Posts

Showing posts from March, 2017

Gloversville Continental Mills

Image
After the Fire: What Remains of Gloversville Continental Mills A Field of Bricks The bricks were everywhere. Not stacked, not standing. Just scattered across the ground like something vast had simply let go. What used to be Mill No. 3 of the former Gloversville-Continental Mills now spread out before me like a field of rubble, stretching from Beaver Street all the way back to the Cayadutta Creek bank. Thousands of bricks, the same ones that had held this building upright through more than a century of American manufacturing history, lay in random heaps with nowhere left to go. In one corner, pressed against a sealed-off wall, sat what remained of steel beams, HVAC machinery, and other miscellaneous load-bearing beams and the remains of 40 historical knitting machines. The fire had taken everything soft about them. What was left were twisted red-brown skeletons of rust and charred metal, piled on top of each other like they had tried to hold on and failed. Standing there in the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abandoned NYC Train Substation

Image
Today I tried to access this old abandoned substation on a quiet residential block. Previously, I've been here before to scout out access and potential foot traffic of local neighbors. It is quite easy to access if you don't mind jumping the fence but the tall windows are a problem without any type of supporting ladder or fellow explorer shoulder.  Inside holds old machinery that once powered the local train line before the municipality agency for some reason left it to rot next to an adjacent substation that is also under maintenance and repair. A substation's function is to convert high-voltage AC to DC in order to power trains along the transit line. In New York City, there are many old and new substations across the five boroughs that can be found next to subway stations. This particular one still has the vintage equipment from other sources I've seen during my research. There is also one in another borough I almost got to explore before coming across a securi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abandoned Pigeon Church: Forgive Us For Our Trespass

Image
Pulpit Views 🏗️ Development Update — 64 Norfolk Street The site of the former Beth Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue, destroyed by a three-alarm fire on May 14, 2017, has been transformed into 64 Norfolk Street — a new affordable housing development on the Lower East Side. What was once a 167-year-old Gothic Revival sanctuary is now a modern residential building, part of the neighborhood's ongoing evolution. For the aftermath of this abandoned sacred space, see my post: Beth Hamedrash Hagadol: The Abandoned Synagogue of the Lower East Side . Forgive Us Dear Lord For Our Transgressions... Finding this abandoned church of worship was pretty easy. The exact location of this former house of worship would surprise many urban explorers. It's located right in the heart of a rather busy neighborhood surrounded by so many changes. I won't go into detail on the history of this place since it is quite a gem once inside...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abandoned "Supermarket' Warehouse

Image
Heading into the Supermarché! This abandoned warehouse takes a special place in my life. It is the very first abandoned building I explored. The very first. The number one. The cherry popper. Yadda yadda. It all began on a cold early morning, jumping into my car, picking up my friend in Queens and taking the three-hour journey north. We arrived early ahead of the meeting time and chilled for what seemed like an eternity as the car became colder by the minute. My friend and I met the local connect who knew this city well and was showing us around for the entire day. Our connect led us to the property as we parked our cars on the grass median and walked our way to the active rail line and walked behind the building. The rail line was also involved in a feature movie that for some reason I forgot to commit to memory. Entering the building, we headed straight to the roof. We were going to take in the roof views first and make our way down. Untitled movie tracks. I forgot the mo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Documenting the Jumping Jack Pump Plant

Image
For a long time, this venerable and formidable pump house has withstood the treachery and explorations of many urban explorers. Only a few have ever found its true location within the state lines of New York. Before, only well-researched urban explorers found this pump house long before it graced the pages of Will Ellis '  Abandoned NYC 's long-heralded and well-published website. It has stood for many years out of the gaze of any unsuspecting explorer travelling within the state who may, by happenstance, find it just by driving. Unfortunately, you cannot "drive" and see this pump house. This place is located deep in a mixed-use neighborhood encased in businesses no one unsuspecting would find for it to be located there at the end of the adjoining driveway.   Once inside, the treasures to behold can be found. Inside, you will find old boilers, coal dust, century-old coal, a flooded basement, three entombed car frames, and an infinite supply of rema...
Post a Comment
Read more

