Abandoned Places

Lifta village

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:15:50 GMT

Lifta (Arabic: لفتا‎; Hebrew: מי נפתוח‎ Mei Niftoach, lit. spring of the corridor) was an Arab village on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The population fled during the Arab-Jewish hostilities of 1947/48. The village, which is mainly intact, is located on a hillside between the western entrance to Jerusalem and the Romema neighbourhood. In 2012, plans to rebuild the village as an upscale neighborhood were rejected by the Jerusalem District Court.

The site has been populated since ancient times; Nephtoah (Hebrew: נפתח) is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a border between the Israelite tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It was the northernmost demarcation point of the territory of the Tribe of Judah.[4][5] The Romans and Byzantines called it Nephtho, and the Crusaders referred to it as Clepsta.

photographs made in 2000-2012.

Jakub Oude was a 8 years boy when he fled the village

(c)komissaroff

Fort Warren

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:45:51 GMT

Hi All. I don't *think* I've posted these before but if I have you have my apologies. These were taken on my first trip to Fort Warren on Georges Island off the coast of Boston. It has since become an annual trip for me. As per community rules, if you repost these anywhere please credit me. Thanks and enjoy!

Russia, Moscow, Tverskaya str.

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:09:08 GMT

Abandoned farmhouses.

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:46:59 GMT

I'm back with another round of farmhouses from rural Saskatchewan, Canada.
My last post featuring houses in the same area was around Christmas, check it out here.

1. I was at this one at Christmas but it was locked up pretty well. This time I climbed in through the window.

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14. This one was pretty well gutted and I didn't feel very safe in the bottom level so I didn't go upstairs.

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19. Nothing to see inside this one but I loved it.

20.

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22. This could be my favorite house to date.

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25. I always love it when I find calendars or something inside to indicate when someone might have been there last.

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46. This one was pretty soggy.

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53. In the shed.

54.

55. Oldschool washing machine.

56. Couldn't access this one in the winter so I made sure to stop by.

57.

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60.

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65. LOVED this boat.

66. This one had some serious lean happening. I love these super old ones in a different way than the ones that were left in the 80's or 90's.

67.

68.

69. This one had siding that looked like brick. It wasn't actual brick!

70.

71. Peeking in through the window.

72.

73.

74.

75. I LOVED this oval window - I had never seen anything like this before. I bet it was very hip 100 years ago.

76.

77. Didn't go upstairs - this place was really falling apart or else I would have. I'm dying to know what quirky things were up there but it wasn't worth falling through the floor.

78. It also had bay windows. I was amazed.

79.

80.

That's all folks. Thanks for looking!

Rauceby Asylum Lincolnshire May 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:14:56 GMT

Visited with Oncewassparkle and to say this place is stripped bare is a bit of an understatement, all the floors ripped out and left like that never seen owt like it. Despite that i really enjoyed it and was really pleased when we found the lucifer effect bits, right a bit of history.
Rauceby Hospital, originally called Kesteven County Asylum, is a now-defunct mental institution in the parish of Quarrington, Lincolnshire. Building work was commenced in 1897, the facility was completed and opened in 1902. After changing hands and names several times the main hospital building was closed in 1998 and abandoned for several years. From 2004 parts of the site underwent redevelopment to convert it into private housing.
On with a few pics....

Abandoned research institute

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:51:29 GMT

In today's report will focus on the same research institute in the Soviet era, is the leading in the industry. A lot of high-tech development, design a machine of professional scientists. Alas, it's all in the past, and since the beginning of the 2000s, the institute's activities began to decline. This is particularly noticeable was the year 2010. First, most of the rooms were rented, then did the territory became actively communicate and be built. The report will describe the main building of the institute are some plus lab and a bomb shelter.

So, in the report, in order: photos of the main building, laboratory building of the old pictures of the experimental laboratory and
bomb shelter. Some time ago we saw around the main building SRI began gradually to put a fence - the first sign that soon there will be ruins and excavation. Soon, by happy coincidence, we got inside, though it was night, and the camera down was not, so the photos were not normal. Soon we came back and made a photo shoot. This huge building was so much rent to find something concerning the activities of SRI was not easy. Particularly impressed with the huge indoor auditorium, library and some of the laboratory. But more on the photographs.

1. We go into the building through the former dining room. She worked until December, but now she has a terrible state, so I go to the back stairs, go up to the 4th floor. There is a room where you saved the little drawings, file cabinet GOST-s and a small library.

2. We go down the floor. Basically there are empty rooms with office waste. But here in the box, notice the helmet with a proud inscription "USSR" and a telephone.

3. We noticed a small door in the center of the floor. We go, it is little room projectionist. We looked out the window and saw the auditorium. (!) Frankly, I thought he was too empty or littered. However, he was in perfect condition. Without a tripod in the dark room is difficult to remove, so the only way. Immediately wanted to get down on the floor below, and get into the hall.

