What's with the pipes?

We were on the western waterfront of Harbor Island on this trip, and this old factory, which now looks disused, was nearby. Being good citizens and respectful of property boundaries, we couldn't get right up to the building, but I took a couple of frames of it from a distance with my long zoom.

I don't know anything about heavy industry, so I'm wondering what these crazy pipes are for.

Also, as was the case on my previous trip, my friend and I felt vaguely illicit standing around with large cameras snapping pictures in an industrial part of town. This seemed strange to me even as I felt it, since each of us is entirely within their rights to take pictures of whatever they like from public property. I think part of it is the conspicuousness of aiming a large lens around, but another part is the culturally imprinted idea that taking photos in public is somehow subversive, or disreputable. I'm slowly developing a detached self-confidence in these situations, but it will take more practice.