Popular posts from this blog

Inside the Abandoned Horsman Doll Factory in Trenton

Image
  You’ve got to move when the chance is right. That’s something I keep telling myself—but just as often, I forget it. Or ignore it. And then I end up learning the same lesson all over again. It happened on a quiet afternoon when I pulled up to the old Horsman Doll factory. The place has long been abandoned, but it still holds stories—ones I try to capture through my lens. The main gate was slightly ajar. Not wide open, but just enough for me to slip through with my gear. It was one of those rare opportunities. But across the street, half-hidden behind a rundown house, a group of men sat drinking and shouting over each other. The kind of scene you don't want to get caught up in—especially alone, carrying expensive camera equipment. I hesitated. I debated. I bailed. My gut told me to walk away, so I did. I figured I could find another way in. I circled the block, hoping for a back entrance or even a broken window low enough to climb through. I found one window that looked possible—bu...
Read more

Former Sonoco Paper Mill

Image
  Long before Amsterdam, New York, earned its title as the “Carpet City,” its story was written in water. The restless energy of the Chuctanunda Creek, a modest stream tumbling through the Mohawk Valley, was the city’s first engine. By the early 1800s, its currents were powering the fledgling mills, setting the stage for a transformation that would define not just a city, but an entire era of American industry. The real revolution, however, arrived on a man-made river. The opening of the Erie Canal in the mid-19th century, followed by the iron arteries of the railroad, was like a jolt of lightning. Suddenly, this small upstate city was plugged directly into the world. The goods crafted in its workshops, from linseed oil and simple brooms to intricate buttons and ironworks, could be shipped anywhere with astonishing speed and economy. Amsterdam was no longer just a town; it was becoming a hub. Yet, among its many trades, one industry rose to define its identity. The city’s name beca...
Read more

Former East New York 75th Precinct Station (153rd Precinct)

Image
Station House facing Liberty Avenue & Miller Avenue Historical Completed in 1891, the former Romanesque Revival style with Venetian and Noram Revival ornament structure was created by 'architect' George Ingram, who is cited as the designer of the building. Architect Emile M. Grewe is also credited with having a hand in the collaboration. George Ingram was an assistant engineer in the Department of City Works in 1886, who was not a trained architect by trade. The building accommodated about 80 patrolmen, cells, and a stable via a passageway from the main building. Back then, it was known as the 17th precinct (Originally the 153rd precinct).  Entrance to the horse stable. Opening in 1892, the first detainee was John Pocahontas Smith, who was arrested for public drunkenness. In the 1930s, it was renamed the 75th precinct. In 1973, the precinct moved to the newer 75th precinct holdings on Sutter Ave. It then became the home to People's Baptis...
Read more

The Human Stories of Rockville Mill: Inside an Abandoned Connecticut Textile Factory (Photos)

Image
    The climb to the old Dart Stone Mill wasn't for the faint of heart. My friend J and I huffed our way up that punishing incline, shirts clinging to our backs, calves screaming in protest. But we'd made this trek before, drawn back time and again to this crumbling monument perched high above Vernon, Connecticut. There's something about abandoned mills that gets under your skin, and this one had its hooks in us deep. When Albert Dart built this place back in 1868, he picked the most dramatic real estate in all of Rockville. The mill sits on a rock ledge at the second millseat below Snipsic Lake, clinging to the cliff face like it grew there naturally. And in a way, it may have. The lake fed water to nearly 39 mills as it descended through the valley, dropping ten inches in elevation along the way. That's a lot of industrial muscle powered by gravity alone. Dart built his mill for spinning silk and producing shoddy, a recycled wool material that was big business back th...
Read more

Bayside Fuel Oil Depot Corporation (Part 2)

Image
Before the Bayside Company was fully known as the Bayside Fuel Oil Corporation. It was transferred by Standard Oil, its previous owner, in the 1940s. Its primary use before that time was mainly for storage and refinery purposes. Later on, it became a wholesale distributor of heating oil. Founded by Charles Pratt, it was one of about fifty refineries operating in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. During the 19th century, Williamsburg was the center of oil refining along the East River & Newton Creek. Fun facts, "some of the largest industrial firms in the nation were started in this area (inland & along Newtown Creek), including Pfizer Pharmaceutical Corporation (1849); Brooklyn Flint Glass (later Corning Glassware ); and the Havemeyers and Elder Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg (later Amstar and then Domino ), once the largest establishment in the world." In the early 2000s, Bayside Oil was proposed to be demolished by a company called Clean Point En...
Read more