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Showing posts from May, 2017

Wilkinson Brothers Paper Mill: Shelton's Lost Pulp Mills

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Ghost Factories along Canal Street E and the Housatonic River Canal Street in Shelton, Connecticut, feels like a graveyard for American industry. Years ago, I walked down this very road to explore the Star Pin Company . Today, Star Pin is nothing but a cracked foundation and scattered rubble. But right next door, separated by a rusty gate, sits another forgotten giant. I arrived too late to see any leftover machinery or the previous tenant's last setups. Cleanup crews had already taken over the site. Grey duct tape and thick plastic sheeting sealed off the window frames and doorways. Abatement workers were busy removing asbestos from the ancient boiler pipes. Nature had already started claiming the site, too. Back in 2018, the local news reported that a section of the back building simply fell into the Housatonic River. Since then, the property has been used mostly for storage. Still, slipping inside was surprisingly easy. I came here on a mission. I wanted to find a hidden pi...
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Nutrix Quarters

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Entrance Foyer Where the holes keep on opening... I came upon Nutrix Quarters doing some backdating research inside the borough for other vacant structures. Finding the place so close to my home base I ventured out one cloudy day in hopes of seeing inside this structure. Arriving on site, I quickly scanned the fencing for an opening and to my surprise found the entrance by side glancing driving down the street. On a now-defunct blog, a previous explorer had gotten in using a supplied rope to enter the facility. On my trip, I needed no such extravagance. Administrative Room Waiting until traffic and the nearby pedestrians made their way down the block and away from sight. I snuck in and made my way inside. Upon entering, I came upon what looked like the welcoming entrance foyer. The black-detailed fireplace called to my symmetry fetish. After satisfying my lust, I made my way upstairs quietly. Downstairs was strewn with trash and clothes. Praying any bedbugs or oth...
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Location: 300 Skillman Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA
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Orbit Glum: The Abandoned Flavors

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The watery welcome mat to Orbit Glum When you explore a local drug denizen. I was torn between the name I was going to bestow on this post but chose the appropriately named "Orbit Glum" since "Orbit Gum" didn't quite have the same feel when I explored this local gem months ago. My friend J and I walked the long city block toward the property from our parking spot inside a grocery store. A massive chunk of land was left barren after a past demolition. MC Complex had stood there as a massive space. A huge complex was wiped away. Orbit Glum once produced flavors, aromatics, and fragrances. Reflections of the past To the left of the entrance Making our way to the end we turned right and made our way to the property when we came upon a homeless man 'cleaning up' the place as he sifted through debris blocking one of the entrances to the property. We quickly said a few hellos and made our way further to the back to cross over to the other ...
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Beth Hamedrash Hagadol: The Abandoned Synagogue of the Lower East Side

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A haven for the angry birds no more. Outside the entrance of the historic synagogue Beth Hamedrash as seen from within a New York Housing Authority playground. The back parking lot of the church. The cut fence can be seen on the left. It is with great sadness upon learning that the Saint Pigeon of Urbana   is no longer a part of this world. In a three-alarm fire, the church succumbed to a fiery blaze Sunday afternoon. Smoke from the blaze was reported to have been seen all the way in Brooklyn. It seemed Beth Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue was getting too "hot" per se as everyone soon started to learn about its location. It may come to others surprising that Manhattan of all places would have an abandoned spot within its locality. A secret well-kept by those who explored the synagogue early on before its location became well-known in the Lower East Side. Beth Hamedrash Hagadol was a 167-year-old church that was formerly known as Norfolk Street Baptist chu...
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Location: 60 Norfolk St, New York, NY 10002, USA
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Hidden Gems #1: Old American Flag Door

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Old New York vs New New York Where the hunt is all there is in this sport. I think I came across an image of this defunct store located in New York City either on Flickr, a stock image resource or a short film. I seem not to recall where I had first seen it. Finding it curious if this place still existed I did the knee deep research and found it right here in my own backyard. It was not until recently this week I was around the neighborhood I ventured to take a look. I found it just as I had seen it online. The old Venetian curtains were now updated and bottom skirt curtains removed from the front windows. It seemed nothing had changed regarding the facade and yearly maintenance on it. Surprisingly, no tenant had taken ahold of the storefront as of 2017. Google images pegs earlier images from 2012 and as of yet no new bottom tenants. In fact, during my research, the occupant of the building and owner was actually born here and has been fighting to keep the property away from ...
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Fallout TV Series Filming Locations: A Complete Guide to Every NY & NJ Site

