Category Archives: Urbex

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Addressing Location Information

Recently a visitor to this website sent an e-mail addressing the fact that American Urbex reveals locations in some of its posts. The author’s identity will not be revealed, as s/he is actually someone whom I admire greatly for their urbex photography. The e-mail is copied here verbatim.

I have noticed a trend in which places blatantly plug locations with nifty google maps, they get vandalized and attract heavy police attention.

I have shared places/locations and have 1000s of photos I use which have never been posted on the Internet for this reason.

It strikes me as odd that you continuously plug the exact locations of these places, do you want to be the last person in? do you want to get someone killed?

Many of us do this for a reason, to really glean a bit of history and I believe that you do as well, however, many more just enjoy a walk through an abandoned building and destroy, vandalize and steal.

curious, do you think of this when you post these things? Free disclosure of information is one thing, carelessness is another.

[author redacted]

American Urbex welcomes all rational debate. To this e-mail I replied:

Hello [author],

I’m a big fan of your work and we’ve actually communicated on Flickr about urbex locations before. I’m always inspired by what you are capable of doing with light.

Do I think about what information I post before it goes up? There is a great deal of deliberation that I go through about disclosing locations.

Not every post on American Urbex necessarily gets a Google Map with a pinpoint location. Here are three examples where the actual location is obfuscated in the interest of preservation.

http://americanurbex.com/wordpress/?p=209
http://americanurbex.com/wordpress/?p=327
http://americanurbex.com/wordpress/?p=339

Most posts where I have plugged in the exact location are well known to the urbex community. They are locations that can be brought up with a Google search, which is oftentimes how I find them in the first place. The purpose of American Urbex is to shed positive light on locations by associating their histories with the photos taken. A majority of postings with associated research also have links to websites where I was able to originally glean location information from.

Do I want to be the last person in a location? No, I do not.
Do I want to get someone killed? Absolutely not.

I cannot control the actions of others, be they for good or evil. I’m always saddened when I return to a location and find that someone has caused damage. In fact I share your frustration on this matter. Through American Urbex I advocate responsible urbexing. I make it a point to discuss the dangers, risks, and other concerns whenever I post. That is also why I did German to English translation work for Urbexers Against Vandalism and feature their banner on American Urbex.

As a photographer I too tend to keep my urbex resources close. Not every location I have shot deserves to be shared, because doing so would invite vandalism/arrest/etcetera. Location sharing among the urbex community is a contentious topic. What I have found in my conversations with other urbex photographers is that their opinions vary across the spectrum.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

Ken Fager
American Urbex

The original author contacted me after that and said that there may have been some misdirected frustration over another urbex location that was vandalized. I too share in his/her frustration. I also recognize that location sharing in the urbex community is a contentious issue. That said there are considerations that are made before I place a map on a particular post.

1. Unlike a regular Google Map, clicking on a location pinpoint does not immediately reveal a location address. There are some urbex locations, however, that when placed in broader geographical context of the area reveal something of legitimate interest. Clever American Urbex visitors who are interested in visiting locations can still parse the location information if they are truly up for visiting. Most of the locations with maps associated with them are already public knowledge via internet search.

2. Not every location deserves or gets a map associated with it. American Urbex reserves the right not to reveal in the interest of preservation.

3. Many abandoned places by their very nature are unprotected. It is unfortunate when a location suffers aesthetic damage due to the carelessness of malcontented individuals. One issue that I mentally struggle with is the nature of vandals. Urbex photographers have a gift in creating beauty in decay, while vandals are destructive by nature. I find it difficult to believe that vandals research locations before going about their acts of destruction. Vandalism is a crime that tends to occur without premeditation. Isolation, opportunity, and exposure to anyone on the street tend to be a recipe for destruction.

There is more to an urbex location than just rotting detritus. There is a rich tapestry of history and context that can be derived if you look hard enough. Urbex is an activity I thoroughly enjoy. It is my commitment to share my experiences and research with the urbex community. It is also vitally important that those who are unfamiliar with its norms understand that urbexers do not behave with reckless abandon. We are not like the vandals at all.

