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Showing posts from November, 2024

Gloversville Continental Mills

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After the Fire: What Remains of Gloversville Continental Mills A Field of Bricks The bricks were everywhere. Not stacked, not standing. Just scattered across the ground like something vast had simply let go. What used to be Mill No. 3 of the former Gloversville-Continental Mills now spread out before me like a field of rubble, stretching from Beaver Street all the way back to the Cayadutta Creek bank. Thousands of bricks, the same ones that had held this building upright through more than a century of American manufacturing history, lay in random heaps with nowhere left to go. In one corner, pressed against a sealed-off wall, sat what remained of steel beams, HVAC machinery, and other miscellaneous load-bearing beams and the remains of 40 historical knitting machines. The fire had taken everything soft about them. What was left were twisted red-brown skeletons of rust and charred metal, piled on top of each other like they had tried to hold on and failed. Standing there in the ...
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Inside the Abandoned Hendey Machine Company

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  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...
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2016-34 W. Lippincott St Philadelphia

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  The neighborhood felt like a forgotten patchwork of empty industrial buildings, each one silently decaying next to the other. Years ago, walking past the block near the old Freihofer Wholesale and Retail Bakery Complex , I noticed that the gate I'd once found shuttered was now slightly open—just enough to slip under and explore. I couldn’t resist. Inside, the first thing I saw stopped me in my tracks: graffiti by artists who had transformed this abandoned space into their gallery. The centerpiece was surreal and monstrous—a sprawling, gray figure with jagged yellow teeth, too many yellow eyes to count, two exposed red brains, and a long, blood-red tongue. It was a disturbing mix of body parts, like something conjured from a fever dream. This wasn’t a piece that could’ve been drawn sober; it had an intensity that felt born from wild imagination and maybe a little psychedelic inspiration. After taking in the scene, I moved farther inside. The rooms were filled with the usual debris...
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Location: 2016 W Lippincott St, Philadelphia, PA 19132, USA
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Former Bushwick Minck Brothers & Company

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Minck Brothers & Company began in Brooklyn with modest beginnings, incorporated with just $25,000 in capital split into $100 shares. Their business focused on soda, soda water equipment, and various other carbonated waters. Despite the straightforward mission, Minck quickly grew into a prominent name in Brooklyn’s beverage industry, especially in Bushwick, a neighborhood known for its breweries. They succeeded with consumer favorites like mineral waters, which were especially popular during Prohibition. But they also bottled porters, ales, and lagers, and even crafted a specialty celery and nerve tonic. Minck Brothers had ties with Consumers Park Brewery as well, selling their beer to meet local demand. A Minck Brothers newspaper ad.  But not all the company’s headlines were about drinks. Minck Brothers faced a few memorable lawsuits that grabbed public attention. In one such case, Mrs. Cathi Lang, a winemaker originally from Alsace, France, sued the company for $1,000. Mrs. L...
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Herrmann Aukam & Co A Legacy of Handkerchief Manufacturing

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Founded in 1906, Herrmann-Aukam & Co. emerged as a key player in the world of handkerchief manufacturing, setting up its base in New York with factories in places like Lebanon, PA, Belfast, Ireland, and South River, NJ. Their property in South River was a sizable, industrious hub: a sprawling 128,000 square feet across five interconnected brick buildings, with two and a half acres of open land. There was even a railroad shed served by the Raritan River Railroad, linking it to the Central Railroad of New Jersey and creating a critical route for distribution. Originally, Herrmann-Aukam had acquired their first mill in 1882, and soon after, they began producing handkerchiefs in full force. Their products ranged from plain and hemstitched white handkerchiefs to the distinctive blue and red bandannas that became favorites among workers and mechanics. The company invested heavily in state-of-the-art upgrades, including a new power plant and Swiss embroidery machines. These machines allow...
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The Lost Artworks & Graffiti of Bayside Oil Depot

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Within the imposing walls of the Bayside Fuel Depot , also known as the Bushwick Inlet Refinery, eclectic art pieces and vibrant graffiti adorned every available surface, creating a sensory overload that was both chaotic and mesmerizing. The cavernous oil tanks and sprawling rooms of the main building played host to a lethal dose of creativity, transforming the depot into an unlikely graffiti wonderland. I arrived intending to document the refinery’s industrial history but found myself captivated by the dizzying array of colorful art pieces that had claimed the depot as their canvas. Every inch of the immense white walls inside and out was covered in a smorgasbord of rainbow colors, shapes, lettering, and characters. Playful figures from Disney classics stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the abstract, the surreal, and the subversive, forming a visual tapestry that mirrored the diversity of the city itself. In my opinion, the Bayside Fuel Depot was on par with the legendary 5 Pointz graff...
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Location: 23 N 12th St, Brooklyn, NY 11249, USA
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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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Former Sonoco Paper Mill

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  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...
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Former East New York 75th Precinct Station (153rd Precinct)

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Station House facing Liberty Avenue & Miller Avenue Historical Completed in 1891, the former Romanesque Revival style with Venetian and Noram Revival ornament structure was created by 'architect' George Ingram, who is cited as the designer of the building. Architect Emile M. Grewe is also credited with having a hand in the collaboration. George Ingram was an assistant engineer in the Department of City Works in 1886, who was not a trained architect by trade. The building accommodated about 80 patrolmen, cells, and a stable via a passageway from the main building. Back then, it was known as the 17th precinct (Originally the 153rd precinct).  Entrance to the horse stable. Opening in 1892, the first detainee was John Pocahontas Smith, who was arrested for public drunkenness. In the 1930s, it was renamed the 75th precinct. In 1973, the precinct moved to the newer 75th precinct holdings on Sutter Ave. It then became the home to People's Baptis...
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The Human Stories of Rockville Mill: Inside an Abandoned Connecticut Textile Factory (Photos)

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    The climb to the old Dart Stone Mill wasn't for the faint of heart. My friend J and I huffed our way up that punishing incline, shirts clinging to our backs, calves screaming in protest. But we'd made this trek before, drawn back time and again to this crumbling monument perched high above Vernon, Connecticut. There's something about abandoned mills that gets under your skin, and this one had its hooks in us deep. When Albert Dart built this place back in 1868, he picked the most dramatic real estate in all of Rockville. The mill sits on a rock ledge at the second millseat below Snipsic Lake, clinging to the cliff face like it grew there naturally. And in a way, it may have. The lake fed water to nearly 39 mills as it descended through the valley, dropping ten inches in elevation along the way. That's a lot of industrial muscle powered by gravity alone. Dart built his mill for spinning silk and producing shoddy, a recycled wool material that was big business back th...
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Bayside Fuel Oil Depot Corporation (Part 2)

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Before the Bayside Company was fully known as the Bayside Fuel Oil Corporation. It was transferred by Standard Oil, its previous owner, in the 1940s. Its primary use before that time was mainly for storage and refinery purposes. Later on, it became a wholesale distributor of heating oil. Founded by Charles Pratt, it was one of about fifty refineries operating in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. During the 19th century, Williamsburg was the center of oil refining along the East River & Newton Creek. Fun facts, "some of the largest industrial firms in the nation were started in this area (inland & along Newtown Creek), including Pfizer Pharmaceutical Corporation (1849); Brooklyn Flint Glass (later Corning Glassware ); and the Havemeyers and Elder Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg (later Amstar and then Domino ), once the largest establishment in the world." In the early 2000s, Bayside Oil was proposed to be demolished by a company called Clean Point En...
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