4. Another photo from the card file GOST s.

5. Go to the main staircase. It is decorated with beautiful balusters, but alas, all the metal and pulled out all the windows, everywhere all filled up, special beauty is not felt.

6. We approach the hall, and see that he nailed nails. Tugged, pulled nails, no way. Then another idea came to the door someone has brought to us. Pulled the door itself - it opened. Ingeniously) fall into the assembly hall.

7. On the box, dumped the old models of excavators and special machines previously had several large, but then they broke up and thrown here.
Claw as it symbolizes what's going on now with the Research Institute ...

8. Approaching closer to the stage, spotlights and kept lighting equipment. Behind the screen scene is nothing - as earlier building was demolished to this level ...

9. Immediately apologize for such a large number of photos of the hall, it was too he liked me) Then we decided just to paint with light

10. But not a single room are one - go on. Everywhere broken and whole printers, scanners, phones, organizers, pens and other office crap. Sometimes come across books directories.

11. It would then be to describe how we were nearly caught in the hall of some hooligans, but they decided that the door is closed and off of the tool, and we are escaped. So quickly go to the stairs and go down to the basement. Here formerly housed a number of laboratories. Immediately attracted the attention of such a device in a box "Pandora".

12. Ventilation in labs

13. The device with the frame before last close.

14. Nearby is a storage room, which is littered with different stuff, but rather instruments, voltmeters and other such things.

15. Sorry for the crooked frame, but the devices have attracted attention.

16. And that's one of the voltmeters.

17. In the other rooms.

18. Now go partly old pictures, partly new. At once I am not offended those who saw them or remembers, but for the sake of completeness of the object to be just. Images from a nearby building design office before demolition.

19. Various literature there.

20. It was possible to detect and such.

21. In one room there were some posters, new but already useless.

22. Now I want to once again show pictures with the experimental laboratory, which was located in the basement of the main building. Then she was completely drunk in the way of that took everything and overwhelmed with trash. And it was so.

23. General view of the laboratory.

24. Across different instruments and meters ...

25.

26... Parts of chainsaws.

27. On one of the shelves there were such nice balance here.

28.

29.

30. Now show you pictures of bomb shelters. At one time we went there twice, but the second did not go very far failed because there settled Tajiks and builders, and we did not miss too much. Therefore, the pictures with the two-time fee. That's hermetic door.

31. Warehouse Civil defense - a self-contained breathing apparatus, parts for filters, the flag of the USSR and of themselves filters.

32. Showcase with samples of military devices of chemical reconnaissance and dosimeters.

33. Warehouse of hard hats, bags for gas-masks and dosimeters.

34. Certificates, issued by the Institute.

35. Showcase with samples of gas masks.

36. The second time, when they came in, the rooms were busy working, so very far go to have failed.

37. Photographs of posters, which the last time paid attention.

38. On one of the shelves - counter.

39. Some more posters.

40. Different drawings, schemes and projects, which later moved to the Assembly hall in the archive.

41.

42. But, alas, all was lost in oblivion. I think that in a short time and all of the main building, and the auditorium, and laboratories and asylum will not be, and will be the mountain of debris. Now all demolished, almost built a residential house.

To new reports!

Atlanta ruins.

Sun, 12 May 2013 17:11:28 GMT

Fascinating article, full of some amazing photos.

http://clatl.com/atlanta/urban-exploration-in-atlanta-abandoned-buildings/Content?oid=3409411

"Stalingrad" film backstage

Sat, 11 May 2013 23:55:00 GMT

In the summer of 2012 in the village of Sapernyi is where a movie based on the novel "Stalingrad" was filmed with a budget of $30 million. The shooting ended and the area was empty and opened to visitors for 500 rubles each, without climbing through the fighting positions, and passing directly through the gates. The set is built on the ruins of the Leningrad distillery. Soviet troops fighting for the defense of the city of Stalingrad began July 17, 1942. On February 2, 1943 the German units were stopped at Stalingrad.

Thanks hauptmann for translation.

1. The facility is often visited and the crowds of tourists roam freely around the court

2. Scenery for the film is made of plywood and foam.

3. And artificially aged and burned

4/5. The scenery allegedly cost around 120 million rubles

6. The built-up defenses for the cafe is not clear. Firing point? Hardly. The windows are laid sandbags? Why - glass-is already knocked out."
(The sandbags are not to protect the cafe, but to protect the troops behind them.)

7. The central area of the filming - the theater and shop

8. Moskvitch cars portray Opel Cadets

9. The Stalingrad Dram Theater. Gorky on film

And how it actually was

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15. One of the symbols of the defense of Stalingrad - "Children's dance" fountain

16.

