Old factories are a charming feature of many New England towns as well. I used to work out of a converted factory office in my hometown. Every few years the owners of the property say that they're going to redevelop it into housing, but they haven't yet. If you're interested in checking out the inside of one, the Noble and Cooley drum factory[1] in Granville Massachusetts offers tours.

1: http://www.ncchp.org/