Oolitic, IN: Empire Limestone Quarry

(Satellite)

Amber posted

Here’s one from Oolitic Indiana. This is the quarry that the Empire State Building was finished with. All of the stone for it came out of this hole. Neat old cemetery sits above it on the hill. This is the Empire Quarry. EDITED: I should have put this in my post. This is def private property that is owned by a big company. So you don't want to get caught trespassing on this property. I fly and take these pics from the public cemetary that is directly above this quarry.

Photo by 📷 Donald Kevin Hudson

Donald Kevin Hudson posted and had a similar description.

Larry Alumbaugh: Try sharing photos you haven't STOLEN from others....

This was originally posted by Hudson's Photo & Aerials on 9 February 2021. It even has their tag in the photo. 🤨😡

Scott Clark: Limestone Capital of the World. Pentagon came from the same hole

Satellite

Donald Kevin Hudson commented on his post
With no snow here.

Austin Greene commented on Donald's post
I have some amazing photos from olltic quarries before they really started enforcing the trespassing

StoryMaps
"The first quarries were established in 1827 and were the main driving force for Indiana’s economy at the time."

Monon
"Bedford Area.  Indiana Limestone Company. This pictures shows the quarry where The Empire State Building once lay. In prehistoric majesty before its 207,000 cubic feet of limestone (18,630 tons) were   quarried and shipped to Manhattan. The great hole is now abandoned. Rain water collects in it; moisture seeps in through its ledges and it is forgotten."

AtlasObscura
"35 of the 50 current state capitol buildings" are made with Indiana limestone. "The deepness of these pools and minerals from the limestone foundation give the water a stunning aquamarine hue."

Photo via QuarriesAndBeyond
"The Indiana oölitic limestone district extends from a point near Greencastle on the north, to the Ohio River, and ranges from two to 14 miles in width.  The deposits are from 25 to 100 feet thick.  The active quarries are confined to a comparatively small area called the oölitic belt, embracing Romona, in Owen County, Stinesville, Ellettsville, Bloomington, Clear Creek and Sanders, in Monroe County; Oölitic, Dark Hollow and Bedford, in Lawrence County, Salem, Washington County, and Corydon, Harrison County."
"An analysis of oölitic stone by average shows: Calcium carbonate, 97.62 per cent; magnesium carbonate, .61 per cent; iron oxide and alumina, .36 per cent; insoluble residue, .91 per cent....The physical tests show oölitic stone to be more porous than the average limestone, yet in crushing and transverse strength it is much above the average.  Its flexibility permits it to withstand sudden changes in temperature of about 1,000 degrees without injury, a test which at first blush seems incredible."
Its softness and lack of grit makes it easy to work, but it is a strong building material.

Photo via QuarriesAndBeyond
Not only is the building stone removed with channelers, but so is the overlying rock because blasting would risk damaging the building stone.

Photo via QuarriesAndBeyond
"The photograph on this page shows a train of six cars, each containing a single block of oölitic stone weighing 70,000 pounds.  These were recently sent to a Paris sculptor, to be carved into six groups and returned to this country to adorn the new residence of one of America's wealthiest men."

The Indiana State Capitol is one of those 35 capital buildings that were built with Indiana limestone.

Vincent Morretino, Apr 2017

And the Biltmore Estate was built with it. (The estate is 125,000 acres. The house is here.)

SelectStone

Limestone was not only used for the exterior cladding, it was used for the many carvings that are in and on the building.

SelectStone
"Why Indiana Limestone?
"Its consistency and workability made it the favored stone for detailed architectural carvings like the columns, capitals, balustrade, and other elements at the Biltmore....Indiana Limestone’s superior workability is due to its uniform matrix of very small fossils and fossil fragments along with oolites....There is very little layering in Indiana Limestone; consequently, it can be sawn and carved in any direction.  It appears to stand up well to weathering based on the multitude of notable buildings built with it, including the National Cathedral in Washington, the Empire State Building, and hundreds of federal and state buildings throughout the country."

The Empire Quarry is part of the 4,500 acre operation by the Indiana Limestone Co.

IndianaLimestone

IndianaLimestone

Being able to produce a lot of slabs of a uniform color is one of the features of Indiana limestone.

IndianaLimestone_slabs

To match the color, when the Empire State Building or the Pentagon gets damaged, they open up the quarry that provided the original limestone to get the replacement limestone.

Chris Nicholson commented on a post via Dennis DeBruler
Living in limestone quarry land I thought I would share a picture of the quarry where the stone for the Empire State building came from. When any needs replaced this is where they go for it.
Bedford Indiana
James Torgeson: Chris Nicholson Exactly what had to be done when the Pentagon was rebuilt after 9/11.
Chris Nicholson: James Torgeson yep. The pentagon hole is is not too far from this one. One of the area mills, Bybee Stone still has operational saws that are over a century old. They can cut the slabs to the same texture required for those old buildings.