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The local factory (officially known as "Crystal City Works Nine") continued to be a vitally-important glassmaking center through much of the 20th century, producing important components for American military aircraft during [[World War II]]. Beginning in 1965, it switched to the production of "float glass," which maintained its operations for another generation; in 1990, however, the factory was finally shut down and much of its equipment salvaged. Relatively few of its facilities are still in existence today. In recent years, there has been some discussion of building an iron-ore smelter on the site, but concerns of environmental pollution have aroused controversy on the subject.
The local factory (officially known as "Crystal City Works Nine") continued to be a vitally-important glassmaking center through much of the 20th century, producing important components for American military aircraft during [[World War II]]. Beginning in 1965, it switched to the production of "float glass," which maintained its operations for another generation; in 1990, however, the factory was finally shut down and much of its equipment salvaged. Relatively few of its facilities are still in existence today. In recent years, there has been some discussion of building an iron-ore smelter on the site, but concerns of environmental pollution have aroused controversy on the subject.
==Geography==
Crystal City is located mostly along the east side of U.S. Routes 61-67 in east-central Jefferson County. Its exact coordinates are 38°13’18”N 90°22’57”W. It is directly adjacent to the cities of [[Herculaneum, Missouri|Herculaneum]] to the north and [[Festus, Missouri|Festus]] to the west; it and Festus are so closely intermingled that they are sometimes referred to as the "Twin Cities." As the first partially-urbanized area encountered by northbound travelers in Jefferson County, the Festus-Crystal City area represents the southern limit of the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Most of Crystal City sits atop a low plateau that overlooks the west bank of the Mississippi River. Plattin Creek, whose sandy soil provided the material for glass-making operations, forms part of its southern boundary as it empties into the Mississippi. The town has a total area of 4.57 square miles, and an average elevation of 443 feet.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt</ref>
==References==
==References==