This Is Where We Belong

(unfortunately, this is a partial post for now - I took my phone for a swim I probably shouldn't have tonight, and lost a lot of photos that way...) It's really been way too long since I've had an adventure like this... meet a new friend, and explore - that's all there is to it. No one to impress, no group to lead, no cats to herd, Of course nothing I ever do goes all the way to plan, and the trip started with fixing a flat tire, but after that, we were on our way exploring. First stop was…

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Urbex Challenge #103

Even as well as 2015 started, this one just seemed too good to be true. I'd heard a few weeks ago that the Walters Building was wide open, and at my level no less, for the first time in at least 10 years. I even got directions to it so I'd know exactly which door to use - either the best chance I'll ever have again at an asylum, or an elaborate trap to send me into the teeth of security. All I needed was someone willing to try it with me, and I even managed to make that happen,…

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Temporary Autonomous Zone

I've had my eyes on this building for years now, since I lived downtown. Not for much good reason, except that it was the local abandonment, not counting the one that was just an elevator ride away. But despite being so close, it always stayed locked up and even defied our efforts to Occupy it instead of wasting everyone's time fighting for a silly park. This building began as a hotel, the Richford, in around 1920, founded by one Richard Ford, initially without much success despite a central location in the middle of downtown Rochester and between the then two…

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Anything Goes

It seems like I have the most exploring success when I try the least. Right as I was ready to stop putting any effort into it at least until after Christmas and bonus time, I heard from a TV producer who was thinking of including me in his show. Of course technical difficulties got the better of us for a while, and a video chat and photo slideshow turned into a phone call, but it seemed promising. Then the next day I got a very frightening email saying that they wanted to see a sample of a 10-minute documentary by…

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Keep It Simple

Needless to say, after that kind of success in a place like Terrence, it didn't take me long to come back. Christmas must have come early this year, letting me into a building I'd wanted for so many years, and without any chance of getting caught. Even the ceiling fans have given up... The graffiti in here isn't great, but at least they try to be clever. Every level has its own color. Almost as if different psychiatric conditions might benefit from being surrounded by one particular shade for months at a time. Notably absent: institutional green. ...maybe just because…

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White Whale

And just like that, it happened. I'd heard mumblings that there was a way in for a few weeks, but I didn't entirely believe anyone that told me, and besides, it was probably some climb that would leave me re-enacting the plight of the beached manatee, only this time in broad daylight and fully sober. I'd had a few close calls with this building already -- in 2011, with an unloaded camera; in 2013, at night, twice; earlier this year, not quite able to get in the hole in the window as I thrashed away at it helplessly. This time…

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