The fountain in 1942:

17. All fake, foam and artificially aged

18/19. The ruins of the pharmacy and theater

20.

21. Panoramic views of the area

22.

23. The historic blunder. Correct spelling Glavprodukt Commissariat.

24. During the Battle of Stalingrad the theater building housed the Marine Brigade of the Volga Flotilla, which provided delivery of ammunition and food to the 62nd and 64th armies. During the fighting, the building was completely destroyed

25.

26.

27/28. The set designers were off. Such typefaces did not exist at that time

29. Inside the pavilion

30. "Marble" columns are made of plywood

31. Are there any places where there are such pictures?

32. Decorations give clear popular prints

33/34. Offset printed leaflets

35. The coloring of the shop floor

36. The fallen chandelier is made of a plastic pot

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45. ~~Opel Kadett~~ Moskvich 400

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49. This kind of reminded me very much of Hiroshima

50. The only building that was really blown up in the process of filming

51.

52. Chandelier

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56. Stalin did not really like himself

57. The ruins of the distillery

58.

59.

The movie premiere is to be held in Volgograd in October 2013. By visiting these sets (one) could not help think of the magnitude of the feat of our forefathers who defended our country. If they did not, then the whole of the Soviet Union would have looked like the filming set. Thank them for the victory!

Other reports:

[ Add me ]

Abandoned children's hospital

Fri, 10 May 2013 21:50:29 GMT

Today was a holiday here in Germany, so some friends and I explored an abandoned children's hospital here in Berlin. Here's what the internet has to say about it:

"This children's hospital in Berlin-Weißensee was opened in 1911, and closed 1992. It was the first communal childen's hospital in Prussia, and in its early years, until 1920, it had its own cow stables for producing high quality milk for babies in need of breast milk substitute, and also for "milk therapy" for older children.

Since 2005 the complex is privately owned, and an investor is/was supposedly going to build a center for cancer research there. However, the old hospital remains abandoned and is falling further apart each day."

Splendid China to be demolished (In Progress)

Fri, 10 May 2013 21:50:14 GMT

It'll be sad to see it go. Shame they can't salvage any of it. I'm not in Florida but if anyone can get photos that would be great. I have a friend there and I'll see if he can get any.

http://www.wogx.com/story/22200938/closed-attraction-splendid-china-to-be-demolished

You can see my visit from 2008 here http://abandonedplaces.livejournal.com/1856342.html

SPAMbot - Lauren Hill msg here

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:54:57 GMT

Alrighty folks, that was, interesting.

The message by:posted by: saydeey in abandonedplaces
FILE - This April 15, 2011 file photo shows singer Lauryn Hill performing during the 12th Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. - blah blah blah...

Had a Flash exe message embedded into it. Fortunately, it didn't work. Whether it was a Trojan attempt from a hacker or a naive attempt to be trendy, to the former OP "SayDeey" don't... I've already contacted the caretakers here to record the attempt.

To the folks in the community who immediately pointed out the post - thank you! this is once again proof positive that the members of this community work well together.

Resorts Reborn in Decay

Tue, 07 May 2013 02:16:41 GMT

Here's another look through the eyes of a photographer of the decaying Catskills resorts:

“Nature was reclaiming the spaces,” she said. “You would see an entire room filled with a carpet of moss. Then there was vandalism, people gutting the buildings for wiring and other metal, anything they could take. Then there were squatters and taggers. Then paintballers, who put their own marks on the places. I began to see that these hotels were taking on new life.”

Using a strategy of “rephotography” advanced by the photographer Mark Klett, who recreated iconic scenes of the American West, Ms. Scheinfeld started revisiting scenes from Catskills postcards and other photographs, then wandering wherever her eye took her. The results are portraits of destruction as well as rebirth, now numbering almost 100 photographs, which she hopes to publish as a book.

“I didn’t want to make the pictures all about decay,” she said. “I see beauty and growth in the pictures as well. The decay is linked to a cycle of regeneration. There’s something still there, even if people think it’s washed away.”

lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/resorts-reborn-in-decay/

Port Mulgrave Mine, United Kingdom

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:06:25 GMT

As the world moves away from the Industrial Age and deeper into the Information Age, the relics of our former industries can been seen aging and abandoned. Often, older industrial buildings and sites are so polluted with the materials once used or made there that the locations can’t be used for much else. Since they can’t be used, they simply sit and gather the layers of time that make them fascinating until they are demolished, repurposed, or completely forgotten about. These abandoned factories, mills and mines have served their useful lives and now stand silent.

