Armstrong Tires

On our way to the Southeast side of Des Moines

Titan Tire, patrolled by dogs.  Good thing I brought Scooby snacks and fried legs of lamb.

The abandoned Armstrong Tire facility of Des Moines, IA.  Apparently this small plant was bought out by Titan then immediately shut down in 1994.  Titan Tire seems to have a history of shutting down competition.  In their eagerness to monopolize, Quincy, Illinois based Titan Wheel incurred a $130,000 fine for breaking anti-trust laws. 

This facility apparently made tractor tires.  The large round brown item in the center of the photo is a mold for one of these, complete with branding to be indented in the melted rubber.

Very interesting machines.

Tire manufacturing

I had to risk bird feces to get this shot.  Directly overhead lives a group of birds inside the insulation between the rafters.  There was still a few more things I wanted to shoot, but we were kicked out by some generic security outfit that patrols Titan owned properties.