Abandoned « 360Photography

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Abandoned’

Haul For One: U-Haul Adapts & Reuses Abandoned Buildings

12 Jun

[ By Steve in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

U-Haul company’s commitment to renovate and reuse abandoned buildings is not only economical, it also serves to revitalize post-industrial neighborhoods.

One of U-Haul’s most noteworthy adaptive reuse projects is the former Magic Chef head office building in south St. Louis, Missouri. Built in 1947-48 and designed by architect Harris Armstrong, the building’s lobby featured a beautiful sculptured ceiling created by legendary Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi.

Magic Chef sold its St. Louis buildings and factories in the late 1950s and the head office building at 1641 South Kingshighway sat abandoned for about a decade before U-Haul bought it in 1977.

A practical renovation in the early 1990s saw a drop ceiling installed beneath Noguchi’s sculptural ceiling but thanks to U-Haul’s current focus on adaptive reuse and respectful regional marketing, both the building and its unique mid-century lobby ceiling are undergoing a well-deserved renaissance.

Shop The Pig

U-Haul’s corporate sustainability initiatives pay off for both the company and the community in a number of ways including lightening the local carbon footprint, reducing consumption of energy and resources on new construction, and helping cities and towns reduce their inventories of unwanted buildings. Saving historic architecture isn’t always a priority, however. This former Fox Brother’s Piggly Wiggly supermarket in Saukville, Wisconsin is a prime example. The defunct grocery store was converted into the U-Haul Moving & Storage of Port Washington full-service moving and self-storage facility over the summer of 2016.

For St. Pete’s Sake

U-Haul doesn’t have to expend the expense required to beautify their adaptively reused buildings but aren’t you glad they do? Take the U-Haul depot above, located in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Formerly a drab, dreary, abandoned rail-connected cold storage building, the structure now boasts a gigantic mural of Tampa Bay wetlands fauna and flora on one side highlighted by an artistically rendered Roseate Spoonbill. Flickr user Mark Evans (st_asaph) captured this uplifting urban scene on February 27th of 2017.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Haul For One U Haul Adapts Reuses Abandoned Buildings

[ By Steve in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Out of Gas: Abandoned Station Will Live its Golden Years as a Venue

06 Jun

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

A formerly abandoned gas station in London’s White City district may have outlived its usefulness in its original purpose, but it’s got a new, more relaxing job to do in the ‘hereafter.’ If all those pastel colors didn’t tip you off, the station is in retirement, and it will live out its golden years acting as a colorful venue for pop-up events in the midst of a decade-long urban regeneration effort aiming to create a “thriving, creative neighborhood.”

The station, located on Wood Lane, sits between the BBC’s former headquarters at the Television Centre and White City Place, the former BBC Media Village, both of which will reopen this year after redevelopment. Designer duo Craig & Karl, aka Craig Redman and Karl Maier, took inspiraiton from the bright colors of a television test card for the station’s cheerful new palette and decorated it in their signature graphic style.

“We view this project as the petrol station’s second life, or ‘wonder years,’ which led us to use the words ‘here after’ as a reference to heaven or utopia,” say the designers. “Now that the petrol station has fulfilled its duty, so to speak, it’s free to enjoy itself.”

In a jam-packed, space-challenged city where so few people even own vehicles, this is an especially fitting and fun revitalization of a disused urban space. Doesn’t it make you wish all gas stations were treated as art objects?

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Battered: 15 Closed And Abandoned Fish & Chip Shops

04 Jun

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

Fish & Chips are famed the world over as THE quintessential English food so why are there so many closed and abandoned “Chippies” in their home country?

American fish & chip shops have suffered a decline as well, especially fast food seafood restaurant chains like Arthur Treacher’s and H. Salt Esquire – both the chains and the affordable stocks of cod that sustained them are pale shadows of what they used to be. Family-run chippies linger on, however, though the once-charming Porto Restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland’s seaside Portobello neighborhood is no longer them. Flickr users Dave Sinclair and Fabio Menna snapped the shop in long-abandoned and newly-abandoned states, respectively.

Dog’s Breakfast

One would hope “Helen” was able to retire from retail fish-frying with a modicum of grace when her self-titled chippie in Maidstone (a suburb of Melbourne) went belly-up. Then again, maybe Australians just aren’t that into fish & chips, what with all that “throw another shrimp on the barbie” stuff. Flickr user Warren Kirk (Westographer) captured the closed, abandoned, boarded-up and unlamented (save for a disappointed-looking dog) “Helen’s Fish ~ Chips” on a sunny December morning in 2011.