To the photographer who contacted me, thank you for your e-mail. I still greatly admire your work and welcome challenge to American Urbex.

Your comments, thoughts and opinions are welcome.

Flickr Group Finds

Here are some great shots from the American Urbex Flickr Group. Join today and add your urbex photos!

Great bowling ball shot by Mike Adams.

Nick Forslund watches some crap on the idiot box.

El Tidy is trying to give me nightmares.

Radioactive bunkers don’t scare slworking2 in the slightest.

Ghosts in the Hollow

Ghosts in the Hollow from Jim Lo Scalzo on Vimeo.

Video spotted on io9.

Abandoned Post Office

Photo: The abandoned United States Post Office in Gary, Indiana.

Information on the abandoned Post Office in downtown Gary, Indiana is sparse. The building was erected in 1936 as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal program aimed at ameliorating the Great Depression. Architect Howard Lovewell Cheney, who worked for the Public Buildings Branch of the US Treasury Department, designed the building. This branch of the USPS supposedly closed in the 1970’s, though sources confirming this have not been located by American Urbex.

Photo: Postcard depicting the Post Office in its splendor. (Source: Chicagoist)

Photo: The sorting room floor is covered in moss and new growth. Those are not bricks on the ground. Those are individually cut wood blocks that comprised the floor.

Photo: The main stairwell to the second floor is awfully moody.

Visiting the post office in Gary was the first time that I have ever infiltrated at federal government building. Well, maybe “infiltrated” isn’t the right verb. I had the expectation in my head that getting in would be a little bit difficult. It wasn’t in the slightest. The main entrances to the building were all wide open for anyone off the street to wander in. This urbex location was just as populated with photographers as the City Methodist Church a stonesthrow down the block. You will be hard pressed to find any post office ephemera at this place though. The rooms are devoid of anything but trash brought in by recent visitors. For an abandoned New Deal building, though, the few surprises inside make the visit worthwhile.

Resources:

My Flickr Set – Gary Post Office

El Tidy Flickr Set – US Federal Post Office

Webshots Gallery – Abandoned Post Office

Horace Mann High School

Photo: The main entrance to Horace Mann High School boarded up.

The now abandoned Horace Mann High School served the Gary community from 1928 to 2004. The building takes its namesake from the progressive education reformer Horace Mann who advocated many of the things taken for granted in modern schools. As editor of the Common School Journal Mann advocated for public funding of public education, that public education be secular, available regardless of sex or race, that teachers be accredited, and that education focus on supporting American democratic ideals. Mann also recognized the importance of an expanded curriculum, comfortable learning facilities, and providing instructional material. During his lifetime these controversial ideas were considered a radical departure from the status quo. Most Americans today would not disagree with Mann’s basic assumptions about education, since education is so important and that’s why using resources like igcse and a-level tuition centre could be really helpful for this.

Photo: Horace Mann High School postcard with a waterfront scene. (Source: Ancestry.com)

In the early years though the Horace Mann building served grades 1 to 12. During those formative years middle and high school students were organized using the platoon system implemented by Gary Schools Superintendent William Albert Wirt. Wirt was a conservative progressive who sought to maximize education resources and applied business theory to their organization. The “platoon system” alternated the amount of time students spent with regular and specialized teachers. Course work not only included the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also vocational studies specifically designed to give students demonstrable skills.

Photo: Horace Mann in 1950. Notice the pond waterfront, which is now a parking lot. (Source: Children of the Mill: Schooling and Society in Gary, Indiana, 1906-1960.)

Wirt’s platoon system became internationally famous and was dubbed the Gary System. It even garnered the praise of influential progressive education reformer John Dewey. Lawrence A. Cremin writes in his 1961 book The Transformation of the School, that “Wirt’s notion was not only to afford each child vastly extended educational opportunity–in playgrounds, gardens, libraries, gymnasiums and swimming pools, art and music rooms, science laboratories, machine shops and assembly halls–but to make the school the true center of the artistic and intellectual life of the neighborhood.” (Source: Quote found in Blueprint for Change by David J. Hoff.) Wirt’s education system remained in place until his passing in 1938. By 1940 the school would abandon the platoon system of organization and assign one teacher per class.