Victoria Tunnel, Newcastle - August 2013

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:01:33 GMT

The Victoria Tunnel was built between 1839 and 1842 to transport wagons of coal from the now-demolished Spital Tongues colliery down to Ouseburn where it was loaded onto boats and transported along the River Tyne. With the closure of the colliery in 1860, the tunnel lay largely unused and abandoned until being refitted as a bomb shelter in WWII where blast walls, beds, benches and toilets were added as well as several entrances along it's length for the thousands who would huddle down it's 2 1/2 mile length during air raids.

As Newcastle grew, part of the tunnel was used for sewerage and the area around Central Motorway was bricked up.

Having been on a couple of the public tours of the lower half, kindly organised by the Ouseburn Trust, I have long been keen to explore the 'inaccessible' North-West end of the tunnel. After over a year of trying I am glad to have finally been able to explore this piece of local history. Thanks to CommunistCat and Pigeon for tip-offs both direct and indirect.

Now, on with the pictures. These are from two trips, both with CommunistCat but with TheStig joining us for the revisit where we brought some light-painting toys.

Dead Inside

Wed, 01 May 2013 06:52:11 GMT

Simply put - the exterior of this building is quite beautiful. A columned entrance, adorned in carved stonework, and crowned with a slightly depressed
looking cupola. It exhibits a presence that is quite impressive, even after having been left abandoned for several years. Unfortunately, this is all a
charade – its intriguing form is nothing more than a disturbed siren's song, heralded to entice photographers, urban explorers,
and other curiosity seekers into its toxic maw.

Our first visit to this location did not start out unlike many of our other excursions. Things tend to be a bit trickier in the winter months,
primarily due to the lack of coverage which the summer foliage provides. This is something we have grown accustomed to thought, and we made
our way inside without much of a hitch. That day we were also blessed to have the aid of a fellow adventurer (Vacant New Jersey),
who informed us while en-route that the place had come to suffer from some pretty bad water damage. This is typical of abandoned locations,
especially those with big flat roofs (like this one), so we assumed that we would simply have to watch our footing during our stay,
and being as it was below freezing the night prior, to keep an eye out for ice patches.

As soon as we got through the door and stepped into the chambers of gurgling putrid hell which were once hallways, it was painfully
apparent that we had underestimated the scope of the “water damage”. This was not an old hospital, this was a primordial stew awash
with old wheelchairs and hospital beds. Finding the lone dry(ish) area in the immediate length of hallway, we set to unpacking our
gear and assembling our equipment. It was then that our hearts sunk, as we came to discover that we had failed to pack the media cards for the
video equipment. All of them. In fact they were left an entire state away, and the closest store which would carry what we needed
may as well been there too. After having spent just five minutes in this hallway though, we all somewhat envied the memory cards.

In an attempt to make the most of the situation, we decided to document the location through photography on the current trip, and to
return in the near-future to focus on filming the video. The thought of a return trip did not sit well, as the place only became more damp,
pungent, and dark the further we ventured into it's decayed anatomy. This was not one of those abandoned locations that people hope
to one day revisit, or even think a photo of which would look good framed on the wall above the mantel. This is the kind of place that
wakes you up at 3am in a cold sweat, or calls you late at night and breaths heavily into the phone until you get all freaked out and hang up.
Somehow we lived through it though, and upon exiting all we wished for was to bask in the sunlight and fresh air. This was not to be
however, as a security truck making its rounds forced us to quickly retreat to our vehicles and depart the area before being noticed.
A heaviness hung in our chests for a few days after our trip. I don't mean that in some cliché emotional context either.
There was a real, physical, discomfort in our chests. We chalked this up to being an after effect of almost (and actually) rolling around
in black mold for a few hours. Between wheezes, we vowed that when we returned it would be with respirators.

The inevitable day finally came, and we once again found ourselves on our way to the old hospital. This time we were being dropped off on
the property by a good friend. In doing so, we could avoid leaving the Jeep in a nearby lot, and any suspicions from the local law enforcement which
said Jeep may arouse. At least we knew what to expect this time, and we brought along respirators... or at least we would have, had we not forgotten them
back in our car that was now some several township lines away. Whatever, we did it once without masks, we can do it again. Probably.

Stepping inside the gigantic cesspool of a building, our expectations were once again slapped across the face. Somehow we completely failed to recall
that there was a considerable storm of rain and slush the day prior. Yes, the place was gross and soupy on our first visit, but what was once a bog of
decayed ceiling tiles and exotic fungus had now become a stagnant wading pool - The floor of the lower level holding some 2-3 inches of water across
nearly the entirety of the building. The levels above were not much better. Nearly every surface has a wet paper mache feel to it, and the floors were akin
to oatmeal, if oatmeal were dark green and tried to steal your sneakers from off your feet as you walked. The walls had grown boils, which,
when popped, oozed a thick brown sap down the wall. In some rooms, a strange kind of dark fungal(?) buildup was individually lifting the
laminate flooring tiles into the air, some protruding over half a foot upward, upon black glutinous stalks. As we walked, occasionally portions of the
remaining drop-ceiling saw fit to finally let go from their mounts, falling to the floor with a soggy “blop” that would echo down the dank corridors.
Adding further to the already incredible atmosphere was the waft of what we can only assume was the odor of backing-up septic lines.
In short - Traversing the hallways that day was essentially like exploring a giant colon. Of a dead person. In the summer sun.

