suburban factories and - of course - increasing globalization. Mainly, however, it was the computer that destroyed the typical Detroit blue collar job.
At the abandoned steel mill outside of Detroit, a throttle resembles the black and red checkerboard pattern of the iconic Vegas roulette. Items in the machine shop essentially remained just they did when the last workers left.
I'd like to mention in full disclosure that everything except for the ash tray was there as it was! The ash tray originally was immediately to the left of this frame. And yes, the dryer WAS plugged in.
