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Showing posts from February, 2024

From Excelsior Needle Co. to Timken: The Rise and Fall of Torrington's Standard Plant

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The Standard Plant and a Century of Making Things It was a hot May week in 2023, and J and I were already sweating through our shirts before we even made it to the entrance. We turned into the driveway off North Elm Street and passed a large Caterpillar backhoe holding up the red, white, and blue at the top of the arm. Patriotic machinery. Only in Connecticut. We moved toward the back of the complex with our eyes open, scanning for any sign of people or activity. We found cameras instead. A few of them, well-positioned across one of the buildings and up on an electrical pole, covering angles that made our original entry plan useless. We backed off, found a Plan B, and stepped into a dark room washed in tinted green light, then took the stairs down to ground level. The former Standard Plant sits along North Elm Street at a sunken grade, one story, with another building rising over the roadway to the far right when you're standing in front of it from North Street. It's the kind o...
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Brooklyn's Heartbeat: The Restoration of The Notorious B.I.G. Baby Mural

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  In a recent turn of events that has captured both my attention and that of our local community, The Emerald Dispensary , a beacon of progressive business being minority-owned and a bearer of a social equity license, made headlines for an action that struck a chord with art and hip-hop aficionados alike. This dispensary found itself at the center of controversy for whitewashing a mural of the Notorious B.I.G. as a baby, a piece of street art that, until its sudden disappearance, had been an unspoken homage to one of hip-hop's greatest icons, Christopher Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls. My discovery of the mural, in March 2022, was serendipitous. At the time, its significance eluded me; what captured my eye was not the identity of the infant with the distinctive afro depicted, but rather the artistic audacity and the white backdrop against which it was set. It was only upon the news breaking on Thursday, February 15, 2024, that the true identity of the baby in the mural—and ...
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Location: 85 Suydam St, Brooklyn, NY 11221, USA
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WLIS Radio Station 1420 AM

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Also in Old Saybrook: Custom Marine Inc — the precision factory that built components for submarines before its demolition. Stepping into the forgotten corridors of an abandoned radio station, I found myself enveloped in a world frozen in time. In my decade-long journey through the remnants of the Northeast's past, this was a first - exploring a place once alive with the sounds of music and conversation, now silent and still. As J and I approached the lifeless structure of WLIS Radio 1420, a sense of anticipation filled the air. We scouted for entry points, initially considering a second-floor window, but the buzz of passing vehicles street-side steered us elsewhere. Eventually, we discovered a more secluded entry at the rear - a window that ushered us into the station's gloomy basement. From there, we ascended, drawn by the allure of what lay above. The upper floors were a treasure trove, a snapshot of an era long passed. Rooms were scattered with relics of radio and te...
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Location: Old Saybrook, CT, USA
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The Tale of a Hidden Mural and the Legacy of Rap Icons

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  In the heart of urban storytelling, murals stand as silent yet eloquent tributes to legends who've shaped our culture. Nestled in the bustling streets of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a masterpiece once vividly captured the essence of four American rap icons - Tupac Shakur, Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle, and the Notorious B.I.G. Each, a comet in the vast sky of music, their lives brutally snuffed out, leaving behind a legacy as enduring as the art that commemorates them. The Notorious B.I.G., born in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, met a tragic end in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997, aged merely 24. Tupac Shakur, another prodigy from East Harlem, was killed in Las Vegas over 28 years ago at 25. Pop Smoke, a young star from Canarsie, Brooklyn, had his life cut short at 20 during a robbery in Los Angeles in 2020. Nipsey Hussle, aged 33, was shot in the parking lot of his store, The Marathon Clothing, in LA, in 2019. This mural, titled "East Coast West Coast Legends," was a visual sympho...
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Location: 507 85th St, Brooklyn, NY 11209, USA
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Inside the Abandoned Albany Central Warehouse: A Forgotten NY Industrial Giant (Photos)

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In the heart of Albany, nestled amidst the echoes of its bustling past, lies an abandoned warehouse, a treasure trove of stories untold until now. This isn't just any derelict structure; it's the cornerstone of my urban exploration journey, the first of many, but forever the one that initiated me into the world of forgotten spaces. Let's call it the ultimate introduction, the genesis of a passion that has since defined my adventures. Our story begins on a crisp, cold morning that promises adventure. I vividly remember the excitement bubbling up as I set off to pick up my companion, referred to here as "A," from Queens. The journey from the familiar streets of our neighborhood to the unknown mysteries of Albany stretched over three hours, a pilgrimage to our very own urban Mecca. We arrived ahead of schedule, anticipation building as we waited in the chilling embrace of dawn, our breaths visible in the air, our spirits undeterred. Our early morning venture led us t...
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Location: 143 Montgomery St, Albany, NY 12207, USA
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Ball & Socket Manufacturing Co. | From Civil War Buttons to an Arts Complex

