Industrial

The Earth Ran Dry

Thirty-four years ago, Star Lake, New York, once a thriving Adirondack town with a population of a few thousand, a golf club, a drive-in movie theater, and everything else you'd expect in rural New England, collapsed. It had always been a company town, ever since the 1890s when the Sykes family controlled most of the logging in the then town of Clifton, and continuing through decades of stability between the paper mill at Newton Falls, and Benson Mines closer to the village, employing hundreds of union workers and quite literally building the town. Then in 1977 the mines closed, never…

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They All Fall Down

Another return trip, this time to the Adirondacks, once again, with UR UrbEx. As one might expect, the place looks almost exactly the same as it always did. I won't bore you with more overview photos of Frontier Town, since it's just what it was last year... I tried to focus more on details this year, as the place falls down there's less and less left to see though. Abandoned pianos are so much fun. Especially when there's no risk of getting caught and you can actually "play" them (which usually amounts to absolute noise, but still...) What's left of…

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Highway 61 Revisited

And so i go back to the Union Carbide/Tesla factory for the fourth time this year. I don't think I'll ever get sick of all these machines. Even after what turned into the fail explore of failness last weekend. First, a picture that isn't of machines... But really, this is why I'm here And this And this Although really this trip kind of sucked. I don't think these pictures were anywhere near as good as the spring... Then as soon as I got home, I realized just how much fail there was. I was locked out -- and my keys…

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This Is Ground Control

And, when Nate finally showed up, it was time to make a run for it! There were some rumors of security on site, but a quick jog to the back of the building got us in, and immediately the pungent air inside slapped us in the face, and we scurried right back to the car for our masks. On the second try, it was clear this place was special. Designed in the typical overbuilt, ostentatious style of early 20th century American industry, the architecture (no expense spared) survived the advancing decay. This building, now over 100 years old, was the…

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Everything Rides Gravity

I was supposed to be in the Catskills this weekend, exploring all the resorts, including at least six I hadn't been to, if the hurricane didn't hit. All week Irene was tracking up the coast toward New York, and Nate defiantly kept the trip on. By last night, the storm made landfall and 17 was flooded, and he still wanted to go, saying the weather would help with not getting caught. Not wanting to be stranded in the flood zone, I pushed to cancel the trip. Of course, even with all the roads closed, and my having a few ideas…

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Theo’s Fates

Five days late, Juraj and friends finally showed up to start the new year, and not a moment too soon while I've had it up to here and then some with Laura to the point that even she understood I could use a day doing what I want. I was supposed to help them out with a zombie movie for someone's film study class, but with only a day free I only got to do the location scouting and run through a few of my favorite Buffalo sites. I spent a lot of time waiting at the bottom of the…

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