David Alanis is touching up his car in front of his house on 27th Street, talking to a few friends. As he slowly maneuvers a piece of cardboard and a spray can, there is a sudden burst of loud, booming sounds, and the entire street begins to shake and rumble. Moments later, a torrent of small gravel pellets and a cloud of chalky dust blow across the pavement, and everybody ducks to shield their faces. Everybody, that is, except Alanis.
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“The hole” is a giant limestone cavern three blocks long, two blocks wide, and deep enough to support what looks like a small forest of mature trees. Known as Stearns Quarry, it’s located in the heart of Bridgeport just south of the Stevenson Expressway, between 27th and 29th streets and Halsted and Poplar. Locals like Alanis refer to it as “the quarry” or simply “the hole.”
Alanis pauses, and there’s another faint rumbling in the distance. Then it becomes louder, as six semis packed full with large chunks of broken cement enter the quarry, which is now used as a municipal dump. They open their hatches and release probably tons of rocks, which go cascading into the hole. Once again the street seems to vibrate, and a cloud of dust blows overhead.
Across the quarry there is quite a bit of dumping going on. A series of construction trailers has been set up near the entrance at Halsted Street, and just beyond there is a constant stream of large trucks on a wide gravel road. Every few minutes a truck releases its load into the pit. As the giant chunks of cement and rubble go cascading down the hill, they seem like mere handfuls of dirt being tossed into a cavern.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/Bruce Powell.
