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Showing posts from August, 2016

What Are Those Rusted Metal Ladders in Brooklyn Backyards?

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I was taking a walk down my residential street recently when a flash of weathered iron caught my eye. Poking up above a neighbor's inner backyard was a tall, rusted metal ladder. It stood upright, narrow and tall, reaching straight toward the sky. I stopped in my tracks to look at it. To anyone else passing by, it probably looked like a piece of industrial scrap left behind by a careless contractor. But I recognized it immediately. Growing up, we had the same rusted tower planted in our backyard. It stood two feet away from the exterior wall of the house like an unmovable monument. Through decades of changing seasons and vicious winds, it never leaned an inch. My parents never made any attempt to dismantle it or repaint it, even as thick flakes of orange rust gathered along its frame. Back then, whenever I looked out from our second-floor window, I would scan the neighboring lots. None of the other yards on our street had one. Down the enti...
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Abandoned Rails Over Highway

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This short exploration video contains an abandoned railway line stuck between two properties abutting a major highway in the northeast. The line crosses three city street blocks on one side and one street block situated over a river into another neighborhood. You can almost say that the train line divides the poor from the rich.  I wish I could have crossed it without causing unwanted attention from the highway patrol. Maybe I will cross it one night sometime later in the year when no one is around. A short but satisfying exploration involving two abandoned properties and a rail line. 
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Abandoned Railroad Unloading Facility

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Upon driving along the winding road heading to my designated parking address, this behemoth stands out like a fallen giant. A black rusting heap of metal. It just sticks out like a sore thumb. If you were an eagle you could spot this facility with ease. Once so full of energy and endearing to the men who once worked there. This railroad facility is no longer able to unload huge tons of black gold. Getting onto the property was very easy. Getting there was the hardest part due to the long walk. After getting onsite, all my tired worries were washed away as I stood at the beginning of the tracks looking towards the belly of the beast. She was beautiful in every way. Sadly, history and time have not been kind to her. All the old mechanical parts were still there as it was on the last day. The wooden track beams were cracking, splitting, and weathered. The landing zone for the train cars was still there but the side rail shoot was no longer a part of it any...
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Abandoned Paterson Hinchliffe Stadium | Urban Exploration

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Explored two stadiums in one day. This was the first one I explored out of the two and the second abandoned place of the day earlier in July 2016. Upon entering, tall weeds and bushes dominated the framed crowd control columns seen at the beginning of the episode. This stadium was larger than the other football stadium. Instead of one sweeping stadium seating, this one was more oval and more designed for the immersion of the crowd towards the action in the center. The concession stand, bathrooms, and commentator’s box were all neatly located behind the seating area. This was once a grand stadium when it was open. It’s rare you can explore an empty stadium once teeming with screaming supportive fans, fresh beer, and juicy hot dogs. A few still remain in the United States in Detroit and Ohio. Although, the one in Detroit is to be demolished soon or is already fallen to the demolition crew. This stadium once hosted local football and baseball games but f...
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Inside the Abandoned Albany Central Warehouse: A Forgotten NY Industrial Giant (Photos)

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In the heart of Albany, nestled amidst the echoes of its bustling past, lies an abandoned warehouse, a treasure trove of stories untold until now. This isn't just any derelict structure; it's the cornerstone of my urban exploration journey, the first of many, but forever the one that initiated me into the world of forgotten spaces. Let's call it the ultimate introduction, the genesis of a passion that has since defined my adventures. Our story begins on a crisp, cold morning that promises adventure. I vividly remember the excitement bubbling up as I set off to pick up my companion, referred to here as "A," from Queens. The journey from the familiar streets of our neighborhood to the unknown mysteries of Albany stretched over three hours, a pilgrimage to our very own urban Mecca. We arrived ahead of schedule, anticipation building as we waited in the chilling embrace of dawn, our breaths visible in the air, our spirits undeterr...
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Kings Park Psychiatric Center: The Abandoned Long Island Asylum

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Kings Park and the Education of an Explorer Every pursuit has a place where beginners go first. Skateboarders have their parking lots and curbs. Climbers have their local crags. And if you are just finding your way into the world of urban exploration on Long Island, sooner or later someone points you toward Kings Park. The former Kings Park Psychiatric Center has become, over the years, something like a finishing school for people who don't yet know they're enrolled. Getting onto the grounds is straightforward. Finding a way inside the remaining buildings, if you know where to look, is not much harder. Which is exactly why the Parks Police have written thousands of trespassing tickets here in a single calendar year, why security visibly tightens every Halloween, and why local photography groups have been known to show up with large, enthusiastic crowds of people who want to take what they call "creepy" photos of old hospital asylums. The place attracts everyone, which...
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Inside the Abandoned St. Michael and St. Edward Church in Brooklyn

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For weeks, I had been orbiting the perimeter of the impending demolition of the Church of St. Michael and St. Edward, a once revered church in the heart of Fort Greene, like a moth drawn to a flame. The neighborhood, a patchwork of tight project housing, seemed indifferent to the fate of this historic edifice. The intel I had received suggested that entry was as simple as scaling a wooden fence, yet the timing had never felt right. Until one day, it did. With a mission in New Jersey looming, I knew it was now or never. The demolition was advancing at a startling pace, the church's twin steeples already reduced to rubble. The skeletal remains of timber beams and rusted steel frames peeked out from the ruins, a testament to the relentless march of progress. Summoning a surge of courage, I seized a moment of quiet in the bustling housing project and vaulted over the fence. My heart pounded in my ches...
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Crown Heights' 73-99 Empire Boulevard Erased for Luxury Housing

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Photo courtesy of NYC Municipal Services / 1940s.nyc From Mack Trucks to Apartments: A Century on Empire Boulevard For most of the twentieth century, the block at 73-99 Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights handled the heavy work of the city. Trucks came in for service. Tires were swapped out. Parts were stocked and sold. The buildings on this stretch of Brooklyn were built for vehicles, and for about sixty years, that's exactly what they served. The site directly neighbors the much taller Ebbets Field Apartment complex, which is the housing that replaced the ballpark. By 2025, both were rubble. By September 2026, the foundation of a 13-story apartment building was going in. A hundred years of industrial and automotive history on a single block, cleared in a matter of months. The main building at 73-99 Empire Boulevard went up in 1925 and opened as a Mack Truck auto service facility. At 29,000 square feet, it was built for the scale of commerc...
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Former H. J. Mills Paper Box Company

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The Box Man's Legacy: How H. J. Mills Went from Match Boxes to a Parking Lot There is a community parking lot in downtown Bristol, Connecticut, that does not look like much. Cars pull in, cars pull out. The lot sits in the middle of the business district, unremarkable by any measure, crossed underneath by a culverted stream called Ivy Brook that runs east to west beneath the pavement. For twenty-three years before the asphalt went down, this ground held a burned ruin, then a vacant lot, then weeds so thick and deep that homeless people took shelter in them. Before any of that, for 120 years, it held a factory. The man who built that factory also ran a newspaper, served in the state legislature, belonged to the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Bristol Lodge of Elks, and the Hartford Gun Club, and died in 1933, leaving behind a house that still stands on Summer Street. His name was Herbert J. Mills. His company made cardboard boxes. And al...
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