Coal Hopper and Pressure Gauges at the Filer & Stowell Boiler Room
Abandoned boiler room at Filer & Stowell Factory in Milwaukee with coal furnaces, pressure gauges, and steam pipes.
The Filer & Stowell Company operated this Milwaukee plant for over a century, manufacturing steam engines, sawmill machinery, and heavy industrial equipment after its founding in 1877. The boiler room's coal hoppers, pressure gauges, handwheel valves, and overhead pipe network supplied the steam power needed to run production machinery throughout the factory. Fireboxes visible along the far wall accepted coal fed from the hoppers below, a design common to industrial plants built through the early 20th century. Filer & Stowell's Milwaukee operations wound down decades ago, leaving much of the original boiler equipment abandoned in place inside the building.
Photo taken in August 2023.
