Industrial

Chaote’s Lair

The former General/Veteran Foods factory is probably the place with the most dramatic, fastest decay I've ever seen. Through a combination of fire, water, vandals, mold and looting, it has gone from 'active' (occupied as a residence and studio by an eccentric art professor) as recently as 2009, to squatted in 2010, to abandoned in 2011, to thoroughly trashed in 2012. This is particularly shameful considering how much was left behind here, by the artist and the unknown past occupants; there was an entire library with a few thousand books, a collection of magazines and photo albums, furniture, toys, computer…

Continue ReadingChaote’s Lair

When Life Gives You Columns

...you make colonnade? Or not? At least I had an unexpected opportunity to explore with Ian one more time. Although, more realistically, it turned into a chance to stand on the sidelines while he explored. His goal was one that I shared interest in for sure, but probably not the right physique, or state of mind -- climbing the Buffalo grain elevators. While they originally had stairs, due to a rash of suicides in the early 70s right after they were abandoned, none of these stairwells are complete, with the stairs up to 30 feet or so cut out, leaving…

Continue ReadingWhen Life Gives You Columns

Paper Trail

From the turn of the last century, the economy of New York's North Country has been based on three industries: mining, tourism, and paper. The trees of the vast Adirondack forests, and power from the fast-flowing rivers, were perfect for giant paper mills to develop, to the point that most paper in the United States in 1900 was made in New York and Maine. Rising demand and falling supplies of trees led to Canada taking over this position by the 1970s, then a precipitous drop in demand during the Information Age and into the present day led to the closure…

Continue ReadingPaper Trail

Disappointment Island

After Benson Mines, this one was something of an impromptu explore halfway through a trip. We missed the exit onto 3A and took an unplanned detour into Carthage, when what to our wondering eyes should appear but a disembodied smokestack looking for its factory We chased it through the village, and finally figured out it was on an island, which would take some searching for. The island itself ended up being completely overgrown in eight-foot tall grass, and filled with a minefield of old foundations. Adding to our woes it just happened to also be 94 degrees with the sun…

Continue ReadingDisappointment Island

Going Nowhere Fast

Wednesday, May 23. It was the tenth day of Laura living with me, and things weren't getting any better, crying and fighting all the time, sitting around with nothing to do but watch old episodes of Red Green, or on a particularly lucky day, some obscure French film from the library. I rather enjoyed these things when I could still have another life. There were times where I was happy around her, while there was still a place to hide, but that was getting closer and closer to impossible, sharing a studio apartment downtown, never being able to get more…

Continue ReadingGoing Nowhere Fast