Nicolet, Inc. - Norristown, PA

The abandoned Nicolet building, adjacent to the railroad tracks in Norristown.

Nicolet, Inc. was a manufacturer of pipe insulation, asbestos paper, roofing/flooring felt, and underground pipewrap. The Norristown, PA building was abandoned when Nicolet ceased operations in 1986. The site contained potentially hazardous waste until a DEP cleanup in 1998. Located on the bank of the Schuykill River, it was flooded by Hurricane Floyd in 1999. In 2004, it was slated for redevelopment.

Here are some pictures of the abandoned factory.

Along the front of the building is an indoor railroad siding for loading or unloading goods. Trees grow on the tracks, and sunlight comes in through the holes in the roof. Someone has pushed a heavy wooden shipping cart off the platform.

A chair sits in one of the abandoned offices, surrounded by fallen ceiling tiles and debris.

"Customers judge our responsibility by our RESPONSE-ABILITY" and other motivational slogans can be found on the stickers plastered all over the wall of this small room.

A desk sits among the falling ductwork of the unsafe second floor offices.

Wandering around the back of the factory near the scrapped above-ground storage tanks, we found an abandoned car, possibly an early Triumph Spitfire according to one or our readers. The (three-digit) odometer had 902 miles on it.

A rusting water tower behind the factory.

A large control panel for the machinery.

One of the bathroom stalls. Ewwww.

A room with big pit. Judging by the concrete block construction and NO SMOKING sign, whatever was in there must have been flammable. Note the emergency shower to the right of the door.

Address label from a box of employee notices.