Again, we somehow survived the whole horrendous ordeal, and were able to make a clean escape. However, unlike the first trip, we did not come away unscathed.
While popping one of the many boils on the walls, I experienced my first nosebleed since the age of 8. Something I later learned to be a red-flag
for black mold exposure. More importantly, I inadvertently rubbed my eye while helping to compose a shot. This was a totally subconscious action,
and one I immediately knew I would regret after realizing I just rubbed some fifty different species of mold into my eyeball. Turns out I was right,
and a couple days later my eye developed what I thought was a stye. This stye was weird though, in that it failed to go away after a few days.
I'm not too big a fan of doctors, so I postponed visiting one for a month or so (or as long as it took everyone I knew to say “Man, you should really
see a doctor.”). When I eventually did he was pretty sure what I had going on was an infection of sorts caused by some foreign matter being all up in my
eyeball's grill. I didn't tell him about my adventures through the giant colon, but I did say that he was probably right, and that I often rub my eyes
“while out taking photos”. He wanted to sell me some snake oil remedy, and if that didn't work he suggested I schedule an appointment to have the thing
operated on. I wasn't keen on either, so I decided to just let my eye chill out and see how things go. After several months, the infection did indeed
go away on its own. Unfortunately, I am now left with post-traumatic tissue on the lower eyelid, which often causes my vision to fuzz over
(something that I have been dealing with for the entirety of my writing this story). It too will go away on its own, and in case anyone reading this
is concerned – no, it will not cause me any permanent vision damage. On a serious note, Christina and I are actually lucky to have walked away from
such a place as well off as we did. The kinds of molds and fungus found in places like this one can cause serious damage.
If you plan on visiting something like this place, please act more intelligently than we did.

Here's our video, which took two trips to actually capture.
Please watch it (and pretend to enjoy it), so that Christina's clogged chest, and my messed up eye were not in vain

As always, thank you for taking the time to read/view/watch.
~Rusty

Abandoned house in Queenstown, South Africa

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:31:48 GMT

I did some urban exploring while I was in South Africa at the beginning of the month when I came across a little house. I think there had been a fire there. We wanted to go inside but we weren't sure if people in neighboring houses would tell us off. So we didn't. It was sadly too risky. It's quite a dangerous place anyway so I just took photos of the outside but that was cool anyway.

A trip from last year

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:10:05 GMT

This abandoned estate was built in the 1920's. It was owned by a rich business man, and somehow was acquired by the local zoo. It is now empty, and extremely secure, but if you bush bash for about a kilometer you can find it hidden behind a Zoo parking lot.
Light was fading as this was about november, but the estate is still a neat place to visit.

Derelict dyeing factory - UK, March 2013

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:02:51 GMT

Roller skating centre, Launceston, Tasmania

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:02:24 GMT

I just posted this to my own LJ but thought it might be of interest to some here too (sans the rambling thoughts on the recent history of roller skating in Launceston).

Former Roller World skating centre, Merino St, Launceston.

As far as I know, the complex here opened in the late 1990s after the previous site was sold. It was operating here by 2001 at any rate, and it closed about 2005. An archived copy of their website was last updated November 24. Then in February 2005, City Mission was looking to buy the site to replace their Youngtown warehouse after it burnt down. The fire at this site was in 2009. That we can't remember this, even though it was just a few years ago, probably shows how roller skating has declined in popularity since the 1980s.

I assume the fire is why the buildings is so well closed up now. No useful broken windows or gaps in the timber to take photos through.

No useful gaps :)

We have nails and we're not afraid to use them.

Those windows towards the back there seem open onto a toilet or change room. Just a bit above eye level.

Around the back.

That's the, not very interesting at all, other side included for completeness.

Grist mill

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:39:40 GMT

Mill in Central Canada used to be the lifeblood of small settlements. They provided power for cutting lumber and grinding wheat. Many current towns and cities sprung up around streams or rivers that lent themselves to use for hydro power. Even today a significant portion of electricity is generated by hydro-electric turbines.

Not far from my home is this abandoned mill, in remarkable condition considering it is nearly 200 years old. I gained access via a tree leaning near a second story window. The mill is closed for good reason, it's floors are in rough shape, and likely to give way soon. Much of the original machinery remains, as the county has locked the building but lacks sufficient funds to convert it into a museum as planned.
Here are a few of the many pictures I took.

