Foundry Building

Foundry Building. . , The Foundry Building was constructed in 1882 using the dark red sandstone quarried locally from the north side of the French Creek. It was designed by Amory Coffin, who was the Chief Engineer at the Phoenix Iron Company at that time. Inside the Foundry Building, castings were produced and used by the Phoenix Iron and Steel Company and the Phoenix Bridge Company as ancillary parts needed for their products., Two large core ovens were once located in the 8,000 square foot center section of the building where all of the molding and casting took place. Iron trusswork, designed for use in constructing bridges and manufactured at the mill, supports the roof of the 14,000 square foot building., There were four large cranes that were used to move the sand molds and heavy castings. One of the cranes has been restored and can be seen at the Schuylkill River Heritage Center, located in the Foundry Building. The crane is believed to be the oldest surviving wooden crane in the USA., Caption: This photograph is reproduced here with permission granted by Dave "Geetz” Batzel, in memory of his father, Vincent Ping Batzel.