Photo: Auditorium seating photo taken by re-Verse.

At the very heart of Horace Mann is a spacious auditorium. Every Horace Mann student spent some portion of their school day in this room engaged in an academic activity. After school hours the auditorium played host to community meetings, extra-curricular events, PTA, and even screenings of Hollywood movies for 10 cents. All of the other academic rooms, with the exception of the modern gymnasium, physically surround the auditorium. For the community at large Horace Mann was a vital organ of the city of Gary.

Photo: The science labs had a lot of equipment left behind. Unfortunately vandals have destroyed much of it.

When we arrived at the site of Horace Mann I had significant doubts about gaining access. The first floor windows were entirely boarded up. All of the steel doors around the perimeter were welded shut. Even for a Sunday morning there was significant activity in the area. We circled around the entire building and spotted two possible entry points. The first would have most likely caused deep cuts had I tried to squeeze through it. The second less obvious entry point was dirty, swarming with mosquitos, and required an acrobatic feat to get through. But get in we did.

Photo: A cross section of the human head in one of the science labs.

My urbex partner and I spent the next six and half hours wandering through the stiflingly humid halls. The enormity of it all was intimidating and yet so very fascinating. It took every ounce of strength to continue on after a full day of urbex the day before. Fatigue, intrigue, and adrenaline definitely impacted the quality of the photos I took. I’m thankful that I snapped so many shots because my camera SD card corrupted when I got home, effectively wiping out around 25% of the shots.

Photo: Apple II hardware was littered throughout the building. (Editor’s sidenote: As an Apple collector it saddened me to see so much good hardware go to waste. There were many IIe and II+ units.)

As a Bachelor of Education graduate, I found the Horace Mann building to be one of the most interesting urbex sites I have ever been to. Most of the damage within the building has not been done by the natural force of decay. It is clear from the exposed ceilings that metal strippers have taken anything of worth. A pile of ashen books set alight by some arsonist sits outside the administration office. A row of burned black seats no longer conforms to uniform red in the auditorium. The science labs are littered with smashed pyrex glass, unknown chemical substances, and preserved specimens. Old Apple computer equipment with the rainbow logo lies all around in hallways, gymnasiums, and classrooms. A disheveled teachers lounge was packed with visual aids, books, and prefabricated lesson plans. Trophies bearing the school’s victories were strewn throughout the building in odd places. Chalkboards bear the names of previous urban explorers, some of whom I recognize.

Photo: View of the modern gymnasium. Lack of climate control has severely warped the floor of the basketball court. This room was actually completely dark and the photo was created using a really long exposure. The light in the foreground is from Nick Forslund’s iPhone 4 LED while the brighter streaks of light are from my flashlight.

Video: Analog camcorder video digitized and uploaded by jrex66 on YouTube.

Roy Herold from the Class of 1964 has a touching farewell to Horace Mann in Gary’s West Side: The Horace Mann Neighborhood.

They may tear it down, but Horace Mann will live on until the last graduate passes from this earth, and even then the stories will have been passed to the next generation. Stories that tell of Gary’s Camelot that was once known as Horace Mann School.”

I did not graduate from Horace Mann, but I certainly will pass this story on. American Urbex exists to do just that.

Resources:

My Flickr Set – Horace Mann High School

Amy Heiden’s Flickr Set – Horace Mann School, Gary

Nitram242’s Flickr Set – Gary School System

Gary’s West Side: The Horace Mann Neighborhood

Children of the Mill: Schooling and Society in Gary, Indiana, 1906-1960

Horace Mann High School – Official Webpage

Horace Mann High School – Alumni Social Network Site

Gary Comprehensive Plan – State of the City Report (PDF)

My Horace Mann Online – Neglected Alumni Page

A Blueprint for Change – Article contains quotes from early alumni

Ancestry.com – Gary Postcards

Union Station

Photo: Taken by Nick Forslund.