Cannery Ironworks

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:14:45 GMT

Cannery Ironworks is a small abandoned section at the end of the older of two sizable buildings originally in the business of manufacturing cans. In the early 1900s the cannery came to a fairly small village on the canal after buying out a smaller local cannery, and eventually came to be one of the village's largest employers, a company where men worked alongside their sons and fathers producing containers for beer, fruit juices and other foods. During the first World War the facility manufactured over one million ration cans for soldiers in Europe, and during the WWII they produced at least four times as many containers for ammo, signal flares, First Aid kits, explosives, and blood plasma.

In the 50s the company expanded, becoming the primary industry in the village and produced millions of cans each day. But by the 70s the corporate attitude began to take over, mechanization led to a decline in the number of workers, and finally a botched business deal at the end of the decade eventually spelled the end of the plant. A slow downward slide eventually led to the cannery's doom in the late 80s, and led to the division of their properties to various smaller businesses. However, the ironworks itself remained derelict and forgotten, a dusty monument to the fallen giant of a company.

On a more personal note, this was my first real industrial exploration. The amount of detail in a place like this is intense, and it was a surprise to see the building untouched by the hands of vandals or scrappers. Only the birds living at the heights of the structure seemed to witness the natural decay of this place.

More miscellaneous explorations

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:27:50 GMT

So far 2013 is treating me well. I've found a bunch of new locations and discovered previously unknown, interesting sections of some sites I thought I knew in-and-out. I also got my hands on a Sigma 8-16mm wide angle for my 60D... so awesome. I'm really pushing to improve my photography too... I definitely see a difference already.

While I'm not ready to post any shots of my latest new locations, I do have a bunch of new shots from some old locations.

First up, a revisit to Rochester's abandoned subway. I'd last visited about nine years ago with a bunch of friends from school, and suddenly I was exposed to something new: urban exploration. My return visit wasn't amazingly fruitful in terms of good shots, but it was nice to trek through the length of the tunnels once more.

I also checked out the old Incinerator Plant. As far as I can tell, it was important to an early stage of the process of extracting power from coal. Many of the peripheral buildings are now gone, but the main structure remains, decrepit and alone.

Of course, I also found myself revisiting a favorite haunt: the Iola Tuberculosis Sanitorium. I finally checked out buildings 7 and 8 and wasn't disappointed.

And lastly, a few from sites I didn't really get to explore much yet. One was a building with thousands of unpolished marble slabs stacked behind it along with a bunch of city buses missing their wheels and electronics, slowly sinking into the mud. Another was an old fire department training facility, oddly painted, missing all its stairways and spreading rust like blood on the walls.

This year I'm going to explore as much as I possibly can. I hope to be posting here much more frequently as a result. I hope you enjoy this set of miscellany, and all of what's to come this year.

Forgotten sanatorium in the Moscow region

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:54:13 GMT

The nature in the area of the river Istra near Moscow since ancient times, famous for its beauty and scenery. It is here that there were many farmsteads, and later built many major sanatoriums and boarding houses. Fresh air, thick and mixed forests, beautiful valleys of the rivers - a wonderful place for recreation, treatment and leisure. But with the advent of the 90-ies, not all belonging to the Moscow enterprises and organizations of sanatorium manage to stay and not go bankrupt. Many were closed, some preserved till the best times. Time passed, some have been completely destroyed, others were used for houses and new holiday homes. However, some somehow were able to be preserved almost in its original form.

In the autumn of 2012 I saw the photos of this unusual place, immediately wanted to go and see. But found not at once, and only 30 December, on the eve of the New Year, we with the girl went in the way. The situation was complicated by the fact that I was after a night shift and not very awake, but free time is given rarely, so that the - go) an Hour on the train, a short bus ride, and here we are almost on the spot. It was still dark, there was a beautiful dawn. Somewhere in the distance above the horizon appeared a bright pink streak of rising sun. And to the right, out of the darkness - showing buying village houses, with a bright burning Windows. Have not seen such beautiful landscapes. Decided to go through the forest, the area was very rugged. Up in the mountain, went out through the used path through the thick vegetation. Soon began to appear of the sanatorium. A small walk around, and found a way in. The object consists of a two corps, the United transition. The first - residential, poorly preserved, while the main striking factor is not the marauders, and the nature and mold. All the building and the things covered with whitewash, very damp, but still warmer than in the wind in the forest. The second building is dining room, movie club, library. Safety is very good, lots of interesting things and angles. Under the residential building is located quite a large bomb shelter " object of Civil defence, and under the film club is also a AP TH. Enough air place, really enjoyed it. Photographed for a long time, with a taste)

And now and photos.

