At the peak of coal production during World War I hundreds of breakers towered over the landscape of Pennsylvania's anthracite region. After the war, the biggest mining firms built million-dollar breakers that were wonders of engineering and processed enormous quantities of coal each day. With the steady collapse of markets for anthracite, however, these breakers became empty, hulking masses of concrete, steel, and glass. Most were dismantled for scrap; only a few remain, vestiges of another era. In recent years, George Harvan has joined in documenting these gigantic structures -- the Huber, Locust Summit, and St. Nicholas breakers -- whose days are no doubt numbered.

To first photograph