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Posts Tagged ‘Abandoned’

Set Sail on Rail: Quirky Vehicles Explore Abandoned Tracks

26 Oct

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

abandoned railroad vehicles 1

Before the abandoned railroad tracks of Paris officially disappear – which is bound to happen, as cities realize the potential for reclamation as High Line-style parks – some intrepid locals are taking the opportunity to explore. “Train Project” by French design studio HeHe is a series of fun, quirky handmade vehicles that traverse the city on a line that most local residents never get to experience firsthand.

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The autonomous vehicles include ‘Metronome’ and ‘M-Blem,’ two transparent, cylindrical solar-powered electric vehicles, and the sailboat-inspired ‘Radeau de Sauvetage.’ HeHe also developed additional vehicles made for train tracks in other cities, like an individual transport system to transfer objects from one place to another in Slovakia, and a one-person platform making use of the urban tracks in Istanbul.

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HeHe calls The Train Project “an ongoing body of speculative investigation into the language and aesthetics of transport culture,” proposing personal rail travel as “a temporary, imaginative solution to question our industrialized conscience in relation to locomotion.”

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The collective invited members of the public to travel on the vehicles, “journeying through space and time to experience the past and future of local transportation networks.” The idea is to take a picturesque trip through areas of the city that can’t be seen from the roads, reclaiming spaces that have been left to deteriorate until they’re inevitably integrated back into the functional urban landscape.

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A similar project (above) explored sections of the 5,500-plus miles of abandoned railroad tracks in Mexico with the retro-futuristic SEFT-1, modeled after a midcentury vision of a spaceship.

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Punched Cards: 12 Closed & Abandoned Bingo Halls

12 Oct

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned Hippodrome bingo hall Dudley 1
These 12 closed and abandoned bingo halls couldn’t compete with an increasing variety of online gaming options and the gradual spread of gambling casinos.

Down & Out In Dudley

abandoned Hippodrome bingo hall Dudley 2

abandoned Hippodrome bingo hall Dudley 3

Bingo can trace its history back to early 16th century Italy but the classic cards & numbers game really took off in the 1920s when its rules, format and equipment were standardized. Bingo boomed in Great Britain as well when, following the flight from movie theaters to in-home television in the 1950s, many newly-closed cinemas were converted to bingo halls.

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abandoned Hippodrome bingo hall Dudley 5

The Hippodrome in Dudley, just northwest of the city of Birmingham, was one of these re-purposed silver screens. The 1,750-person capacity Hippodrome opened in 1938, closed (as a theater) in 1964, reopened as a bingo hall operated by Gala Bingo, and finally closed for good in 2009. Cheers to Flickr user Mikey Jones (donebythehandsofabrokenartist) for capturing the once-grand Hippodrome in its current (as of November 2010) sad state.

Punched Card

abandoned church bingo card Brownsville

Bingo was (and still is) popular at traditional social gatherings held at and by churches so when the church is abandoned, so is the bingo. Credit Flickr user Forsaken Fotos for the evocative image above depicting a scattered remnant of fun times past from Brownsville, PA.

Odeon, Odeoff

abandoned Bradford Odeon bingo hall 1

abandoned Bradford Odeon bingo hall 2

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When Bradford’s New Victoria cinema opened in 1930 it was the first such theater to be designed especially for showing “talkies”. The stately Renaissance Revival building underwent multiple changes in ownership over the next few decades until it was bought by Odeon Cinemas in the late 1960s. Odeon converted part of the building into the 1,000-seat Top Rank bingo hall, which shut its doors in the late 1990s. Credit Flickr user jST. with photographically capturing the abandoned bingo hall in mid-March of 2011.

Under The B: INGO

abandoned bingo hall sign

The photographer who snapped the image above didn’t give any details whatsoever on where the sign is located or what bingo hall it advertised – and the striking yet generic sign itself offers no clue either. Give Flickr user geo3pea credit, however, for bending over backwards (literally) to create an outstanding image that gives real perspective on the current state of the bingo “industry”.

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Punched Cards 12 Closed Abandoned Bingo Halls

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[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Empty Chambers: 10 Closed & Abandoned Gun Stores & Shops

06 Oct

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned Chet's Gun Shop Detroit 1
If your business involves getting fired, going off half cocked or triggering bankruptcy, you just might be one of these 10 closed and/or abandoned gun shops.

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abandoned Chet's Gun Shop Detroit 3

“Chet” sold guns (and gun accessories) in Highland Park, Michigan for a very long time – his weatherbeaten but still-legible store sign appears to predate the neon era. Eventually, economic conditions and crime got so bad in Detroit that even a gun shop couldn’t make ends meet. Remarkably, Chet’s Gun Shop has been reborn into the world of online gaming – you can find it (or a representation thereof) at Second Life, for instance.

