Originally part of a nine building site owned by the Arkansas Chemical Company, the building was used to manufacture Hydro-Pruf, a waterproofer used on textile materials. After 40 years the company went bankrupt in 1983 leaving the facility abandoned. Under the Superfund Act of 1980 the EPA was called in to perform a cleanup, beginning in January of 1985. By the time the EPA had begun their efforts the complex was home to many vagrants and squatters, hand had suffered 3 fires. In addition to the usual asbestos cleanup they found 1800 55-gallon drums of unidentified chemical substances and more than 20,000 smaller containers, many of which were open and spilled. Among the hazardous materials were cylinders of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, and propylene imine, a strong oxidizing agent that can be absorbed through the skin causing liver and kidney damage.  An outdoor tank containing 3000 gallons of sulfuric acid was also discovered in close proximity to the drainage system. Tests also detected trace quantities of radioactive materials.
Although the building was gutted during the cleanup effort there still  is a large above ground tank and debris created during the demolition of another building that was on the 1.7 acre site.

Based on our personal experience with the building I feel I should point out that there is also a large amount of liquid tar on the east side of the building. A certain someone's clothing and my cars carpet were displeased by this fact. Hey, for once it wasn't me...
It also has bestowed this one the nickname of the "shoe eating factory"

Oh, and yes, I guess I cant write about this without saying the building is a bit of a celebrity, having been featured in the opening to the Sopranos.

~Jay

CLICK THE PICS ABOVE TO OPEN THE GALLERIES IN A NEW WINDOW