On Thursday, the partial demolition got started for the Johnson’s Creamery smokestack, located off the B-Line Trail and 7th Street.

Two workers in a metal cage suspended from a crane first removed the topmost metal reinforcement band from around the stack, which they lowered to the ground.

With the metal band out of the way, they used a hand-held power tool to bust up bits of the masonry and shoved loosened bricks over into the hollow interior of the stack.

The work circled the smokestack counterclockwise (east-to-north-to-west-to-south). By the end of Thursday, the first of the iconic vertical letters had disappeared against partly cloudy blue skies. That meant the smokestack would, at least overnight, read “OHNSON’S.”

While workers chipped away at the top of the smokestack, a red-tailed hawk kept watch two blocks east, on top of the antenna affixed to the roof of Monroe County’s Charlotte Zietlow Justice Center. Continue reading “Photos: Brick-by-brick partial demolition of Johnson’s Creamery smokestack starts, as Bloomington watches like a hawk” →

Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)

Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)

Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)

Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)

Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)

The actual “H” in the word “Johnson’s”—which is spelled out in the brick on the Johnson’s Creamery historic smokestack, off 7th Street in downtown Bloomington—is now visible.

Until Monday, the letter had been obscured by some AT&T telecommunications equipment that was installed at the top of the smokestack.  Two bars of the telecom gear had been colored white, as a stand-in for the “H” so that the name of the historic creamery was still legible.

On Monday morning, a crew from an AT&T contractor removed the telecommunications equipment from the top of the smokestack.

AT&T had been ordered to remove the equipment by Bloomington’s housing and neighborhood development (HAND) department.

The removal of the gear sets the stage for the partial demolition of the smokestack, which has been ordered by Bloomington’s housing and neighborhood development (HAND) department, because an engineering study determined that the smokestack is structurally unsound.

The smokestack, with its unsafe lean, is supposed to be knocked down from 140 feet to 60 feet.

The Johnson’s Creamery building, which is now its own local historic district, is owned by Peerless Development.

Responding to an emailed question from The B Square, Peerless founder Michael Cordaro indicated on Monday that his contractors should be on site next week to begin the demolition and restoration work on the smokestack. He estimated the time for that work at four to six weeks. Continue reading “Telecom gear gone from Johnson’s Creamery smokestack, partial demolition to come next week” →