Guns & Butches

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closed Butch's Gun Shop

Someone better buy Butch’s Gun Shop (just $ 499,000!) before the rest of the letters decay. One has to wonder why Butch’s couldn’t cut the mustard… maybe it was just too wild & woolly for today’s Seattle. Then again, who wouldn’t want to get a haircut at a combo gun shop / pawn shop?

House Of Gunja?

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When Washington state’s started taking applications for retail marijuana stores, prospective operators found they had to clear a number of regulatory hurdles. One of these was a requirement that such stores had to be more than 1,000 feet from day care centers and similarly classed facilities. As the Trike Stop Infant Care Center was just 381 feet (as the crow flies) from the former House Of Guns, an application to open a “pot shop” in the abandoned gun shop was rejected. Selling guns less than 400 feet from a day care center was perfectly OK, though.

Last Meal

abandoned Hollywood gun shop diner Grants NM 1

abandoned Hollywood gun shop diner Grants NM 2

Was the “Hollywood” in Grants, New Mexico a gun shop or a diner… OR BOTH?? Flickr user Robby Virus came across the tattered remnants of the odd old establishment’s sign while traveling through Cross County in December of 2010. What would it have been like to enjoy a meal at the Hollywood? It seems we’ll never know but one thing’s for certain: it was probably the WORST place to try a dine & dash.

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Empty Chambers 10 Closed Abandoned Gun Shops

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All Washed Up: 11 Abandoned Coin Laundries & Laundromats

14 Sep

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned Laundromat at Night 2008 Laurie Nix
Abandoned coin laundries, laundromats and washaterias (for you Texans) have proliferated as utility costs rise and prices for domestic machines fall.

 

We’ve chosen artist Lori Nix’s spellbinding “Laundromat at Night, 2008″, part of her eerie THE CITY series of post-apocalyptic images, to lead off this collection of abandonments. Nix’s theme for the series revolves around an unnamed global catastrophe that suddenly and effectively removed humanity from the equation. “All that’s left of mankind is the cultural and economic spaces we once inhabited. Now these are falling into disrepair,” explains Nix, as Mother Nature inexorably reclaims her rightful domains.

Radiantly Clean

abandoned laundromat Namie Japan cat

abandoned laundromat Namie Japan 2t

Photographer David Guttenfelder (on assignment for National Geographic Magazine) explored some of the abandoned towns located within a 6-mile radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in the months following the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami. One of these towns is Namie, now officially inside the government-declared, radiation-contaminated Exclusion Zone surrounding the troubled power plant, where the above abandoned coin laundry offers precarious shelter for a lost pet cat.

Clothesed Lately

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Credit LMK Photography for the above images of a recently abandoned laundromat in Provo, Utah, that according to the photographer “has a nice charm”. We have to agree… and at least stray animals haven’t begun hogging the dryers. Gotta love those classic mid-century “bowling alley” style plastic chairs, by the way – talk about discouraging loitering.

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All Washed Up 11 Abandoned Coin Laundries Laundromats

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By the Silent Line: Watch an Abandoned Railroad Disappear

13 Sep

[ By Steph in Art & Photography & Video. ]

Abandoned Railroad Paris 1
Among the rusting vestiges of Europe’s Industrial Revolution, this 20-mile relic of a railroad in Paris has been abandoned since 1934, and while it has been retaken by nature in the ensuing decades, it will likely disappear altogether as the city grows. Photographer Pierre Folk has spent the last few years capturing what remains of ‘La Petite Ceinture,’ known as ‘Little Belt’ in English.

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Abandoned Railraod Paris 3

From the series, "By the Silent Line."

Completed in the 1860s, the railroad carried passengers around the City of Light until the underground metro system and personal automobile made it obsolete. At its peak, it was considered a hallmark of progress, with transfers to other Paris railway networks completed by horse-drawn carts. But once it was decommissioned, access was restricted, turning it into a sort of post-apocalyptic time capsule.

From the series, "By the Silent Line."

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Abandoned Railroad 10

In the eighty years since it was last in use, La Petite Ceinture has become a habitat for at least 70 different animal species and host to over 200 varieties of plants. Folk’s photographs reveal a strange sort of in-between phase in which this stretch of railway in such a vibrant, metropolitan city is nearly forgotten, tangled with ivy.

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Abandoned Railroad Paris 8

As popular elevated parks like the High Line in New York City and Paris’ own Promenade Plantee prove, it likely won’t stay this way for long. Proposals have already been put forth to transform the rail from its current eerily quiet state into public space. Says Folk, “As a river, its shores constantly change over time, but it persists… an intimate place where past and modernity make their acquaintance.”

