More than 24 years have passed since International Paper Co. shut down its historic Hammermill paper plant in Erie.
In the years since, the sprawling industrial complex has largely been erased from the landscape along East Lake Road, leveled by bulldozers and excavators and hauled away in countless trucks to make room for new development.
Three towering smokestacks, known locally as the Three Sisters, are the one tangible reminder of an Erie industry that spanned more than a century.
The International Paper Co. facility, which was once called Hammermill Paper Co., is shown on Oct. 17, 2001, the day after it was announced that the facility would close in June 2002. The company was founded in 1898 by brothers Ernst, Otto, and Bernard Behrend and their father Moritz Behrend. It was named after the pulp and paper mill in Germany owned and operated by Moritz Behrend. The company was purchased in 1984 by International Paper and continued to produce high-quality writing papers at this Erie facility until its closure in May 2002.
Now, it appears likely that two of those three smokestacks, located near the water’s edge, will soon be coming down.
The Enterprise Development Center of Erie County, an arm of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, is seeking bids for the removal of two of the three smokestacks from what’s now known as the East Lake View Business Park.
Bricks have been falling from the sides of this 250-foot smokestack that sits on the former International Paper Co. site. The Erie County Redevelopment Authority is seeking bids to tear down two of the three smokestacks.
Bidders who attend a pre-bid conference on Sept. 17 will compete to remove, crush and haul away debris from the 250-foot towers.
Tina Mengine, CEO of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, said plans call for removing the two brick-faced smokestacks and leaving a concrete smokestack.
Mengine said she appreciates both the symbolism and the history the towers represent in a town where the paper industry dates back to 1898 when Ernst, Otto and Bernard Behrend built their plant.
The remaining tower, “will still be a beacon for boaters and an ode to the former manufacturer,” Mengine said. “But the other two need to come down.”
Mengine stressed that removing the brick towers is a need and not a want.
“Two of the smokestacks are brick, and bricks have been falling off for some time now. They are falling into the lake. It’s not safe.”
Mengine said the Redevelopment Authority has a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that should cover the cost of removal.
It’s an expensive project, she acknowledged.
“They are large and they are in a very difficult location,” she said. “You can’t blow them up and let them fall into the lake.”
Mengine said she’s hoping the work can be done this fall.
This comes at a time of renewed activity at the former IP site. The former office building has been sold to National Fuel Gas for its new Erie headquarters and the Redevelopment Authority has plans to build a 75,000-square-foot facility for a new tenant.
‘Cost to repair and maintain it does not make sense’
She’s already heard from some local residents who aren’t happy about losing this symbol of Erie’s industrial might.
Tina Mengine, CEO of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, is shown in this 2019 file photo on the site of the former International Paper Co. Behind her are the company smokestacks, two of which are expected to come down.
“I respect that,” Mengine said. “I am committed to historic preservation whenever it’s feasible. I think our work at Ironworks Square demonstrates that.”
In this case, she said, “It’s just not viable. The cost to repair and maintain it does not make sense. That is why we are going to keep one so that we can have that nod to history.”
Melinda Meyer, president of Preservation Erie, wishes that the three smokestacks could remain. The organization included the Hammermill smokestacks on its 2025 list of endangered places in Erie, calling them the “conspicuous remains” of what was once the largest employer in the city of Erie.
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On one hand, Meyer said she would very much like to preserve this reminder of Erie’s industrial heritage.
At the same time, Preservation Erie has been in contact with the Redevelopment Authority and is aware of the safety and structural issues posed by the smokestacks.
“I think what we would like to celebrate is that they are looking at preserving the third smokestack and that site will honor the legacy of manufacturing,” she said.
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She’s hoping for something more than a silent reminder of the role that Hammermill, thousands of workers and their families played in Erie’s development.
“We would like to see an interpretative element either added to the smokestack or added to buildings that informs the community of the company that once stood there,” Meyer said.
Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Hammermill smokestacks are crumbling. Two of them are coming down