Parson’s Nose Best

As if a chippie on the High Street wasn’t Brit enough, the owners named the place “The New Parson’s Nose”… wonder what happened to the OLD one? Regardless, the sign on the window states the shop is “closed for refurbishment” and you know what that means: it’s gone like last night’s last pint of ale. Kudos to Flickr user leon S-D (littleweed1950) who snapped this pub-like former fish & chips shop in June of 2016.

Taken Away

“Over the last 40 years or so (in Australia at least) the traditional old style strip of shops in the suburbs has come under pressure from large shopping malls,” states urbex blogger David Taylor. Just wait, Dave, those large shopping malls have begun to feel a similar sort of pressure from online retailers. There’s nothing like the unique ambiance and the sit-sown dining experience of a classic Chippie, mind you. Taylor snapped the above faded Seafood Take Away in Mt Gravatt, a suburb of Brisbane.

Over, The Rainbow

Fish & Chips, Burgers, Southern Fried Chicken and so much more… how could Rainbow Spicy Kebabs, snapped in the summer of 2013 by Flickr user Robby Virus, possibly go under? Well, they COULD have prepared all of those things poorly, for one thing. It just goes to show you, a prime location in the heart of London offers no guarantee your fish & chips (& more) shop will achieve lasting success. Also, rainbows aren’t colored that way. Just sayin’.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Battered 15 Closed And Abandoned Fish Chip Shops

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Seoul Skygarden: Elevated Park on an Abandoned Highway Officially Opens

23 May

[ By SA Rogers in Drawing & Digital. ]

A formerly abandoned 1970s highway in South Korea’s capital city now hosts 24,000 plants as the Seoullo Skygarden, an elevated public park open to all citizens 24 hours a day. That’s a big deal in a city where so much architecture and infrastructure tends to be corporate-sponsored, with special perks for paying customers of companies like Hyundai. Mayor Park Won-soon, a former human rights and anti-corruption activist, wanted to balance all those logos with public spaces that are more accessible to all.

Dutch architecture firm MVRDV was tasked with designing the park back in 2015, and in just two years, they’ve created a successful public space revitalizing and connecting public spaces near the main railway station that were previously fragmented by roads and rail tracks. Its base, a 1970 motorway flyover, sat empty for a long time after being deemed unsafe for its original purpose.

The Skygarden is packed with 645 potted trees and around 228 species and sub-species of plants, adding a significant amount of greenery to a highly paved area of the city – not to mention encouraging foot traffic, recreation, interaction and physical activity. The route is set up to create a network of hotels, shops, gardens and other attractions, enlivening the center of the city. It’s not just a walkway – it’s an educational experience.

“The linear park was designed as a collection of small gardens, each one with its very own composition, perfume, color and identity,” says MVRDV. “The landscape will change according to the seasons: the bright colors of leaves in autumn of the Aceraceae family (maples), the blossom of cherry trees and rhododendron in spring, the evergreen conifer trees ink inter and shrubs and trees bearing fruit in summer.”

“In the future, the overpass will evolve with new plants and new activators so as to become an ‘urban nursery,’ rearing trees for the surrounding districts. Additional structures of stairs, lifts and escalators as well as new ‘satellite’ gardens can connect to the Skygarden, sprouting like branches from the existing structural piers. These extensions can inspire further additions to the area’s greenery and public spaces, and will connect the Skygarden to its surroundings both physicallyl and visually through plant species related to each of the neighborhoods.”

[ By SA Rogers in Drawing & Digital. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Fading To Black: 13 Abandoned TV Repair Shops

22 May

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

TV repair shops, once fixtures of our tuned-in society, have faded away as televisions became more reliable and the broadcast medium itself lost its relevance.

Take Milbee Radio & TV, a tiny TV repair shop supposedly operating out of Elizabethtown, PA. We say “supposedly” because neither Flickr user Katie Burkey (StarPhotographs) nor Wendyvee of RoadsideWonders have been able to find anyone actually working there – “I think this shop might be abandoned, but I never knew for sure,” stated Burkey in March of 2011.