1. Get into the housing with a dining room and a film club through the transition. The interesting fact is that direct the passage littered with old mattresses and blankets almost to the ceiling. Climb through a narrow hole and jump right on mattresses. Cool jumped with a girl there ^^. In the transition costs kiosk "ALLIANCE-PRESS", on the Windows hang the old curtains. Outside the window, the forest and nature.

2. Turn to the dining room. A large and spacious room. All the tables and chairs were scattered, all in their places, notice a chess-Board. The work schedule of the staff dining - room, waitresses, cleaners, etc.

3. The only thing that immediately catches the eye - it is a "wavy" parquet. Dampness has played its role. Go literally through the hilly floor, jumping from one hillock to another.

4. And here is the former kitchen. Such a lovely bathroom. Pleasant fact that there are no job hunters for metal, the metal is not removed.

5. Again the main hall, sympathetic to the Soviet electric samovar, like I have at home.

6. All the zeros.

8. Why is this wall is very badly damaged by time and damp. Finish literally falling apart, posters and look - down. Right hangs stand with the inscription "Bread is our wealth" and recipes of different dishes.

9. Go in the other room the kitchen. Here everything is as it should be - boilers, exhaust; tables; a meat grinder.

10. Well, where did without the posters with the rules.

11. Big chopper.

12. One more shot at the nice view.

13. Scales - right greetings from the past. However, in any small store and on the markets of these have so far.

14. Big palm tree - the former decoration of the dining - room is already ten years dried.

15. Going further, the next item - library. Here especially the smells musty and damp. Hundreds, even thousands of books left to the mercy of fate. Here a long stick is not necessary - room poorly ventilated. But the location is very photogenic.

16. The strings.

17. Miniature scores, but later, plastic.

18. In the next room did not understand what was going on, flaking plaster, paint peeling off, parquet goes in waves.

19. Let us look better to the piano "Red October". The keys are not cower almost at all.

20. What we have for the books? Basically, the war, the political, scientific and artistic. They can still be picked up, but mold-mildew-mold ( Some better condition, some worse.

21. In the right part of the library were sport apparatus, apparently there was a small rocking chair.

22. More books.

23. Electric piano, too, no luck.

24. Continue the excursion on the books. Notice one of the famous series "Classics and contemporaries".

25. Go to the Assembly hall, at the cinema. A great picture on the wall and inscription "trade Unions are a school of communism!". Around the walls, everywhere inscriptions some girl in love and the other young people. It is seen that here, sometimes there are small hangouts.

26. There is a way out.

27. On the stage there is an other Royal - "Estonia". The picture is not particularly out, but all the same spread. On the cover of the rolling certificate "the Worker of the USSR", behind the inscription on the stand - "Glory to the Great October!". All seemed well worth it since Soviet times.

28. And this old DJ controls.

29. Relevant in this context, and in general, in our time, a question.
"You have that our authorities don't like?"

30. Go ahead and get in the projection room. Here is surprisingly good preservation of all equipment and film projectors.

31. In the next room, find a lot of posters of movie of the 90-s. "A police officer from Beverly hills" (!!!)

32. Another shot from the projection room. Here rewound it and kept movies.

33. By the way, I forgot to say that in many areas all the walls, Windows and objects were covered with hoar-frost and fanciful patterns of frost. It is connected with the wrong temperature climate of buildings. But it looked very unusual and beautiful. For example, metal door of the safe.

35. Go now in residential housing. Standard model of Soviet-era building of five floors with elevators. In the rooms of the sanatorium is empty, a very strong dampness. All the furniture was brought up and thrown in the end of the floors.

36. I will not focus on the rooms, but a photograph of one all the same lay out. The door leading to the balcony, the walls are covered with hoar-frost, the floor is so simple, that there is an impression, that someone from under him. In other rooms - the picture is similar.

37. Now let's see what's in store for the guests in case of emergency. For example, a nuclear attack or chemical attack. Go down the stairs at minus the first floor. We are met by a rusty protective door. Go inside, in a bomb shelter.

38. Rooms with ventilation. They are designed in a very unusual and not seen before so organized ventilation.

39. Other rooms with ventilation. They are intended for purification from detrimental impurities of outdoor air and its supply to the premises of the object.

40. And here is the room for cower people - a minimum of amenities, of course, but all the same.

41. The door leading into the emergency hole of the ventilation shaft for the backup leave the object TH.

41. The door leading into the emergency hole of the ventilation shaft for the backup leave the object TH.

43. There is still steam rooms for cower people.

44. Again ventilation. But going to the exit.

45. Go out from the building, making the panoramic frame at the building of the dwelling building, not particularly remarkable. The filling of the club much more interesting =)

After that we waited for the road to the station, to Moscow and to the house) then there were another adventure, but about them some other time. In that day, once I got home, I lay down and's been knocked out of sleep for a few hours - night shift + the road was very much exhausted.

