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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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Abandoned Cotton Mill (Baltic Mills Complex)
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A rotten-out four-story mill.
In before the wrecking balls.
This mill surely did not need an interior demolition of its own because inside the wooden floors had already sagged and caved in from years of decay and neglect. The solid stone walls stay true to the craftsmanship and mortar the bricklayers hundreds of years ago laid down with expertise and solid workmanship.
Now the structure awaits the fateful day when the demolition crew rides in and delivers its final blow into forgotten history. The ground floor was mostly dark and decayed. A plethora of rotting wood littered the ground. The stairs leading to the first floor revealed there won't be any venturing upstairs. The flooring was completely rotten and caved in. From the steps of the staircase, you could look straight up and see the clouds in the sky. There was no way up without falling right back down to the ground floor.
Ground Floor
Interior
Boiler House Smokestacks
Venturing to an open driveway we located the mill's two smokestacks. The boiler house has seen better days. Inside the open space, we found three different car manufacturer brands forlornly sitting side by side. A Pontiac, a Chevrolet pickup, and an unknown truck. It is not unusual to find cars stowed in former mills like these throughout the eastern seaboard. I have found my share of cars in mills and former power plants. It's only recently I found three cars at one site. At most, I find one car and usually, it's either wrecked or as these cars here still contain most of their parts intact.
Chevrolet pickup
Pontiac Firebird?
Custom Graffiti License Plate
Interior of Chevy
Next, A and I ventured inside one of the smokestacks and I attempted to climb to the top. It was only until the 13th rung of the pigeon shit-encrusted ladder rungs that one bent backward under the weight of my foot and I immediately headed back down defeated. It would have been a great climb to sit atop a smokestack and take in the oncoming sunset in all its glory minus the mother pigeon watching me faithfully from the 2nd rung. A lone solitary egg sat against the cold inner ledge. I don't think I've seen someone climb a smokestack before in the never-ending exploration chase going on numerous social media platforms. It would have been a great notch on my risk-taking climbs since last year when I climbed a major bridge linking Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Boiler House
Collapsed room of boiler house
Driveway
P.S.
A close detailed look at cars inside the boiler house.
🧵 Did You Work at Baltic Mills?
Were you or a family member employed at the Baltic Mills Company before it closed in 1966? Did you grow up in the mill village—in the workers' houses across the river or the supervisors' row northeast of the mill? Do you have photos from inside the factory when the Shetucket River still powered the wheelpits beneath each wing, or memories of life in this Connecticut mill town? With the mill silent for nearly six decades, your firsthand accounts are the living record of this historic site.
Drop a comment below or contact me directly. Full credit given to all contributors.
🏭 More Connecticut Industrial History
From textile mills and paper factories to brass works and foundries — explore the industries that once powered Connecticut.
The top of a smokestack would have been a hell of a place to get stuck had the ladder collapsed beneath you. But like you said, the opportunity was absolutely worth giving a try. I'm assuming the other smokestack was in even worse condition or you would have tried to climb it too? I'm new to urban exploration so the most interesting thing I've climbed so far was a large water tank at a power plant. Goals! http://brandtwilliamsphotography.weebly.com/blog
We only climbed the second one on the right. I would have loved to get to the top without incident. But getting stuck on top of a smokestack wouldn't have been a good idea. I didn't even check the status of the first smokestack. Perhaps in the future another smokestack would be climbable. I also have climbed oil tanks too. So far not a water tank. I may in the next few weeks. Found two on one site! Hopeful!
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...
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...
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...
One warm day, J and I set off to explore an old mill he’d discovered some time ago. The place was hidden away and seemed ideal for the kind of photos we loved taking—rustic spaces with that raw, forgotten feel. We entered casually through the front, our cameras ready, aiming to capture as much as we could before moving on to the other buildings. About 20 minutes into our shoot, J’s voice broke the silence. “There’s a white truck out front.” He’d spotted it from the second-floor window. I joined him, snapping a few more pictures along the way, trying to stay calm. We figured maybe it was someone stopping by briefly. But just as I was getting my last shot in, I saw movement at the entrance. A man stepped inside, chatting on the phone. Alarmed, J and I ducked behind a wall, hearts racing. Before we knew it, three more people had joined him—a second man, a woman, and a small dog. We realized, with sinking dread, that it was the property owner, likely giving contractors a tour and get...
148" Trim Inverformer Paper Machine for Multi-Ply Recycled Boxboard ♻️ Former Fusion Paperboard Plant Series 🌿 Exploring the abandoned Fusion Paperboard recycling facility — from towering paper machinery and hydrapulpers to sludge ponds and the wastewater treatment plant that once supported sustainable recycled paperboard production. 🏭 Part 1 — First Exploration & Main Paper Machine ♻️ Part 2 — Hydrapulpers, Recycling & Sludge Systems 🌱 Part 3 — Wastewater Treatment Facility & Final Exploration 📦 Once producing 100% recycled coated paperboard, Fusion Paperboard recycled over 160,000 short tons of material annually before closing in 2014. I’ll never forget the day my friend J and I wandered onto that sprawling ...
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The top of a smokestack would have been a hell of a place to get stuck had the ladder collapsed beneath you. But like you said, the opportunity was absolutely worth giving a try. I'm assuming the other smokestack was in even worse condition or you would have tried to climb it too? I'm new to urban exploration so the most interesting thing I've climbed so far was a large water tank at a power plant. Goals!
ReplyDeletehttp://brandtwilliamsphotography.weebly.com/blog
We only climbed the second one on the right. I would have loved to get to the top without incident. But getting stuck on top of a smokestack wouldn't have been a good idea. I didn't even check the status of the first smokestack. Perhaps in the future another smokestack would be climbable. I also have climbed oil tanks too. So far not a water tank. I may in the next few weeks. Found two on one site! Hopeful!
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