Aside from the minuscule size of the shop (and its queasy two-tone green paint job), the gloriously retro sign tells a story all on its own. Does anyone remember brand names like Admiral, Zenith, Philco and Quasar? How long since the word “RADIO” on a sign attracted customers? Last but not least, “COLOR” television was once a feature worthy of note.

Don’t Give A Hoot

The latest entry in the Anti-Zombie Fortress sweepstakes is the former Hoots TV Service on Highway 80 West, Fort Worth, Texas. According to Joan Carroll, the glass block-enhanced blockhouse dates from 1964 and was the third (and final) location of Hoots TV.

Screen Thy Last Screen

This Japanese TV and monitor repair, assembly and distribution center seems to have soldiered on until 2008, according to calendars found within by Florian and friends from the Abandoned Kansai urbex blog.

Like many Japanese abandonments, the business appears to have been closed in a hurry with much equipment and stock left in place and on shelves. Towards the end, the business serviced Sega arcade machines and monochrome computer monitors but couldn’t afford to retool when ponderous CRT screens gave way to flat-screen LCD and TFT-LCD displays.

Bad Dreams

Odd that microwave ovens were once categorized as electronic devices instead of kitchen appliances but hey, those were the days! Dream Lovers T.V. Shop (why the periods between T and V?) once sold and serviced televisions – and presumably microwaves – from this gritty shop in Nottingham, UK. Flickr user Rust Never Sleeps captured the shop’s well-aged storefront in late July of 2014.

Rough In The Dimond

This ultra-rustic TV Sales & Service shop languishes unlamented in the cold heart of East Oakland’s Dimond (pronounced “diamond”) district. Flickr user Billy (misterbigidea) snapped the shop’s weary weathered facade in late January of 2014.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Fading To Black 13 Abandoned Tv Repair Shops

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Cookin’ With Gas: 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

15 May

[ By Steve in Culture & History & Travel. ]

Food trucks and snack vans are mobile kitchens that offer meals on wheels to busy folks on the go… until the day they break down and are left abandoned.

Food trucks are specialized vehicles that aren’t easily un-specialized – especially by owners who presumably have fallen on hard times. Sometimes the only thing to do is abandon the chewed-up hulk in a field somewhere. In the case of the former “Mr. Food Go Go!”, that field is situated in Ravenhall, just west of Melbourne, Australia, and it’s brought to us by Flickr user Ken O’Toole (KENO Photography).

Riddle Me This

In the Old West, cowboys saddled with a terminally ill or mortally wounded horse would “take it behind the barn and shoot it”. Times have changed but it seems were still shooting our meal tickets, for example this rough & ravaged former food truck parked permanently in driest West Texas. Flickr user food shark gets the “credit” for snapping the bullet-riddled step van above on April 18th of 2008 near Chinati Hot Springs.

Gratefully Dead

Tired old VW Microbuses are fetching big bucks on the collector car market these days but this particular trippy hippie transport looks to be far too er, wasted for that. At least it lived out its last days doing what most minibuses dream of: serving up natural non-poisonous vittles to a new generation of Deadheads. Flickr user travelr16 caught up with the busted bus on April 3rd, 2011 on the campus of abandoned St Mary’s College near Ellicott City, Maryland.

Sailing Into The Sunset

“Sales are slow,” states Flickr user Alan (sunset sailor) of the above land-locked former burgermobile. Judging from his user name, this would appear to be his very own retired rolling fast-food emporium. The truck looks to be in respectable shape, at least compared to some of our other examples, though it’s in danger of being swallowed whole by the steadily encroaching vegetation. Sean Spicer, are you in there?

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Cookin With Gas 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

[ By Steve in Culture & History & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Oh Brothel: 12 Abandoned Houses Of Ill Repute

07 May

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

The world’s oldest profession ain’t what it used to be as these abandoned brothels, bordellos and bawdy houses so sleazily show.

Oh brothels, where art thou? Brothels can be found just about anywhere regardless of any local legal injunctions prohibiting their existence. Where they ARE permitted – the state of Nevada, for example – savvy owners often locate as close as possible to places that ban them. Flickr user Joel Childers (Vacant West) brings us these artfully (and eerily) lit images of Janie’s Ranch taken in early 2010.

Janie’s Ranch is situated on Nevada Highway 6 between Tonopah, Nevada and Bishop, California. Janie’s, which closed in the 1990s, used to advertise their sleazy services in California border towns including Bishop and Mammoth Lakes.

