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Showing posts with the label Hidden Gems

Meriden-Wallingford Hospital

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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...
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The Artistic Tide: Vewer's Octopus Graffiti Masterpiece

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Navigating my way to this clandestine location was far from a walk in the park. Each step over the jagged rocks, glistening with a sheen of dewy moss, felt like a gamble. One misstep and the unforgiving coastline would gladly introduce me to its myriad sharp-edged contours. These rocks, slick with remnants of past high tides, held a sense of deja vu for me. A fleeting memory tingled at the back of my mind: I'd treaded this same treacherous path once before, making my way to an abandoned fuel oil depot lurking just beyond the fence. It was an Instagram reel that had first hinted at the existence of this masterpiece, echoing with the whispers of the sea. From a distance, the artwork stands as a beacon, a vibrant testament to the intelligence lurking beneath the waves. On the cusp of a grime-streaked shoreline, amidst the urban sprawl, stands the luminous graffiti by the celebrated urban maestro, Vewer. Bold, block letters spelling out "VEW" are splashed across the canvas in...
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Factory H Boiler House Demolition (International Silver Company)

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All these years I never thought Factory H's former power plant and boiler house   would still be standing. Well, unfortunately, the sweeping and cleaning up of blighted properties around Connecticut towns and cities by Governor Ned Lamont are torpedoing ahead with gusto. Underground fuel storage pit. Vacant medical facility across the brook. I remember quite fondly taking my first baby steps in exploring uncharted Connecticut territory as a New York native. Researching and looking up depressed economic cities and towns, taking a deep dive around bodies of water, rivers, and brooks, and finding locations like no tomorrow. As I saw one after another, I realized the locale of Meriden was chock-full. Those beginning days were filled with anxiety and wondering what stuff I would find in these abandoned buildings across the state.  The boiler house is to the left with a smokestack very prominent in this undated aerial. Factory H is in the foreground. I scoped out the property over...
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Hidden Gems #4: The $1.9 Million Shack

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Drove by this unsuspecting gem traveling home. Immediately got out and snapped away. Come to find out this piece of property was built all the way back in 1899 (119 years old). You can't see from the street but there is a house located behind this small building. Surprisingly, with all the huge money pouring into this neighborhood, the current owners have not sold out with the rising New York City real estate prices. This property currently has an estimated land value of $1.9 million. The house on the property is still inhabited according to sources who have looked into the property. I guess the current landowners are just sitting on it for now to maximize the most land value they can get in this increasingly hot real estate market. Quite a jarring sight in a hip Brooklyn neighborhood. July 4, 2018
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Home Street Presbyterian Church

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I attempted two times to infiltrate this little church at a three-way intersection and failed miserably. On the third attempt one early cold morning, I found workmen going through the front door with toolboxes and scaffolding past the doorway peeking back at me. According to the developers' plans, common area furniture will come from ceiling beams and the facade schist will have a future in the backyard garden once the senior housing development is completed. The Home Street Presbyterian Church was abandoned in 2009 when funds for boiler repairs were lacking after a furnace fire. The congregation disbanded after internal feuds between the two groups led to dysfunctional maintenance and upkeep. The assembly was finally dissolved in 2011. The church has stood since 1910 when the Foxhurst section of this neighborhood was more suburban. Around this period, the frame houses began to shift into an urban sprawl compromising Italian Catholics and Eastern European...
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Location: 1017 Home St, Bronx, NY 10459, USA
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Hidden Gems #3: The Broken Four Stories

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This 6,684 sf building sits mired in abandonment along a historical street named after a civil rights leader. The current property is owned by a church where to my disgust actually held meetings here before holding meetings elsewhere at other members home. The property has had numerous complaints dating back to 2007 of people freely entering and leaving the building. Perhaps by chance, the caller mistook the church members themselves as squatters or squatters truly were coming and going. In 2014, the building and the adjacent lot were contracted for sale before last year being quiet titled by the owners of the church (other family members) against a family member of the deceased pastor who had no authorization to sell the parcel to a third party. Apparently, she had a disagreement with other family members in the management of the church properties. The building does sit in an up and coming gentrifying area. Now, it sits still vacant with no tenants or reveren...
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Hidden Gems #2: The Graffiti Dog House

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Beware of the dog! This small two story family house sits quietly between two other structures as cars whiz by. The heavy and colorful graffiti and rotting wood standing out. This local monstrosity caught my eye on the way to another local gem. In the corner of my eye, I saw her bright colored paint and knew I had to pull over and give her the once over. Someone actually lives here based on the padlocked chain around the door. Who would live in such substandard conditions? A roof is a roof in the quicksand of gentrifying neighborhoods and sky-high rents. This house goes way back past 2007 as being boarded up. It wasn't until 2013 it received its base color of yellow and blue before receiving its graffiti marks sometime around September 2013 and September 2014. The house on the left was also vacant before being renovated. Still continuing this series and feeling out where its headed in the future. So far I like the juxtapose of the old standing house mixed in with oc...
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Hidden Gems #1: Old American Flag Door

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Old New York vs New New York Where the hunt is all there is in this sport. I think I came across an image of this defunct store located in New York City either on Flickr, a stock image resource or a short film. I seem not to recall where I had first seen it. Finding it curious if this place still existed I did the knee deep research and found it right here in my own backyard. It was not until recently this week I was around the neighborhood I ventured to take a look. I found it just as I had seen it online. The old Venetian curtains were now updated and bottom skirt curtains removed from the front windows. It seemed nothing had changed regarding the facade and yearly maintenance on it. Surprisingly, no tenant had taken ahold of the storefront as of 2017. Google images pegs earlier images from 2012 and as of yet no new bottom tenants. In fact, during my research, the occupant of the building and owner was actually born here and has been fighting to keep the property away from ...
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Connecticut Telephone and Electrical Company

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  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,...
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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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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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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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John A. Roebling's Sons Company Upper Works

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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...
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