For years I've passed this oil refinery, noting only that it dominated the landscape beside Highway 52. I have always been struck by our tendency on CDP to present our city and immediate area in the best light as possible. The beautiful people we photograph, restaurants, lovely homes, flowers, and landscapes are only a part of our environment; I thought that this would certainly be an alternative photo; something on which we all rely. This is what I found to describe these photos:
The Pine Bend Refinery is the largest oil refinery in Minnesota, located in the Twin Cities suburbs of Rosemount and Inver Grove Heights next to southern split of U.S. Highway 52 and Minnesota State Highway 55. The refinery is notable for being the largest in the United States to be located in a state without any oil wells. Overall, it ranked 14th in the country as of 2012 by production, with a nameplate capacity of 320,000 barrels (51,000 m) per day.] The facility is owned by Flint Hills Resources (FHR), a subsidiary of Koch Industries.
For someone who lived in Houston, TX for many years...this a a very familiar site. I always thought they looked so much prettier at night. There are so many lights that it looks like a city within a city.
ReplyDeleteYep, for sure I tend to photograph the more pleasant areas in my community. Kudos to you for stepping outside the box.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting information on this place Kate. I didn't even know that there was a refinery near you.
ReplyDeleteI find there is a certain beauty in industrial sites like this one.
ReplyDeleteQuite a tangle of machinery and metal.
ReplyDeleteNot the prettiest spot but it has some nice landscaping and you are right, it is necessary,
ReplyDeleteJust as we edit our photos we edit what we photograph, too, don't we? As I encounter people who tell me "Your photos helped me decide to move to Sequim," I have begun to think that maybe I'm making my community look just a bit too nice!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Judy on this one.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen it at night? It looks like a space station. Very eerie when you are out on a gravel road all alone!
ReplyDeleteI wrestle with the same issue, Kate, which is one of the reasons I recently highlighted Hartford's current wave of gun violence. But, I worked for thirty years in the power industry, and I have an appreciation for industrial technology, even if I don't photograph it very often.
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