Urban exploration or I want to be Indian Jones when I grow up. (No 56K!)

[Spoonrobot]

Originally referenced here and here Urban Exploration as defined by me is the discovery, exploration and subsequent acrhiving of abandoned man-made structures. Depending on one's location or the location of the site Urban Exploration is in a grey area legally pretty much all of the time. Now; I am not advocating illegal activity and I will not discuss said activity here but I would like to share one of my latest sites that I explore. This site is actually pretty attractive for the main fact that it was abandoned but it now owned by a friend of mine who shares my enthusiasim for exploring and has granted me open access to his property and the building which sit on the property.

A little history to start. This site consists of a High School that was built in 1929 and abandoned by the county sometime in the late 50's or 60's. Once abandoned the site was purchased some years later by an individual who used the basement and fields as a car storage yard. This individual did nothing to the interior of the school and actually sealed most entrances so no one would enter. Flash foward to 3 years ago: a very dear friend of mine and a very eccentric individual finds the school on accident one day and is mesmerized by the potential. He sets out to acquire the property and ends up doing so for a song. This individual eventually enters into my life after coming into the restaurant I work at and complimenting my ice creams, which leads to conversation which leads to us becoming friends. A few weeks after we meet he throws a Halloween party at the school. At this point I am aware of the school but have never visited. I am invited to said party and after work I load myself and 8 co-workers, 1 puppy and a shullbac(sp?) table into my van and we attend the party. There is a bonfire, some dancin', lots of twangy Southern girls and good fun. But I am captivated by the enourmous building looming outside of the glow of the bonfire. I ask the now proud owner for a tour and he glady obliges me.

Rounding up a little posse we have a grand tour. Walking the hallways of this structure and seeing the structural decay mixed with bright portraits of children's classic fairy tale characters, feeling the energy this place must have possessed when it was in use and just being present somewhere where most people have forgotten about awakened the drive to explore that had been present so strongly as a child when I refused to come home from my expeditions in the woods until I was too drained to do any more than barely drag myself into the house. I was hooked and asked to come back and take some pictures the following weekend. I was again obliged by the owner and I go back pretty much every month to visit and wander the old school halls.

On to the facts. The property the school sits on actually consists of a Main Building, an Administration Building and a Cafeteria Building. The buildings are all free-standing but at one time the Main and Cafeteria buildings were connected by a walkway that had fallen years ago. The land consists of two baseball fields, one football field and about 180 or so acres. Most of the acrerage is dense woods that I did not explore. All of the buildings are in various states of disrepair but over the years the owner has been fixing, upgrading, and generally making livable the entire campus. As it stands now the Administration Building is the owners home and his workshop and is quite expansive, easily larger than the average American home. At the last party held there was room enough for almost 20 people and suitable lodgings to space out around the building. There is only one bathroom though.

The Main Building is where all the classrooms are. This building is also the most damaged. The roof is in terrible condition and much of the ceiling is rotting away. It is interesting that the murals the children painted of fairy tale characters remain on the walls in fairly good condition. This building is also the only building with a basement and a sub-basement.

The Cafeteria Building is akin to a large garage that is currently full of the previous owners belongings. There are some weird rooms to the side of this building though.

Pictures! *I didn't post any captions but if you have a questions just tell me the picture name and I will answer as best I can. Enjoy!










These are just myself playing with the light and camera, interesting in a "Silent Hill" kind of way.





All these were taken in the Sub-Basement











There are two trucks on the property that remained after the previous owner left. Notice the emblem and how interesting it is compared to the current emblem for that company!





Pictures from the Cafeteria.





The stone plaque near the main entrance.


My pack for the very first solo trip through the property.


At the center of the Main Building there is an auditorium of sorts, for the last get together there was a pretty solid hard rock quintet on the stage.


That's it for now, thanks for checking out one of my side hobbies.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'll bet those old Disney records would fetch a small fortune on eBay!  And if either of those old trucks needs a new home, tell your friend to keep me in mind!  Those are beautiful!

Def

[J-sews]

Spooooky! (I notice you packed a flashlight and three back-up flashlights on that solo trip!)

That place looks like it would make a great setting for a scary movie. Y'know, kinda like The Blair Witch Project? (Invest $20,000, make $40 million.)