The Caged Bird Swings

Brothels were commonplace in the oft-lawless Old West. Precious few of these then-essential establishments have been preserved as well as the Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone, Arizona.

Operating from 1881 through 1889 (Wyatt Earp met his third wife there), the combination brothel, saloon and casino was shuttered until 1934 when new owners discovered a lost world frozen in time. Over 120 bullet holes (some with embedded slugs) can be found in the building’s walls, floors and ceilings. The place’s motto should’ve been “wham, BLAM, thank you ma’am.”

Ghosts Of Pleasures Past

The ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada exploded into being in 1905 when gold was discovered nearby. The mines quickly played out, however, causing the town’s population to plummet from a high of about 5,000 to just 1 in 1922. The small but solidly-built brothel above, captured in 2008 by Flickr user Jitze Couperus, boasted an innovative roof made from flattened kerosene cans. Now that’s hot!

It’s Curtains For Ya

Bobbie’s Buckeye Bar & Brothel had been closed and abandoned for quite some time when Flickr user Bradley Fulton (escapo) chanced upon its remains in 2006. The Tonopah, Nevada brothel appeared to be a rather large and well-organized business with “nicely” furnished quarters for the working girls.

The warm & fuzzy atmosphere infusing these photos was achieved through the photographer’s use of cross-processing on expired film – appropriate for an expired brothel. Of course, nothing can beat the cheesiness of those painted-on curtains!

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Oh Brothel 12 Abandoned Houses Of Ill Repute

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

RotterZwam: Abandoned Water Park Turned Indoor Mushroom Farm

29 Apr

[ By SA Rogers in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

Bags of old coffee grounds hang in the dank dressing rooms of an abandoned Rotterdam water park, growing oyster mushrooms. Two men turned the former Tropicana space, an old teen hangout, into the perfect damp, dim environment for their business, making use of the structure while the city council decides what to do with it. ‘RotterZwam’ rents the building on an anti-squat lease and have transformed it into a fascinating example of adaptive reuse and urban farming.

Tropicana is fairly infamous among Rotterdam locals, but closed after the former owner went bankrupt in 2010. The space had been plagued with problems, from hygiene to sexual assault. It sat empty until Siemen Cox and mark Slegers, RotteZwam’s owners, realized it looked like a giant greenhouse.

Though they hope that central glassed-in space – formerly the pool – will eventually become a greenhouse, for now, they’re making use of the dressing rooms and basement, which offer ideal conditions for fungal growth. The crew hangs bags of coffee grinds from the old Tropicana clothes hangers, and before long, they sprout oyster mushrooms.

They collect the coffee from local cafes, transport it in their carrier bicycle, and give the compost to worms to create an extremely low-waste operation. The produce about 20-50kg of mushrooms every week, and sell it to local restaurants, bakeries and food trucks. They also offer DIY mushroom-growing kits.

“Cities like Rotterdam produce nothing but waste and commuters,” they say in an interview with Vice’s Munchies. “This entertainment park represents that perfectly – we build things and, when we don’t want them anymore, we need others to clean it up, to sweep up our garbage. That’s not how nature works, though – in nature wast doesn’t exist. In this building we hardly ever buy a thing, because eery material or nail is already here.”

[ By SA Rogers in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

THE HAUS Berlin: Abandoned Building Taken Over By 165 Street Artists

25 Apr

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

Set to be demolished in June to make way for an apartment building,THE HAUS in Berlin is a formerly abandoned 5-story building filled with site-specific works by 165 street artists. Dreamed up by artists Kimo, Bolle and Jörni of Die Dixons collective, THE HAUS was once a bank on avenue Kurfürstendamm, but fell into disuse over the years. The artists activated their network of creative contacts to temporarily turn it into a street art free-for-all that’s so popular with visitors, there’s often a two-hour wait outside.

The artists, who range from Berlin locals to international activists, worked almost nonstop from mid-January through March 9th to complete the project, and installations include geometric patterns made of tape, video projections, interactive exhibits and sculpture.

The exhibit opened April 1st, and guided tours run almost all day long on Tuesdays through Sundays with a donation-based, pay-what-you-can system and a ‘no phones’ rule. “Look through your eyes and not through the screen of your phone,” the website urges. You can see each individual installation on THE HAUS website, and learn more about the artists who created them.

