CLEVELAND — The Port of Cleveland announced they’re taking bids to remove the two remaining Hulett Ore Unloaders on Whiskey Island.
The Huletts, invented by northeast Ohio’s George Hulett in 1898, were used for 80 years to unload ships carrying iron that arrived to ports across the country.
The Huletts in Cleveland haven’t been in use since the early 1990s and a group of four local engineers, who call themselves “Huletteers”, have been fighting for their preservation ever since.
Ray Saikus, a mechanical engineer and Vietnam War Veteran, is one of those men who have worked for over three decades to save Cleveland’s Hulett ore unloaders.
“They were placed into service in 1912, and they operated until 1992,” Saikus said. “Eighty years. That’s almost one third of the existence of this country.”
According to the Historical Marker Database, the Huletts, which stood ten stories tall and weighed over 500 tons a piece, could dig 17 tons of ore in less than a minute.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated the Huletts and their ship, the Mather, as historic landmarks in the late 90s because of their impact on the industry.
“Because they operated that long, it’s a tribute to those, the inventor, to those who built them, those who owned them and those who operated,” Saikus said.
He said he first learned of plans to demolish the Huletts when he arrived 15 minutes early to a planning commission meeting where he was proposing a Vietnam War Memorial.
The Huletts were owned by rail service provider Conrail.
“There was Conrail already petitioning to get a permit to demolish all the Huletts,” Saikus said. “Based on the history of ASME that I was involved in, I mentioned that, you know, somebody was processing the nomination for designation.”
Since then, Saikus and three other engineers have worked tirelessly to preserve the piece of history, even taking the matter to court and winning.
The Port of Cleveland now owns the two remaining Huletts, which have been on Whiskey Island for decades.
“They allowed vegetation to overgrow, and they were supposed to be more responsible for preserving the place until this all got resolved,” Saikus said.
As part of the agreement from the court case, the preservationists had a time frame to fundraise for their efforts, and that time has run out.
Leaders at the port said they’ve already allowed an extra three years to secure that funding, but it hasn’t come through.
Dave Gutheil, Chief Commercial Officer at the Port, said they’ve decided it’s time to take bids to remove the Huletts.
He said they’ve been sitting on the bulk terminal for too long now and persevering the giant machines would cost too much.
“We’re in a position now, where we’re three years past that deadline,” Gutheil said. “And we need to start doing something and get those off of our property in order for us to handle more cargo, which is really what we want to do with that terminal.”
He said they’ve been sitting on the bulk terminal for too long now and persevering the giant machines would cost too much.
Saikus said despite the Port’s decision, he’s not giving up on them.
“We’ve got people that are coming on board to take a look at what can be done to just move them off site for now,” Saikus said. “Locate, restore them, and put them up in a location to be determined yet.”
The Port said it plans on scraping most pieces of the Huletts but will preserve a 60-foot arm and bucket to be displayed in the future.