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This one stings a little. Not every location hands you a story worth telling and then slams the door before you can photograph it, but the Ball & Socket factory had other plans for J and me that day. The cold was the first thing I remember. A sharp Connecticut chill that had absolutely no interest in our ambitions. We worked our way into the inner courtyard, feeling reasonably optimistic, and then hit a wall literally. Locked doors on every side. No entry points that weren't either sealed or watched. The only building we managed to get inside looked less like a historic factory and more like a very long parking garage that had given up on itself. Even the boiler house was off the table. We circled, debated, and eventually made the call that every explorer has to make when a site is still secured and possibly still monitored: we walked. Some days you document. Some days the building wins. We never went back, and before we got a second crack at it, word came down that the complex...
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From Excelsior Needle Co. to Timken: The Rise and Fall of Torrington's Standard Plant

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The Standard Plant and a Century of Making Things It was a hot May week in 2023, and J and I were already sweating through our shirts before we even made it to the entrance. We turned into the driveway off North Elm Street and passed a large Caterpillar backhoe holding up the red, white, and blue at the top of the arm. Patriotic machinery. Only in Connecticut. We moved toward the back of the complex with our eyes open, scanning for any sign of people or activity. We found cameras instead. A few of them, well-positioned across one of the buildings and up on an electrical pole, covering angles that made our original entry plan useless. We backed off, found a Plan B, and stepped into a dark room washed in tinted green light, then took the stairs down to ground level. The former Standard Plant sits along North Elm Street at a sunken grade, one story, with another building rising over the roadway to the far right when you're standing in front of it from North Street. It's the kind o...
Read more

Inside the Abandoned Horsman Doll Factory in Trenton

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  You’ve got to move when the chance is right. That’s something I keep telling myself—but just as often, I forget it. Or ignore it. And then I end up learning the same lesson all over again. It happened on a quiet afternoon when I pulled up to the old Horsman Doll factory. The place has long been abandoned, but it still holds stories—ones I try to capture through my lens. The main gate was slightly ajar. Not wide open, but just enough for me to slip through with my gear. It was one of those rare opportunities. But across the street, half-hidden behind a rundown house, a group of men sat drinking and shouting over each other. The kind of scene you don't want to get caught up in—especially alone, carrying expensive camera equipment. I hesitated. I debated. I bailed. My gut told me to walk away, so I did. I figured I could find another way in. I circled the block, hoping for a back entrance or even a broken window low enough to climb through. I found one window that looked possible—bu...
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Diner Dreams and Declines: The Kullman Dining Car Company

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  While exploring the area for a different site, I stumbled upon this abandoned property, marked by a large pile of household refuse and debris from commercial demolitions, improperly discarded. As night began to fall, I hesitated to venture inside alone. This caution might have been fortuitous, for on a subsequent visit to Newark, New Jersey, I discovered a makeshift bed crafted from an oversized couch. It seemed someone might be using this as a makeshift sleeping area, unwittingly inhaling potentially lethal chemicals not meant for human respiration. The entry to this forsaken place was through a semi-open truck loading dock, obstructed by a concrete barrier, presumably to halt further looting of the structure or to deter unethical contractors from dumping their illegal waste under the veil of night. Once an industrial site, this property was marred by environmental pollutants such as metals, paint, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Ninety-one years ago, it was operational before fa...
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Exploring the Abandoned Aerosol Techniques Factory in Milford, CT (Photos)

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When I arrived at the former Aerosol Techniques factory, I was filled with a mix of anticipation and curiosity. Meeting a group of new friends for a day of urban exploration in Connecticut, we had a lineup of intriguing abandoned sites on our agenda. Our itinerary included the hauntingly beautiful Seaside Sanatorium, a former hospital, along with a few other potential spots that we were less certain about. We chose the factory as our starting point, mainly because it offered easy access and was conveniently situated next to a Lowe's hardware store. Walking along a well-trodden path, our group made a seamless transition onto the property. The sense of camaraderie was palpable as we embarked on our adventure with eager enthusiasm. The factory grounds, long deserted, were a canvas for countless graffiti artists. Every inch of the building was adorned with vibrant and eclectic street art, each piece telling its own story. This rich color and creativity set the perfect stage for our imp...
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