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P.P.S. Sorry for my English =)

Станция Датско-Шведско-Русского Телефонного Общества. Москва, Милютинский пер., д. 5

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:20:23 GMT

После слома старинного здания на этом участке в 1909 г., в сотрудничестве с компанией Ericsson было возведено кирпичное здание станции.
Для монтажа оборудования из Стокгольма выписали шведских мастеров и рабочих. Новая станция стала объектом пристального внимания москвичей задолго до ее ввода в эксплуатацию.
Люди часто приходили в Милютинский переулок, чтобы посмотреть, как идет строительство. Высотка с башней впечатляла своими размерами и красотой.
Удивляла горожан также и прокладка специального телефонного кабеля, располагавшегося глубоко под землей. Раньше ничего подобного не было, ведь до этого сигнал передавался по телеграфным проводам, что значительно снижало качество связи.

До этого времени самой передовой в техническом отношении считалась Стокгольмская телефонная станция, но Московская ее превзошла. Сооружение станции обошлось акционерному обществу в "круглую сумму" - 34 млн рублей. Емкость в 60 000 линий долгое время оставалась мировым рекордом. Это сооружение, самое высокое в Москве того времени (76 м), построено на основе железобетонного каркаса.

В центре симметричного фасада расположена красивая полукруглая арка, облицованная красным гранитом, в пятах которой размещены гротескные скульптурные изображения - веселая женская и нахмуренная мужская головы, разговаривающие по телефонному аппарату.

Отбор телефонисток был очень строгий, техника предъявляла особые требования к персоналу. На работу не принимали тех, чей рост не превышал 155 сантиметров, а размах рук был менее 154 сантиметров, поскольку они не могли дотянуться до гнезд коммутатора.

Не брали на работу и замужних: считалось, что большая занятость домом и детьми помешает им хорошо работать. Замужество разрешалось лишь старшим телефонисткам по особому дозволению начальства. Кроме того, без вызова начальницы к телефонисткам не могли подходить станционные монтеры, последним не разрешалось обедать вместе с барышнями в столовой, встречаться с ними на лестницах...

Жизнь ''телефонных барышень'' было нелегка. Принятые на станцию ученицы в течение первого месяца работы зарплату не получали. По окончании обучения они становились так называемыми 'кандидатками' и получали жалованье на треть меньшее, чем штатные работницы. В штат их переводили лишь по истечении года работы. Двухнедельный оплачиваемый отпуск телефонистке полагался только по прошествии двух лет, выходной - лишь один в месяц, продолжительность рабочего дня не нормировалась.

В самом начале боев 1917 г. станция была занята отрядом юнкеров отключивших телефоны большевистских ревкома и полков. Около станции была возведена баррикада из кабельных барабанов и ящиков, а вход завален мешками с мукой.

Большевики прекрасно понимали значение телефонной станции и вскоре под командованием Усиевича начали штурм. Взять станцию с первой попытки не удалось.
После трех дней атак и круглосуточного обстрела здание телефонной станции было взято.

Fever Hospital - Wellington, NZ

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 09:19:39 GMT

Before I really get into pictures etc, some history of the place:

I was privileged to go on a guided tour of the hospital today (I'll get to that soon), opened in 1919 and used to treat patients with infectious diseases. Mainly patients were treated for Tuberculosis, but the hospital was used to treat returning soldiers after WWI who came back with influenza (which killed over 700 people in the city after the war). The building is widely agreed to be haunted, but I haven't heard any reports of evil spirits in the place. I sure didn't get a bad vibe.

The hospital has been mostly abandoned up until now, with the exception of 1989-2001 when parts were used as rehearsal and performance spaces for a music school. Now, onto the reason for the tour... The Wellington SPCA have outgrown their current premises and work is about to start on renovating the interior to become the only facility of it's kind in the country. The hospital will be transformed into an animal shelter and veterinary hospital with a cafe and public spaces for hire. I am kind of in love with the idea of taking an old abandoned site and making it into something awesome. Even cooler is that a lot of the old fittings will stay, keeping the historic feel of the place intact.

Damage in the men's bathrooms

A corridor in the men's wing

The old men's bathrooms

Wards - there were several of them with glass windows that had been painted over. the idea was that nurses could look from one ward into the rest and address issues as they arose.

Part of a wing built in the 70s.

Fake blood on the walls - people filmed here and didn't clean up.

A room with a view... and a sink.

There wasn't always a gap here in this open-air walkway leading from hospital to the nurse's accomodation - the nurses would walk to work one way and back home the other way to prevent cross-contamination.

...And yeah, my dog came along.