Posts

Showing posts from April, 2024

Meriden-Wallingford Hospital

Image
The Hospital Nobody Bothered to Ruin In my world, attention is what kills a building. This one sat in the dark for thirty years, and nobody came. That may be the only reason it gets a decent ending. I drove past this place for years and never once wanted to go in. That sounds strange coming from me. Finding a way into empty buildings is what I do. But I knew this hospital by sight long before I knew anything about it, because it sits on the road I took to the old International Silver power plant , and every time I passed it I thought the same thing: not worth it. Boarded up. Dark. Picked over. Nothing in there for me. I want you to hold onto that, because it turns out to be the most important fact in this whole story. How A Hospital Dies Twice Hospitals are the trophy. Everybody in urban exploring knows it. There is something about them that pulls people in harder than a factory or a school ever will, and I understand why. You are walking through the rooms where people were...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Deborah Chapel in Hartford’s Frog Hollow

Image
  The venerable Deborah Chapel stands at the fringe of Hartford's Frog Hollow neighborhood, adjacent to a Jewish cemetery. This 137-year-old structure, with its distinctive red-brick facade cloaked in climbing vines, echoes the stories of a once-thriving Jewish community. Constructed in 1886, the chapel was initially managed by the Hartford Ladies’ Deborah Society, an auxiliary composed of Jewish women immigrants from Germany. These women found a community in Hartford and a sacred duty in maintaining their cultural and religious practices. The Deborah Chapel served a pivotal role as a mortuary where the deceased were prepared for burial per the Jewish ritual of Tahara. This solemn and respectful procedure involves washing and dressing the deceased, traditionally performed by women. This practice underscores the chapel's historical significance within the community, reflecting a deep reverence for the rites of passage. During the 1930s, Hartford's Jewish population reached i...
Post a Comment
Location: 153 Ward St, Hartford, CT 06106, USA
Read more

Newark's Kingsland Drum and Barrel

Image
  In the dwindling light of day, my first foray into an area earmarked for its industrial quietude was met with an unexpected hustle and bustle. Vehicles, in a steady stream, traversed back and forth along Station Road that, by all accounts, should have been deserted. It was a stark contrast to the preconceived desolation I had envisioned for such an industrial space. This initial encounter set the stage for what was to become a series of visits, each revealing more layers to the story of a place caught in the throes of transformation. My second attempt to delve deeper into this evolving landscape was thwarted by construction crews who had laid siege to the roadway. Mere meters from where vehicles once freely entered, now stood a barrier of progress, digging into the earth, reshaping the roadway. It seemed as though every attempt to connect with this place was met with another obstacle, pushing my curiosity further. By the time of my third visit, change had swept over the site with...
Post a Comment
Location: 20 Station Rd, Newark, NJ 07114, USA
Read more

Worcester Spinning & Finishing aka Chapel Textiles

Image
🧵 Worcester Spinning & Finishing Update — July 2026 Correction: A previous version of this article listed the mill's address as 48 Chapel Street. The correct address is 81 Chapel Street . The parcel at 48 Chapel Street is a residential property, not part of the historic mill complex. This error has been corrected in the article. 🗺️ I have added updated Sanborn Maps to this article, detailing the evolution of this industrial site over time. The maps reveal the transformation of the surrounding landscape, including the renaming of Leicester Street to Main Street, and the presence of a buried pond at the bottom of Main Street that has long since been filled in. Most significantly, the Sanborn Maps show that the Chapel Mill Manufacturing Company was actually two separate buildings — not a single structure — sharing one intricate and crucial waterway. This waterway snaked across the bottom of City Pond...
Post a Comment
Location: 81 Chapel St, Cherry Valley, MA 01611, USA
Read more

Popular posts from this blog

Connecticut Telephone and Electrical Company

Image
  Artist's view of plant in 1918, from the Hughes and Bailey bird's eye view. The former Connecticut Telephone and Electrical Company building in Meriden, Connecticut, is a place that feels like a snapshot from another time. It had been years since I last stepped foot inside, but on a warm day, my companion, J, and I ventured in again, slipping in quietly like field mice. The moment we entered, the familiar layout of an old mill greeted us—wide-open spaces punctuated by rows of sturdy wooden support beams stretching from one end to the other. As we climbed to the top floor, something unexpected caught our attention: piles of fabric strewn across the floor. It was an odd find, especially in a building like this, and it made us pause. For arsonists who haunt these forgotten places, it could have been a dream—kindling for flames in a structure largely made of wood. But, remarkably, this old mill had avoided the fate of so many others that succumbed to fire. What stood out, though,...
Read more

Former Sonoco Paper Mill

Image
  Long before Amsterdam, New York, earned its title as the “Carpet City,” its story was written in water. The restless energy of the Chuctanunda Creek, a modest stream tumbling through the Mohawk Valley, was the city’s first engine. By the early 1800s, its currents were powering the fledgling mills, setting the stage for a transformation that would define not just a city, but an entire era of American industry. The real revolution, however, arrived on a man-made river. The opening of the Erie Canal in the mid-19th century, followed by the iron arteries of the railroad, was like a jolt of lightning. Suddenly, this small upstate city was plugged directly into the world. The goods crafted in its workshops, from linseed oil and simple brooms to intricate buttons and ironworks, could be shipped anywhere with astonishing speed and economy. Amsterdam was no longer just a town; it was becoming a hub. Yet, among its many trades, one industry rose to define its identity. The city’s name beca...
Read more

Diner Dreams and Declines: The Kullman Dining Car Company

Image
  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...
Read more

Inside the Abandoned Horsman Doll Factory in Trenton

Image
  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...
Read more

John A. Roebling's Sons Company Upper Works

Image
Ghosts of the Wire Industry: Inside Trenton's Roebling Complex The first fence I found, I didn't jump. I had parked at the edge of the old industrial park and started walking the block, looking for a seam. That's the work. You circle the property, you read the edges, you find the spot where the chain link has been peeled back, or the post has gone loose. I found one almost immediately, a low fence, nothing to it. Then I noticed the man across the street watching me. So I kept moving, hands in my pockets, just a guy who'd taken a wrong turn. A few doors down, a commotion. Two people arguing in the middle of the street, loud enough that I slowed without meaning to. It ended the way those things usually end, with nothing settled. The man stepped back onto the sidewalk and then disappeared into the side of the building. Not through a door. Through a gap in the fence I couldn't see from where I stood. That told me two things. There was another way in. And I wasn...
Read more