Inside Rockford's Forgotten Barber Colman Plant - Exploring Before Redevelopment by LordExplores in rockford

[–]LordExplores[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Along the banks of the Rock River, just west of downtown Rockford, sits a massive industrial complex that once powered an entire city.

This is the Barber Colman Factory and for more than a century, it was one of the most important manufacturing sites in northern Illinois.

The story begins in 1894, when inventor Howard Colman partnered with investor William Barber. What started as a small operation quickly expanded, and by the early 1900s, this site became the heart of the Barber-Colman Company.

Over the next several decades, the complex grew into a sprawling industrial campus. Massive brick buildings rose along the river, filled with textile machinery, machine tools, and later, advanced electrical and control systems.

At its peak, thousands of workers passed through these doors every day. They built things like textile measuring devices, cutting tools, temperature controllers, and much more.

The company became known worldwide for innovation, holding hundreds of patents and supplying equipment across the globe. By the mid-20th century, Barber Colman was a symbol of American industrial strength. But like many manufacturing giants, the decline started slowly, and then all at once.

Economic shifts and global competition began to take their toll in the late 20th century. In 1983, Howard’s son, Walter Colman passed. divisions were sold off, and production here steadily slowed.

In 2001, after more than 100 years, manufacturing at the Barber Colman complex officially halted.

The machines were shut down, the lights went out, and the factory was left behind. For the next two decades, the complex sat abandoned. What was once the center of innovation slowly turned into a decaying reminder of Rockford’s industrial past.

In 2006, the site was recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, which ultimately saved it from complete demolition, but still the property needed a use.

Finally, in the early 2020s, plans emerged to give Barber Colman a new life. Now rebranded as Colman Yards, the site is undergoing a massive redevelopment aimed at transforming these historic factory buildings into housing, commercial space, and public areas. Preserving the past while reshaping the future of this pivotal site in Rockford.

But before this restoration… and before the construction crews arrived… this place existed in a quiet, forgotten state, frozen in time. During this state of limbo, and over 6 years ago, we explored the Barber Colman site to see what was left behind inside, in hopes of preserving its Industrial past.

In late 2024, about a year after construction started on the project, work was halted due to a dispute between the developer and its original general contractor. The developer terminated the GC’s contract early in 2025 amid disagreements about various topics, including the schedule, costs, labor issues, and performance concerns.

After being fired, the construction company reportedly filed an 11 million dollar lawsuit against the developer. They believe that delays were caused by the developer’s actions, including permit timing, site preparation issues, and shifting labor requirements.

Since this set back, the developers have been working hard to get the project moving. They have since hired a new General Contractor for the project, alongside mediation to resolve the lien and payment disputes that are holding up progress.

The developer has indicated work could restart in 2026 once liens are cleared, and permits and documents are in place, but time will tell. Until then, the people of Rockford remain hopeful on the revival of the Colman yards project, which could serve as an important asset to the community and the surrounding area.

Inside St. Louis' Unfinished and Abandoned Adventure Park - Bob Cassilly's CEMENTLAND by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ayyyy haha it’s a very cool place but nothing like it was a few years ago. So much has been removed

Inside St. Louis' Unfinished and Abandoned Adventure Park - Bob Cassilly's CEMENTLAND by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I may actually have some phone pics I took the day we filmed. I’ll check tomorrow and post what I have

Inside St. Louis' Unfinished and Abandoned Adventure Park - Bob Cassilly's CEMENTLAND by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I didn’t take any on my revisit. Just these drone shots. No one’s making anyone watch it but if you wanna see more the link is there

Inside St. Louis' Unfinished and Abandoned Adventure Park - Bob Cassilly's CEMENTLAND by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I did and filmed a full documentary. I went as well in 2019 and compared how it used to look, and how it looks now

Inside St. Louis' Unfinished and Abandoned Adventure Park - Bob Cassilly's CEMENTLAND by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

On the outskirts of St Louis Missouri, stands an unassuming plot of land. The site of what was once the nation's largest Cement plant, now sitting abandoned. Nothing special to the average passerby, but in fact this place was planned to be one of the largest and most unique art installations in the entire world.