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A desolate sand swept Fallout Santa Monica Pier. Discover the captivating locales of Amazon Prime’s Fallout TV series as Lucy, Maximus, Moldaver, and the dreaded Ghoul vie for the Vault-Tec cold fusion relic. Filmed across various iconic spots in New York and New Jersey, the series brings the post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, California wasteland to life. Here’s a closer look at the real-life locations featured in the show. Let me know in the comments below how much you loved the show. Were you surprised by the New York-centric locations? Episode 1 (“The End”) In a gripping and unforgettable episode, we witness Lucy emerging from the subterranean depths of Vault 33 centuries ahead of schedule, driven by an urgent quest to rescue her father, Hank, the Overseer of Vault 33. This dramatic turn of events follows the brutal infiltration of Vault 32 by Moldaver’s raiders, who cunningly disguised themselves as the already deceased rioting inhabitants of the vault. The story's turmoil begins ...
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Pop Smoke Mural No. 3: Kings of Brooklyn Homage

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As the third anniversary of his untimely death let's appreciate the energy and unique art form Bashar Barakah Jackson aka Pop Smoke gave to the world. A solemn head bow and a moment of silence for the woo God.  I have been hunting for murals depicting drill rapper icon Pop Smoke all over Brooklyn. I came upon this mural while hunting for something else in the area. From the pictures, I knew I had to go see it in person, and boy did it not disappoint. From the images below you can see someone recently laid flowers and lit some candles to pay the woo homage to Canarsie Brooklyn’s fast-rising chart-topper. In addition, from the intense Internet interest in these beautiful murals of Pop Smoke, I knew I had to share them with my drill scene readers.  Each mural I have visited is uniquely different from the others and invokes different emotions and personal feelings when viewing them. You just have to see them, to appreciate them, not for the social media post but for the passion, l...
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Inside the Abandoned R&S Strauss Auto Service Center (Photos)

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  I was driving towards what used to be the Consumers Park Brewery when something caught my eye—the wooden gate doors of the old auto parts store were wide open. Someone had broken in. The building had been vacant for years, even as new construction surged all around it. Right next door, a fresh, modern structure had risen, but this place remained untouched—a relic of the past hollowed out and forgotten. I pulled over without hesitation. These moments don’t come often. A while back, another shuttered dealership had been left open for months, its entrance exposed. Graffiti artists had made their mark on the metal gates, turning the abandoned space into an urban canvas. I had thought about exploring it, but before I could, the gates were suddenly chained shut overnight. The opportunity was gone. Not this time. This time, I wasn’t letting the moment slip away. I stepped inside, finally getting a look at what had been hidden behind those rolled-down gates and green plywood barriers. An...
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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 chest as I slipped unnoticed into the church grounds. The once grand entrance now stood as...
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Inside the Abandoned National Silk Dyeing Co.: Paterson's Forgotten Textile Mill

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  The text message from my friend J was simple: a list of addresses in Newark and Paterson. An invitation. An urban treasure map with Xs marking forgotten places. I picked the one on Piercy Street. Pulling up, I saw the building wasn’t exactly hiding. It was a behemoth of brick and colorful lettered graffiti, a whole city block of decay. A door gaped open next to an old loading dock, but the scene gave me pause. Mounds of illegally dumped trash lay along the floor of the loading bay. This part of Paterson has a tough reputation, and the open doors felt less like an invitation and more like a dare. I took a deep breath and stepped inside. The air was thick with the smell of dust and damp. I found myself in a vast, open space littered with plastic containers and skeletal metal shelving. I moved deeper, drawn toward the old boiler house section. Before I reached it, I walked into a room that stopped me cold. Everything was stained a deep, blood red. A fine crimson powder coated the fl...
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