Our platform is the most extensive digital repository of the Northeast's historic, at-risk, and overlooked structures, infrastructure, New York City streets, and other locations.
Abandoned Church of Divine Flames
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
The main attraction 😍😍😍
A surprise I would never forget.
One cold morning, S and I headed across town to check out a church many Instagrammers have trodden upon when this church became known for its abandonment in the sprawling green lawns of this residential neighborhood. It seemed every day when the first image appeared of this church's unique stained glass windows everyone all of a sudden appeared within its walls within the next two weeks. Mind-boggling how one picture starts out online and all of a sudden everyone knew about it.
S and I parked the car and took a spin in front of the church only to realize that from the street level, you could see another feature of this church prominently displayed in full view (main photo above). It was the plastic/glass rods hanging from the ceiling. Finding no entrance from the front, we went around and made our way past the high chain link fence and entered the partitioned side of the walkway to the busted door lock. Making our way inside, I headed straight for the chandelier and clicked away happily until S shouted to come to take a look inside the main church hall.
👀
Inside was just the way it was even though months had passed since the last posting of this property. Everything was in unblemished condition except for bad graffiti in the balcony seating some immature scoundrel(s) decided to mark up. The red seats, in particular, show their age where many congregants sat for years and years of church service. Behind the pulpit stood the shimmering and brightly colored stained glass depicting the red-hot yellow flames smoldering bush from a green base. It was all there and more from the very first moment I saw it appear in my Instagram feed.
Center Aisle
Balcony
The Biblical Bush
On the side stood the piano forlornly waiting to be hammered into religious harmony. Behind stood a standalone church kitchen and backroom where I assumed the congregation gathered for light lunches and church dinners. Chairs and tables are piled high throughout. The only sound emanating from the room was water dripping down from somewhere. A tell-tale sign of an unmaintained roof. After clicking away with delight we headed upstairs to check out the rooms and find the way up to the balcony overflow seating. After finding it and shooting from above, we found more empty rooms, office storage, and a standalone room which must have been a church classroom due to the blackboard. Nothing of note besides the balcony existed upstairs. So we made our way down the basement level.
No sweet melodies
Center View
Front of Pulpit
Down in the basement, we found a pitch-black room large enough for a dancehall party of 100 people or more. If I remember correctly there was a disco ball or not. It has been a while since I visited this church. My memory was a bit fuzzy of what I explored down in the basement. Nothing of note and no tools to aid us in lighting the room, we made our way underneath the chandelier and clicked away at all angles until we decided our time was up and left.
Office Room
Bumping our fists heading to the car, another exploration completed in the books.
This place holds a special meaning for me. I’ve visited several times, determined to explore every corner and uncover its secrets. But no matter how hard I tried, I never quite managed to see it all. The main front building, the one closest to the road? Never got inside. The massive cooling building in the back with its giant fans and smaller outbuildings? Missed that, too. And then there was the tank farm—a cluster of 22 rusty tanks tucked away in the upper right corner of the property. For some reason, no one ever took pictures of those tanks, even though they sat quietly in the shadows. I only noticed them recently, flipping through my old research notes. That’s when it hit me: I’d never taken the path that led there, too hesitant to get close to the Trenton-Mercer Airport’s fence line. I wasn’t here to get in trouble. I was here for the peaceful, empty buildings, not to risk getting caught wandering near airport grounds. Still, being there felt like stepping back in time. Walking t...
Teutonia Hall stands as a testament to Yonkers’ vibrant cultural history, a beacon of community spirit since its inception. Erected in 1892 by the Yonkers Leider Kranz Society, a German-American organization founded in 1856, this historic venue was initially built as a music and literary hall. At $32,000—a considerable sum at the time—Teutonia Hall was more than just a building; it was a community hub, equipped with bowling alleys, a billiard room, committee rooms, a dining room, and a grand assembly hall. In the early 20th century, Yonkers, like much of the United States, was a mosaic of ethnically distinct neighborhoods. Immigrants from various backgrounds clustered together, fostering close-knit communities that mirrored their homelands. This clustering was not merely for comfort; it was a practical strategy for survival and success in a new country. Social clubs, brotherhoods, and houses of worship emerged as cornerstones of these communities, providing essential support and a sens...
On North 16th Street in Philadelphia, a quiet piece of industrial history looms—its story tied to changing times and unfulfilled promises. This building, steeped in nearly a century of commercial and industrial legacy, tells a tale of shifting economic tides and unrealized dreams for redevelopment. From my research, the building predates the 1942 land use maps, with its earliest recorded presence dating back to the 1920s. Over the decades, the structure served various roles. It housed a branch of the International Harvester Company, a manufacturer of tractors and motor trucks, and later split its space with a Sears Roebuck warehouse. Other businesses came and went, including Hess & Son, which produced non-corrosive tinning sticks branded as Tinol; The Bunting Company, known for its powder-coated metal furniture, and The Shore Company, a distributor of shipping trailers. Today, the building’s fate remains uncertain. Once, a vision was to transform the site int...
Six years ago, I embarked on an exploratory journey through the forgotten corridors of a place whose name was unknown to me then. Only recently, with a bit of help, I unraveled the mystery: this place, archived in my memory and on my hard drive, was the Freihofer Baking Company. This discovery rekindled a special connection in my heart, remembering my early days in urban exploration in Philadelphia. It was here that I first tasted the thrill of exploring abandoned buildings, a passion that soon had me crossing state lines in search of that exhilarating, novel feeling once more. The neighborhood surrounding the Freihofer Baking Company was a stark canvas of socio-economic hardship, a desolate space that spoke volumes of its forgotten glory. I remember vividly the day I ventured there. Agile and swift, I maneuvered over a wall of large rectangular stones – a barrier against scrappers seeking to plunder valuable metals. These stones were a gateway to the past, leading me to the nearest op...
Crisscrossing the tracks of the abandoned Long Island Railroad Penny Bridge Station, I found myself drawn to a towering relic of industrial might—a colossal metal structure that once belonged to Certified Concrete Industries of Queens. This behemoth, still standing tall over the rail line, piqued my curiosity and beckoned me closer. As I snapped photos, I scanned the perimeter for potential entry points, eager to explore the secrets of this imposing edifice. Unfortunately, I had no luck finding any entries in the well-maintained fence. The site is currently utilized for parking and storing concrete pumping trucks, though concrete mixing is no longer conducted on-site. Despite its diminished role, surprisingly, few have documented this site from within; most photographs are taken from the Newtown Creek waterway, offering a distant view of the rusting tower. It was a rare sight, even more so now that the tower has been demolished, a fact that escaped my notice until recently. The cu...
Comments
Post a Comment