Built in the early 20th century by industrialist Irving T. Bush, Industry City (then known as Bush Terminal) was conceived as a “city within a city”, a fully integrated transportation, manufacturing and warehousing facility that had its own railroad, steam and power stations, court system, fire department, bank, and trolleys that provided internal transportation for its 35,000 workers.

Marian Spore, the namesake of this project, was the third wife of Irving T. Bush. They married in 1930 – two hours after his second divorce was finalized. Spore was an artist and mystic of sorts. She believed that she communicated with the spirits of dead artists, including Gustave Doré, who described fantastic and terrible visions of the future and who guided her through the process of drawing and painting them. Her canvases (which are not included in this project) bore titles such as ‘The Ship of Death,’ ‘Starvation’ and ‘World Aflame’.