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Address: Between Interstate 75 and Railroad Avenue, St. Bernard
Owner: CSX Corporation of Jacksonville, Fla.
Value: Unknown
Year Built: Unknown
Comments: This beacon of hopelessness is best observed from Interstate 75 just south of the Norwood Lateral interchange, where it towers above the industrial wasteland of the Mill Creek.
Its message — "Hey kids! Check me out!"— is best answered by a short walk down the tracks from nearby streets. No inconvenient fences block the way.
No one seems to know when the railroad abandoned the tower or why. An employee of nearby Sun Chemical Corp. remarked, "I've worked here for 30 years and it's always looked like that."
Ken Carpenter, who manages property for CSX, responded to questions about plans for the structure by saying, "I truly don't know."
Requests for information from the railroad's media representatives went unanswered. Nevertheless, a June 27 press release from CSX Transportation Inc. has an important message: "Stay off railroad tracks!" Last year 11 people died and nine were injured while trespassing on railroad property in Ohio, according to CSX, which warns violators will be prosecuted.
BLIGHT OF THE WEEK is an effort to highlight the problem of abandoned buildings — and who's responsible for them.