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The Desertron: World’s Largest Super Collider Lies Abandoned

12 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

super collider tunnel digging

Designed to break records held by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the Superconducting Super Collider built (and abandoned) in Texas features fourteen miles of unseen and unused underground tunnels.

abandoned tunnel surface complex

abandoned super collider complex

Construction on what was to be the largest particle accelerator in the world started in the early 1980s but funding cuts in the early 1990s caused the entire project to be shut down. By that time, billions of dollars were already spent and the expected tag had tripled from 4 to 12 billion, 17 shafts were dug and 14 miles of tunnel excavated (out of a total of 51 planned).

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abandoned underground tunnels texas

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Located on a site near Waxahachie, Texas (south of Dallas, shown on a map below) without existing tunnels (which helped in the building of the LHC), removing millions of tons of soil proved to be a budget-breaking expense for the SSC. The complex has since gained the apt nickname ‘Desertron’ for obvious reasons.

abandoned subterranean super collider

supercollider particle accelerator map

Except for underground generators, most of the major machinery was removed from the site before it was deed to the local county, which in turn sold it to a private corporation planning to turn it into a data center. With an independent power grid and dedicated fiber optic line it seemed like a good fit, but when its would-be developer died in an accident the plans were scrapped. Since then it has remained empty, but has again been purchased, this time by a chemical company.

super collider exploration

super collider complex interior

super collider abandoned inside

Many factors have been cited as contributors to its abandonment, including the end of the Cold War with Russia and the comparable amounts being budgeted for the United States’ contribution to the International Space Station – at the time, it seemed to many to that spending as much on the SSC as the ISS would be folly (images via Jim Merithew, AmusingPlanet, Wired and Wikipedia).

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Bath House: Abandoned Public Restroom Turned Private Home

08 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

deserted loo pre conversion

The ultimate fixer-upper, real estate rarely looks so unpromising as this London dump did – thankfully, one architect saw potential beyond these potties, despite the place truly looking like shi… well, er, bad. In the end, the before-and-after shots speak for themselves – few buildings can boast such total turnarounds, converting crappy ruins into shining tur…, er, digs.

deserted public restroom uk

converted skylit underground condo

Located under the Crystal Palace Parade, these lavatories constitute just 600 square feet of space – not much by the standards of some cities but relative huge for England’s densely-packed capital.

deserted underground bathroom stalls

deserted london renovation project

Located by architect Laura Clark after just finishing up at the Glasgow School of Art, the strange site seemed a perfect challenge for an aspiring architectural designer wanting to take up residence in London.

converted home stairs ladder

deserted amazing subterranean home

At the intersection of various municipalities and built nearly a century ago, getting approvals turned out to be painfully difficult – even establishing who owned the property proved problematic. Eventually, though, it went up for sale and she was able to secure and start working to convert it.

converted house closet bathroom

deserted underground home skylights

The results of her efforts: a compelling home constructed for under 65,000 Pounds (around $ 100,000 USD), surprisingly open, spacious and light-filled compared to its cavernous original state. Along the way, the architect was able to reuse some old materials in the new construction and save some existing walls as well.

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Big Miss Steak: 10 Eerie Abandoned Meat Packing Plants

08 Sep

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned Swifts meat packing plant Fort Worth Texas 1
As the disconnect between the meat we eat and the places it’s processed grows, so does the number of urban and suburban abandoned meat packing plants.

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abandoned Swifts meat packing plant Fort Worth Texas 3

Take the former Swift and Company meat packing plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The plant first opened in March of 1904 but by the 1950s, the consequences of local droughts and the reduced importance of the historic Fort Worth Stockyards saw the Swifts plant enter a long period of decline – it finally closed in 1971.

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Even closure and abandonment couldn’t reverse the Fort Worth Swifts meat packing plant‘s spiral into decay. In the 1970s, two major fires reduced most of the plant’s buildings to ruins leaving only the firm’s administrative offices still salvageable: in the 1980s the building housed an Old Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant. More recently, one of the plant’s buildings acted as a very believable prison in the TV series Prison Break. Kudos to Flickr user Noel Kerns for capturing the Swift plant’s eerie afterlife in 2008 and 2009.

Forst To Close

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Flickr user richie 59 fired up the wayback machine to post these two images of the decrepit red brick Old Forst meat packing plant in Kingston, New York. The first two photos date from early 1982 while the third was snapped in 1985. As for Old Forst, it was demolished in 2006 when developers planned to build a 7-story hotel (which ended up not being built).

