Full Metal Photographer

Today, when the creations of our new technology are becoming more intangible and arcane, the need for self-evident masterpieces of human endeavor and genius becomes all the more important. For my part, I have always looked upon our grain elevators, our great bridges, and skyscrapers as being America's preeminent icons. They are our cathedrals. . . .
In scale [grain elevators] are like few other structures ever created—or likely to be again. . . . It is impossible not to be overwhelmed by what seems an almost Egyptian monumentality.