Timothy Hursley documents demolition of historic Arkansas rice storage building, salvaging steel for gallery use.

For 15 years, photographer Timothy Hursley has captured images of the Comet Rice Mill in Stuttgart, Arkansas, which he regards as the most intriguing high-rise in the state. Upon discovering last year that the mill complex, which features a distinctive century-old rice storage structure with 31 wooden bins, was set for demolition, Hursley proposed to the owner that the galvanized steel cladding panels be systematically removed and preserved. Once the panels were taken off, the exposed wooden bins formed a temporary art installation. Hursley documented the daily demolition as the early mill structures vanished. The salvaged panels are now stored for possible future use at another location or in galleries alongside his photographs. Hursley’s extensive career includes works on Rural Studio and Nevada’s brothels published by Princeton Architectural Press. Stuttgart, situated about 45 minutes from Little Rock, is famously known as the 'Rice and Duck Capital of the World,' and the rice storage building was the last of its kind in Arkansas.