Virjune Manufacturing Co: Inside Waterbury's Vacant Factory

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J and I were already having a rough day. We'd just driven across town to check out an old industrial site he hadn't visited in a while, only to find it erased. Nothing left but a slab of concrete and chain-link fence. So we took a detour. Sometimes you salvage a disappointing afternoon with a backup plan, even if you're just ticking a box. The former Virjune plant hides in plain sight off Thomaston Avenue. If you drive past in summer, you'll miss it completely. Trees and shrubs swallow the building whole, nature reclaiming what industry left behind. Come winter, though, when the branches go bare and the world turns gray, the red brick skeleton reveals itself. Even then, you have to know where to look. I pulled up old Sanborn maps to trace the building's history. The earliest tenant was an auto body shop in 1922. By February 1950, something bigger had moved in. The map labels it simply "Stamping Wks." No company name. No flourish. Just function. That namele...
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25-31 Bartlett Building (2017)










Behind the Building




It seems like forever since I last posted here. 

2020 was one for the history books worldwide where it seems almost every country and every continent went into quarantine and lockdown with no one going anywhere and everything on pause. I did not take advantage of the opportunity to go out and explore so here I am digging through my archives to see what I can find to let the world see what was once here and now that is gone.

Found this old and vacant building scouring Brooklyn on Google Maps. Upon arrival in 2017, I found access to be doable but not worth the entry since the building was mostly boarded and fenced for impending demolition. Not worth the trouble in broad daylight and with a vigilant and suspicious community in the surrounding area not worth the time. The only doable and easy part of this spot was exterior shooting. So here you go. 


Currently, this entire street is being bought out and sold for new apartments in this densely packed area. 


Status: Demolished and currently a fully active apartment building.



Location: 31 Bartlett St, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA

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