Even beyond the art itself, the project is definitely a community effort. Nearly all of the supplies were donated by supportive businesses, and a four-star hotel even put up all the artists free of charge. Berliner Pilsner donated beer. In an interview with Vice’s The Creators Project, Kimo stresses that THE HAUS is “not a marketing joke,” noting that nothing was for sale.

“Feel the freshest urban art gallery ever with a guided tour!” says the site. “108 dope artworks are waiting to be seen, to be experienced and to be memorized by you. Every single piece is created by one of the 165 artists from Berlin and all over the world. But be aware that THE HAUS is created to be destroyed – in the end of May the gallery is going to close and the wrecking ball will follow.”

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Inhabited Ruin: Modern Home Hidden Inside Abandoned Masonry Shell

07 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

inhabited ruin

When the architect of this remarkable remodel was hired to create a new home for his clients, a derelict building on the site caught his eye and turned out to be the focal point of a marvelous design project.

ruin exterior

ruin side

Estudio Castillo Oli (images by Angel Baltanas) balances old and new in this hybrid project, inserting a contemporary dwelling into a stone-and-brick shell on the site.

window glazing

ourtyard inside

Part of the existing structural remnants were retrofit with modern windows and a roof to create interior spaces for the home while the rest were left up as a kind of fence for a semi-private exterior courtyard.

inner workings

view above

New ceramic tiles and timber framing matches the existing context while steel and glass add a modern touch. A glass wall between inside and outside spaces reduces the sense of separation between them.

window detail

timber modern

Inside, new walls are pulled back from window openings to reveal the old structure. Glass and trim likewise give space to old openings, preserving what was there. The net result is a gorgeous, rich and complex mixture of aged elements and new, creating something with a sense of time but also fit for modern living.

360Photography

Posts Tagged ‘Abandoned’

Haul For One: U-Haul Adapts & Reuses Abandoned Buildings

Shop The Pig

For St. Pete’s Sake

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Haul For One U Haul Adapts Reuses Abandoned Buildings

Out of Gas: Abandoned Station Will Live its Golden Years as a Venue

Battered: 15 Closed And Abandoned Fish & Chip Shops

Dog’s Breakfast

Parson’s Nose Best

Taken Away

Over, The Rainbow

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Battered 15 Closed And Abandoned Fish Chip Shops

Seoul Skygarden: Elevated Park on an Abandoned Highway Officially Opens

Fading To Black: 13 Abandoned TV Repair Shops

Don’t Give A Hoot

Screen Thy Last Screen

Bad Dreams

Rough In The Dimond

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Fading To Black 13 Abandoned Tv Repair Shops

Cookin’ With Gas: 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

Riddle Me This

Gratefully Dead

Sailing Into The Sunset

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Cookin With Gas 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

Oh Brothel: 12 Abandoned Houses Of Ill Repute

The Caged Bird Swings

Ghosts Of Pleasures Past

It’s Curtains For Ya

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Oh Brothel 12 Abandoned Houses Of Ill Repute

RotterZwam: Abandoned Water Park Turned Indoor Mushroom Farm

THE HAUS Berlin: Abandoned Building Taken Over By 165 Street Artists

Inhabited Ruin: Modern Home Hidden Inside Abandoned Masonry Shell

Pages

Archives

Categories

Posts Tagged ‘Abandoned’

Shop The Pig

For St. Pete’s Sake

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Haul For One U Haul Adapts Reuses Abandoned Buildings

Dog’s Breakfast

Parson’s Nose Best

Taken Away

Over, The Rainbow

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Battered 15 Closed And Abandoned Fish Chip Shops

Don’t Give A Hoot

Screen Thy Last Screen

Bad Dreams

Rough In The Dimond

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Fading To Black 13 Abandoned Tv Repair Shops

Riddle Me This

Gratefully Dead

Sailing Into The Sunset

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Cookin With Gas 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

The Caged Bird Swings

Ghosts Of Pleasures Past

It’s Curtains For Ya

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Oh Brothel 12 Abandoned Houses Of Ill Repute

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Haul For One U Haul Adapts Reuses Abandoned Buildings

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Battered 15 Closed And Abandoned Fish Chip Shops

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Fading To Black 13 Abandoned Tv Repair Shops

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Cookin With Gas 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Oh Brothel 12 Abandoned Houses Of Ill Repute