[Anthony]

Awesome story/pics...some of those hallway shots look like something from the Resident Evil games.

What state is this place in?  It could easily be rented 'as is' to someone making a horror movie..

[Dunc]

Great pics and great thread 

Dunc

[Cheviot]

That place looks like it would make a great setting for a scary movie. Y'know, kinda like The Blair Witch Project? (Invest $20,000, make $40 million.)

Yeah, He just had to go at night time too!

Reminds me of a really scary DVD "Session 9", watch it and you will not want to spend anytime alone in abandoned schools, hospitals etc...

Rob

[Jaroslav]

For all fans of Urban exploration here is link to, nice Czech web page with loooooot of good photos. Mines, military instalations, caves, forgotten cities. etc. All documented.


http://www.podzemi-cma.cz/prostory/ralsko/index.htm

ENJOY !!     

[Dunc]

Jaroslav  thats a really good website , the photos were great , what a shame I can only speak English 
 
Heres a UK website http://www.subbrit.org.uk/

Dunc

[Spoonrobot]

Thanks for the links!

From what I hear, eastern Europe and Russia are rife with excellent sites to explore. Military installations, WWII/Cold War factories, tunnels and so forth. Those sure beat exploring an abandoned Piggly Wiggly here in the states. 

Right now I am in rural Alabama so there isn't really a lot of exploring going on. I'd like to trip up to New York or even a long stay in Atlanta to find some good sites and really check out the drain/tunnel systems.

I have seen "Session 9" and thought it was an amazingly frightening afair. The Asylum they filmed it in was a real, enourmous Insane Asylum. Here's a link. If I recall there was a fair amount of outcry and emotion when they begun tearing down buildings and it looks like they're going to make some of the property into condos. Creepy! 

Spooooky! (I notice you packed a flashlight and three back-up flashlights on that solo trip!)

Exceedingly. I have only been on the property solo once and I will say it was exactly like a horror movie. Odd sounds, creepy winds and the odd feeling of being watched/followed. That feeling does abate when confronted with 200 lumens of Pentagonlight but I didn't want to have to change batteries in the dark.

[Tarrodemierda]

found this thread,i thought no one there cares for this kinda hobby.i do .we have quite active and big ue-scene here,and lots of abandoned railway stations,mills,factories,loony houses,military places,above and under gound zero.
i usually pack also some air filter since heres lots of mold(? not sure about the word sorry,anyways that damp mushroom kinda stuff).

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yup, that's mold!

Def

[Tarrodemierda]

http://djdh.1g.fi/kuvat/The+Lost+and+Forgotten/
http://ron.1g.fi/unohdetut/
http://www.koiruoho.com/trestalkers/


BUT,the most affecting,the best ive seen and stared for hours at night is this one:

www.opacity.us

[Leatherman123]

Spoon, I see that next to your Maxpedition bag you have a blue Bic Z4 pen! Those have to be my favorite pens!

[Tarrodemierda]

Maxpedition-dont u just love it.

[Anthony]

I'd love to explore something like that...every now and again I check out some Urban Exploration sites and read about stuff they do.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Great picture mate , what stops you from freaking out in those buildings when it turns creepy

[Spoonrobot]

Not much. With the lights out the willies come on pretty quickly but it's one of those things that's easy to control if you don't think about horror movies or Zombies. And it helps to have a good flashlight.

Tarrodemierda, thanks for the links! I haven't seen those sites before.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Not much. With the lights out the willies come on pretty quickly but it's one of those things that's easy to control if you don't think about horror movies or Zombies. And it helps to have a good flashlight.

Tarrodemierda, thanks for the links! I haven't seen those sites before.

When I used to do stuff like that (usually abandoned factories ) it was always the damn bird's suddenly flying off, that scared the crap outa me

[Tarrodemierda]

youre wellcome,those are just a few finnish good sites in this topic.

the opacity,what u think of it?

i think its above all.

[Spoonrobot]

The Opacity one is amazing.

This picture is one of my favorites so far: link.

[Tarrodemierda]

i hear u very clear .

its a shame that on my wilderness trips the batteries dont last,those rechargeable i mean.cause in the most northern tip of our map,theres lots of abandoned war time artillery batteries,etc.

