At the Philadelphia Naval Business Center, which spans along the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers, abandoned and overgrown buildings mingle with ultra high-tech facilities. Rusted ships from World War II are tied to piers and await destruction. And other parts of the complex are so cutting-edge and secret that we couldn't even photograph theirs buildings' exteriors.
Once the hub of blue-collar Philadelphia, the shipyard itself closed in 1995. In 1997, the Norwegian company Kvaerner ASA purchased the shipyard, and now, welders sporting blue overalls work on small pieces of huge container ships. On other parts of the base, workers take apart old Navy ships for scrap metal. Submarine propellers are created in a top-secret Naval foundry, while other buildings remain empty, awaiting a purpose.
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