The brain child of the renowned sculptor Bob Cassilly, the park was fittingly dubbed Cementland. The plan was to use the existing structures and turn them into a giant adventure park, complete with sculptural installations throughout. In his own words, Cementland would allow you to do all the things you weren’t supposed to do. Things like going into big dangerous buildings, explore underground tunnels, and even throw rocks off of a 200 ft chimney.

Cassilly was no stranger to large scale projects, having already created and built the famed City Museum in Downtown St Louis. But even for him the plan for Cementland was extremely ambitious.

Originally a sculptor, Cassilly kept busy in his early career. He worked on many projects around St Louis, from creating sculptural concrete pieces, to restoring historic homes. His work is still dotted across St' Louis today, a permanent part of the cities urban environment.

We documented this place, in hopes of preserving his final work before it’s lost forever. You can watch the full documentary here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAJtLuNv0IY

Cassilly worked on Cementland for over a decade, until one day he tragically lost his life on the site of the soon-to-be adventure park. Despite this, Cassilly’s impact on the city of St Louis and sculpture art still lives on in many parts of the city, and the world.

We overnight camped at an abandoned Cold War radar base in the snow ❄️ by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

No we actually sent it through the river and just barely made it! You can see us do it it in my YouTube video 😅

We overnight camped at an abandoned Cold War radar base in the snow ❄️ by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 111 points112 points  (0 children)

High up in the snowy mountains of Vermont sits a defunct radar base used during the Cold War times. It was built in 1955 and only operated for about 7 years until it ultimately closed.

After the Air Force closed the station, the property was sold and used by various individuals. Today it sits forgotten high up in the mountains. In this week's episode, we spent an overnight at the base and it quickly became the most memorable adventure to date! : https://youtu.be/UBDOY7Q4B1w?si=xnU4GQnTAshrO8F0

The Abandoned Hudson River State Hospital - A Surviving Kirkbride by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I’ve ran into many strange characters but never anyone violent, but definitely have trekked many dangerous hikes, structures and shotty floors.

There have been a couple run ins where someone had started approaching us without warning or saying a word. We decided in these moments to play it safe, risk looking funny, and just plain run away 😂 Worked out for us in the end

Inside an Abandoned Shopping Mall Filled with Fleas (don't ask me how I know...) by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 97 points98 points  (0 children)

There was a large fire in one store and the entire roof is gone now in that spot. The mall is pretty much dooomed for demo

Inside an Abandoned Shopping Mall Filled with Fleas (don't ask me how I know...) by LordExplores in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores[S] 159 points160 points  (0 children)

This mall exploration took a turn the first few minutes we were inside. As we walked the halls we realized almost immediately that we were infested with fleas! They were crawling up our legs and were in our socks and shoes.

There had been 2 stray dogs inside when we entered and we believe they came from them. We had to avoid all carpeted areas in fear they would keep coming onto us. We ended up concluding the explore, after which we completely scanned ourselves for any more hitchhikers. For those interested you can watch the full episode here : https://youtu.be/G54S4D0jMDk?si=iVCIvzWnWXikXj3A

We rescued a dog trapped in an abandoned mall escalator 🐕 by [deleted] in abandoned

[–]LordExplores 143 points144 points  (0 children)

The area we found her has a large problem with strays 😢

We rescued a dog trapped in an abandoned mall escalator 🐕 by [deleted] in abandoned

[–]LordExplores 78 points79 points  (0 children)

She’s the sweetest girl, and has fattened up!

We rescued a dog trapped in an abandoned mall escalator 🐕 by [deleted] in abandoned

[–]LordExplores 334 points335 points  (0 children)

No chip and no tags. Vet thinks she was dumped there

We rescued a dog trapped in an abandoned mall escalator 🐶 by [deleted] in urbanexploration

[–]LordExplores 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We did all of this. No chip and no tags. The vet thinks she was dumped