Photo of the Week

As always I was surfing around the web studying aerials and interesting information about our former Canal Zone home. I came across another shocking reality of what happened to the old Mount Hope Industrial Laboratories that was operated by the Supply/Commissary Division of PCC. Above is a photo from the early 1950s showing the laboratory complex of buildings and here is another that I posted back in 2001 (click here). The old Industrial Laboratories at one time was the heart beat of the place many things that were sold in the Canal Zone commissaries was produced. Milk, ice cream, other dairy products, meat, the famous PCC empanadas, soft drinks, spices, personal hygiene items, and many more items for PCC employees. I remember going into the ice cream plant one time and what an operation that was. My favorite PCC ice cream was Butter Brickel. Yummm.

Below is a photo from Alamy of what it looks like today. It is the Central Penitentiary Nueva Esperaza. I guess it is a good use for the massive building and infrastructure within and around the building. There are some very graphic and scary photos on-line of the way life is as resident here. Who would have know that this is the way the old lab would end up.