Photo: Taken from the Union Station Wikipedia entry.

From afar the Gary Union Station would blend into the background. Its stylish concrete molded exterior has held up extremely well for a building that is now over 100 years old. It is a bit hard to believe from the outside that the building has been completely abandoned now since the 1950s. An burgeoning educated middle class after World War II could afford to own a vehicle and travel the American highway system. Passenger railways were unable to compete and Union Station closed its doors.

According to The Encyclopedia Americana the station cost Gary $250,000 to build in 1908. (That would be about $5.9 million today adjusting for inflation.) Funding came from the city’s namesake and US Steel Corporation founder Judge Elbert H. Gary. At the beginning of the 20th century Chicago and Detroit were major centers of commerce and railroads ran around the bottom of Lake Michigan right where Gary was geographically situated. Union Station was built to serve an area of 500,000 residents.

Photo: A lone chair sits in the main hall.

The interior of Union Station has not fared as well as the steel reinforced concrete façade. Although there are large boards blocking the main entrance, large gaps allow anyone off the street to wander in. It is hard to imagine what the interior may have looked like in its heyday. Large parts of the roof loom precariously overhead waiting to fall. The main hall is littered with soda bottles, old bibles, and other debris. The stairwell leading up to the second floor has a few loose steps. Fire damage lines the walls near the roof. The tunnel that goes underneath the railroad lines on the north side is completely barricaded.

Photo: Graffiti in the freight building painted by epyon5. Who will save us now?

There is a freight building separate from the station on the east side. While passenger trains would stop amenities would be reloaded. There is not much left of this building either.

Gary Union Station is the perfect place for the beginning urban explorer. It is a well known location that is easily accessible. Should anything occur help is not too far away. Even for the seasoned urban explorer Union Station is a must stop. The building played an influential roll in Gary’s early prosperity. It also is a silent testament to the history of American industry.

Resources:

My Flickr Set – Gary Union Station

Wikipedia – Gary Union Station

Lost Indiana – Article on Union Station

John C. Dahl’s description of Union Station

Preserve Indiana – Gary Postcards

Abandoned Gary, IN Train Station Gallery

The Encyclopedia Americana – Search for Gary Union Station

Weird Indiana – Article on Union Station

Grand Central Terminal und Pampenbahnhof (Deutsch)

City Methodist Church

Photo: City United Methodist Church around 1955 (source).

Photo: Current view of City Methodist Church.

Gary City Methodist is described in it’s own history as an imperfect house of God. The cornerstone was laid in 1925, but rising building costs caused plans to change during construction. The US Steel corporation donated 50% of the $650,000 price tag for construction. ($650,000 in 1925 would be ~$7.8 million today adjusting for inflation.) To alleviate costs the windows were not entirely completed with stained glass. Measurement errors also prevented the church from being as large as originally planned. The large pillars supporting the balcony decrease the amount of floor space available for pews. The rest of the columns built after this oversight are smaller. (Source: How Our Church Began)

Photo: View of the church Sanctuary (where the altar is) in 1967 (source).

Photo: The Sanctuary still whispers of God’s glory.

City Methodist’s flock of worshippers were graced with a progressive pastor who held that people of any color were God’s Creation. Pastor William Seaman invited African-Americans into his congregation at a time where blacks where not welcome in “white churches.” Pastor Seaman took also public stand against racism in Indiana and was able to prevent the screening of Birth of a Nation, a film that glorifies to Ku Klux Klan.

Photo: Taken by Nick Forslund.

At its height the church had about 3000 members, but by 1973 it only had 300. In 1975 the church closed its doors to the congregation and the property was sold to Indiana University. IU did not utilize the property and today it is owned by the city of Gary. The church was populated briefly by another congregation in the 1980’s. The Great Gary Arson of 1997 destroyed much of the building, in particular the third floor gymnasium roof. In 2009 the building was used to film the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. The church was also used in August 2010 as a location for Transformers 3. Demolition efforts sporadically arise and immediately fizzle out as the city of Gary struggles to find funds.