Hello, Neuhoff

abandoned Neuhoff meat packing plant Nashville TN 1

abandoned Neuhoff meat packing plant Nashville TN 2

abandoned Neuhoff meat packing plant Nashville TN 3

The former Neuhoff Meat Packing plant is located in northern Nashville, Tennessee, just six blocks from the State Capitol building… one imagines summer legislative sessions must have been unbearable when the wind rose. The plant closed in 1979 after decades of operation on a site that hosted a slaughterhouse for some time before the Neuhoffs even arrived. The abandoned meat packing plant is at long last being cleaned up, however, as the main buildings are being re-purposed as a mixed-use development focused on arts and ecology. A tip of the hat to Flickr user Eva Wood who snapped these striking scenes of neglect and decay in October of 2008.

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Big Miss Steak 10 Eerie Abandoned Meat Packing Plants

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Boom To Bust: 10 Abandoned Fireworks Stores & Stands

01 Sep

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned fireworks store Savannah Georgia
Fireworks sales are “fly by night” on several levels, and when boom turns to bust the colors fade faster than the aftermath of a bombshell in a moon-washed sky.

Take the outstanding image above of an abandoned fireworks stand outside Savannah, Georgia. Flickr user Mike Garde employs HDR to tease every last photon out of the corrugated sheet metal shack helpfully painted in explosive yellow and red by its builders. By the way, is “Cheap Fireworks” really the way to go when purchasing explosive materials intended to entertain one’s loved ones up close & personal? Just wonderin’.

Faded Glory

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Fireworks were invented by the ancient Chinese and Americans have used them to celebrate momentous occasions since, well, since before there even WAS an America. By the looks of it, this long-abandoned wholesale/retail fireworks emporium near, um, Emporia, VA opened its doors not long after John Hancock signed his, er, John Hancock. Kudos to long-time Flickr user Lawrence Beals for capturing the ramshackle edifice in 2006 in all its gritty glory about three years before it was torn down.

Red, White & Blew

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Ever since the first shell slammed into Fort Sumter, America’s proud southerners have loved the sight, sound and smell of explosions. The length and breadth of the former Confederacy is crammed with shotgun shacks selling all manner of fireworks – some open, others not. The 5,000-odd residents of Piedmont, Alabama alone have at least a couple of fireworks stands and credit Second Period Industries with capturing a couple of the more patriotically decorated ones for posterity.

Abandoned Fireworks Warehouse Is Where?

abandoned fireworks warehouse

We won’t tell you where this beautifully desolate abandoned fireworks warehouse is because, well, if we (or BrightBird, where its image can be found) did, it likely wouldn’t look as striking as it does thanks to squatters, vandals and taggers. For this moment captured in time, at least, we all can enjoy the sight of Mother Nature’s own fireworks taking back what’s rightfully Hers.

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Boom To Bust 10 Abandoned Fireworks Stores Stands

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The Bucks Stop Here: 9 Closed & Abandoned Dollar Stores

25 Aug

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned closed Big Lots dollar store
Dollar Stores may be the new face of retail in post-9/11 America but when they close or are abandoned, that’s change we don’t want to believe in.

Big Lots? More like Big Lost, know what I’m sayin’? A big lot of credit goes out to Flickr user Andrew T…has left the building for capturing the forlorn state of the above former Green Bay, WI, Big Lots store in August of 2011. Good thing he did – by December of the same year, the store had been demolished and all that was left was an open field.

General Retreat

abandoned closed Dollar General Columbia dollar store 1a

abandoned closed Dollar General Columbia dollar store 1b

abandoned closed Dollar General Columbia dollar store 1c

abandoned closed Dollar General Columbia dollar store Radio Shack

It’s getting to the point where not much remains open in Columbia, SC… Columbia Closings’ alphabetical list goes on and on and on. Very few failed local businesses are dollar stores, however, which may say something about the city’s economy. Here’s a Dollar General that just couldn’t cut the mustard in early 2012 but if the strip mall’s landlord thinks he’s getting the last laugh, they’d best think again: the store re-opened as a Radio Shack.

Detroit Buck City

abandoned closed Detroit dollar store 2

abandoned closed Detroit dollar store 1

You know the neighborhood’s going downhill fast when the local dollar store accepts food stamps… and then closes… and then gets tagged. Such is the sad case of Y OLLAR TORE (formerly MY DOLLAR STORE), not part of a chain though it’s doubtful that would have helped save them. If you haven’t already guessed, this post-apocalyptic ex-business is located on Detroit’s east side, which is definitely not its best side.

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The Bucks Stop Here 9 Closed Abandoned Dollar Stores

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