Cayadutta Tanning Company: Inside Gloversville's Dead Tannery

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The Pink Flamingo on Harrison Street Whether it is a dead mill or tannery, a car will always be sitting in a discrete corner.  Gloversville, New York, earned its name for a reason. For decades, it was the undisputed glove capital of the world. But today, the massive tanneries, dressers, stitching factories, and dyers that built this city are quietly disappearing. One of the most fascinating casualties was the former Cayadutta Tanning Company Inc. Locals called it the Pink Flamingo. Before that, it was E.S. Parkhurst & Company, a place workers simply knew as the Hair Mill. Sitting at the southwest corner of Harrison Street and NY-30A, the property spanned two parcels. A private owner held one piece of the land, while the city owned the other. Visiting the abandoned site felt like stepping into a forgotten tannery that just needed a bit of TLC and elbow grease to restart operations sans a pocketed overhead roof. Just outside the main tanning building, a junked Mercedes sa...
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Abandoned NYC Train Substation







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 security guard wondering why am I entering the property. A look of bewilderment and confusion usually smooths things over but that is for another post if I ever access that particular substation.


















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