This is the historic Longmont Refinery today. Captured from the ground floor, this large format image shows exactly how many pipes, catwalks, and tanks occupy a typical refinery. Walking through a sugar refinery fills your mind with conjecture, shock, amazement, and curiosity — all at once (photo copyright Jon Haeber)

Editor’s Note: From the founding of […]

The Longmont Sugar Refinery, once one of the Great Western Sugar Company’s largest factories — shuttered in 1978 (photo copyright Jon Haeber).
Editor’s Note: Yes readers! Once again, I’m bringing you a special series. This one’s about the sugar industry in Eastern Colorado. There are three parts. This is part one. Stay tuned for parts two […]

The Bearings Blog ethos encompasses a simple ideology: The love of all things geographic, especially things that are human-inspired and influenced. The monuments and bones of the past are a vital component of recognizing our history, blunders, ingenuity, and culture. Nowhere is this more apparent in the Bay Area, which was perhaps THE most capitalistic […]