The Steel Mill
The Steel Mill is the principle building at the heart of the settlement known as the Steel Yard. It is the building that was originally used for the smelting and casting of steel, plus the attached offices. The mill now contains three principle components, the offices of government (such as they are) the market, and the fight pits, artfully situated in the leftover smelting vats. The fight pits and market are a mass of gantries and walkways inside a corrugated iron shell with a high vaulted ceiling. The offices are a brick built 1960s addition and also contain the guest house and Desdemona's night club.
Purpose / Function
Originally the production of steel ingots, later finished steel product. After the event of the Demon it became an asylum, and now it is the centre of goverment, market and entertainment complex for the Steelyard.
Alterations
The first version of the steel mill was built around 1890, designed to smelt raw iron ore and produce steel ingots. Since then there have been a number of upgrades and overhauls. The railway added in the 1930s saw a dramatic increase in the size of the steel mill and athe surrounding yard, and a major technological overhall in the early 1960s gave the buildings their current look. In 1982 the steel mill was shut down. It remained derelict for many years, causing significant damage through deterioration. In 2035 the mill and its surounding buildings were converted, crudely, into a large asylum for first born. THis led to a series of ad hoc alterations until 2065 when the project was abandonned and the residents took change, converting the mill into its current state.
Architecture
Mostly corrugated metal around a steel frame, but with a brick built addition at one end.
History
Built by the industrialist Raymond Brooks in 1890 the mill brought prosperity to the town of Langton. During the second world war it contributed significant resources to the contruction of materiel for the ANZAC forces. In 1980 when the mill closed due to dwindling iron supplies the effects on the towns economy were severe.
It was only in 2033, when the first born phenomena began to emerge, that the mill become of use once more. Having a lot of buildings and a low population, the town of Langton was deemed an ideal place to house many of the unfortunates that had begun exhibiting strange powers and aberrant behaviour. Large amounts of worker housing attached to steel mill was repurposed as “secure housing” and First born were shipped in from across the county. There followed a growth in doctors, carers, security staff and the occasional scientist wanting to study the phenomena.
By 2043 it was obvious that no easy solution was on hand and the ever increasing number of First Born, even with people postponing having children as a result of the phenomena, meant the housing was at capacity. Additional security fencing was put up, and the steel yard was transformed into a very different type of institution – a mental asylum, with the mill at the centre.
By 2062 the decreasing world population had reached a stage that left normal society inopperable. The steady retreat to enclaves meant fewer and fewer normal people were available to run institutions like the Steel Yard, indeed, it seemed a lost cause. Slowly, the people in charge left, unlocking the doors and leaving the inmates to their own devices.
It was a woman by the name of Sarah Wicks that rallied the people of the Steel Yard and began to form them into a community. Strong willed and charismatic she was able to force out the most troubled individuals, turn the walls that were meant to keep First Born in into defences to keep raiders out, and build a viable settlement, eventually spreading into the ghost town of Old Langton. She served as the Steel Yards first mayor for twelve years, and her portrait still hangs in the mayor’s office.
Type
Mill
Parent Location
Included Locations
Owner
Characters in Location
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