Photo: Take a seat and have a long chat with God.

We arrived at City Methodist first thing in the morning on a Saturday and the church was already populated with photographers. There were even professional photographers using the church as a backdrop for wedding photos. The entire wedding party mulled about as the bride and groom captured the moment. The bride even climbed several flights of dirt covered stairs and through tight spaces with her wedding dress hiked up. The whole experience was quite surreal. I had become accustomed to the isolation that urbex provides in densely populated cities. City Methodist Church was originally built to be a community center with its large auditorium, storefronts, gymnasium and school. Despite being closed the church was still very much an active community center.

Photo: Seating in the auditorium balcony.

Photo: Taken by slworking2.

The other photographers who were there talked about how the next week the location was going to be used to shoot Transformers 3. There was concern that after the shoot the filmmakers would finance the demolition of the building. The city of Gary was paid a grand total of $1,550 for the rights to shoot at City Methodist… I don’t think demolition is going to happen any time soon. Given the volume of off the street visitors to this location it is only a matter of time before statistically someone seriously hurts themselves. I am glad I had a chance to visit it before its inevitable demise. It really was a beautiful building, but something about it’s popularity did not sit right with me.

Resources:

1967 City Methodist Church Directory has photos of church members.

Fantastic gallery of b&w photos of City Methodist in its prime.

Information about the Skinner Organ at City Methodist.

Historic Buildings of Gary, Indiana has some great winter photos.

Video taken inside of City Methodist.

Mention on io9.com.

Transformers 3 article on nwi.com.

Nightmare on Elm Street article on nwi.com.

Brad Gillete’s Flickr Set

Slworking2’s Flickr Set

The Trip To Gary

The urbex trip to Gary, Indiana over the past weekend was funded entirely by American Urbex contributors. Although the heat was at times stifling, it was very refreshing to be surrounded by two more talented photographers. Starting early on Saturday we hit up as many well known urbex locations as possible. On Sunday two of us contorted our bodies to make it into an otherwise inaccessible location and spent the next six and half hours there.

The total expenditures for the trip are as follows. Some items are approximated until all locations report their debit transactions.

Hotel: $156 for two nights at Quality Inn in Hammond, IN
Food: $30 for Subway, KFC, other food items
Gas: $26 full tank from Whitewater, WI to Gary, IN
Tolls: $16 for the upkeep of Illinois and Indiana’s highways
Gloves: $5 for protection
SD Reader: $2 to transfer photos

Some of the total cost was offset by Brett, who has a nice dinner coming his way some day in the future. Nick also deserves credit for pitching in for gas on the return trip and other miscellaneous costs. What remains of the funds contributed will go towards fulfilling contributor incentives. Extra funds will go towards future urbex adventures.

The trip was a smashing success. Thanks and keep an eye out for more Gary urbex updates than you can wave a stick at over the next few weeks.

American Urbex: THANK YOU!!!

Thanks to the generous contributions of American Urbex readers I will be headed to Gary, Indiana. Their contributions to date have totaled $400! ($240 via IndieGoGo and $160 cash.) This trip would not have happened without your support. Between grad school, a new puppy, and bills there is little spare change for travel. I’m looking forward to the adventure with a few other urbex friends. Rest assured our fascinating discoveries will be posted.

This couldn’t have happened without your help. Thank you.

American Urbex will continue to raise funds for future urbex adventures. So please, if you have a few bucks, it would be greatly appreciated!

-Ken

Urbex Photo Award

The above photo won the Best of Category for Animals in the Fiskum Art Gallery – Summer Scenes Photo Contest at UW-Whitewater today. When I explain what urbex is to some, they just can’t see how it could be more than just exploring decaying abandoned buildings. Animals are not a subject I normally photograph. Sometimes, though, these abandoned buildings become home to the surrounding fauna. When I show people this example they look like they just opened a copy of National Geographic. Then urbex seems to make a whole lot more sense. There isn’t only beauty in decay, but also beauty in the living breathing things that now call the building home.

This photo was taken in the Armour Meat Packing Plant north of East St. Louis, Illinois.