The long warehouse on Elston Avenue that has stored vast quantities of Morton Salt for decades will soon shutter. According to Crain's, the company plans on laying off 23 employees and closing the facility by the end of October. Generations of Chicagoans have grown up with the company's famous mascot, whose image dons the top of warehouse. The Morton Salt shed branding could be considered one of the city's most iconic signs. Morton Salt isn't leaving Chicago, but its Elston Avenue facility may become a part of a broader redevelopment of a large industrial corridor that stretches through Lincoln Park and Goose Island. Alderman Brian Hopkins tells DNAinfo that the property "needs to be a part of the conversation" surrounding the changes that are happening at the former Finkl steel site.
Late last year, one of the warehouse's walls collapsed, causing a tremendous amount of salt to spill out onto vehicles in a neighboring dealership parking lot.
The Morton Salt shed is just another property in a string of many to be slated for some type of redevelopment. While the facility is certainly representative of the North Side's industrial past, it may be time to find a new use for the land.
·Morton Salt to shutter Elston Avenue warehouse [Crain's]
·Morton Salt Closing Huge Storage Facility on Elston Avenue [Curbed Chicago]
·Morton Salt Shed Spills Its Salt on Next Door Dealership Cars [Curbed Chicago]