[Anthony]

i hear u very clear .

its a shame that on my wilderness trips the batteries dont last,those rechargeable i mean.cause in the most northern tip of our map,theres lots of abandoned war time artillery batteries,etc.

...Bring more batteries!

[Tarrodemierda]

nope,im against non-re usable batteries,theyre a big waste to nature.
and those that i can charge,dont hold their power more than two days if i keep em warm.at cold nights they loose all juice.but,atleast i remember those in my mind ,for some time and when i dont anymore,its time to take a new trip.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

nope,im against non-re usable batteries,theyre a big waste to nature.

[Spoonrobot]

If you're having a problem with NiMH rechargeables I recommend upgrading to Sanyo Eneloops. They don't self-discharge nearly as bad as regular NiMH and subsequently hold a charge for much longer when not in use.

I had problems with AA NiMH cells myself. I'd charge them and leave them in the camera and a few days later they'd be dead. I've been using Li-Ion proprietary cells lately so it hasn't been an issue but if I went back to AA's I'd get the Eneloops.

[Tarrodemierda]

i cant believe theres still tribe of those who give a flying F-word about nature,here in Finland i mean,they just go thrashing and trashing all around the trails,leave the batteries,tin cans,plastic bags(one of the most idiotic thingys ever) here and there,those rich kids that ride their 4x4 atv´s where itas forbidden,theyburn deserted reindeer cottages due to their almost non existing firemaking skills......sorry for my barking but thats the way things sometimes are.they should be brought in front of justice and put them on non volunteer cleaning squads  till the attitudes change or if not,then behind bars where there aint much to litter 

[Tarrodemierda]

good to know,but im afraid here,where they bring any civilized gadgets later than anywhere else,there aint such fine batteries atleast not yet  . its a bugger to drag dslr in the wild,i dont want to crack in in half or drop it into swamp so i carry just one cheap pocket camera.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

i cant believe theres still tribe of those who give a flying F-word about nature,here in Finland i mean,they just go thrashing and trashing all around the trails,leave the batteries,tin cans,plastic bags(one of the most idiotic thingys ever) here and there,those rich kids that ride their 4x4 atv´s where itas forbidden,theyburn deserted reindeer cottages due to their almost non existing firemaking skills......sorry for my barking but thats the way things sometimes are.they should be brought in front of justice and put them on non volunteer cleaning squads  till the attitudes change or if not,then behind bars where there aint much to litter 

I'm with you mate

[Tarrodemierda]

i cant believe theres still tribe of those who give a flying F-word about nature,here in Finland i mean,they just go thrashing and trashing all around the trails,leave the batteries,tin cans,plastic bags(one of the most idiotic thingys ever) here and there,those rich kids that ride their 4x4 atv´s where itas forbidden,theyburn deserted reindeer cottages due to their almost non existing firemaking skills......sorry for my barking but thats the way things sometimes are.they should be brought in front of justice and put them on non volunteer cleaning squads  till the attitudes change or if not,then behind bars where there aint much to litter 

I'm with you mate

u are?

cool dude,hails back at ya 

here the government keeps choking the money they give to our national parks,mainly due the fact the people dont appreciate these free log-cabins and that guys bring em free firewoods so they dont have to chop off the growing forest( atleast these young fellas here..they cut em selfs ann ruin young branches etc so its better the government makes and brings some chopped ones),and there by kill the nature.and its expensive to hire Cleaners into forestes to go after these punks,although teyre aeasy to follow due to that tail of junk left behind.it aint cheap to build even a small cabin/shag/any wooden shelter,cause they use military choppers for flying builders and supplies...it all affects taxes we pay.im not against,no at all,if they make some thing about it.like...they should put a price,to use the trails and cabins,its just fine to me if that quits the mayhem here,done by some morons.

[BIG-TARGET]

Spooooky! (I notice you packed a flashlight and three back-up flashlights on that solo trip!)

That place looks like it would make a great setting for a scary movie. Y'know, kinda like The Blair Witch Project? (Invest $20,000, make $40 million.)

Or the "looking for Sam scene" from I AM LEGEND

BTW, there is a zine especially dedicated to Urban exploration in NJ, http://www.weirdnj.com/