About eight years ago, I became interested in abandon buildings. I was practically interested with asylums and hospitals. Through the research of the structures I learned more about the inner working of the institutions themselves. What they were like fifty years ago, and why so many were shut down. I have only been in a few old buildings that would be condemned, if they were not considered historical. Once you get past the fear of breathing in lead paint, asbestos, mold, and who knows what else comes along, the structures take on a unique beauty. What was once man made is slowly but surely being taken apart bit by bit by nature from the ground up, an ever-changing piece of art. It is amazing to see something that was built by man a century ago quickly disintegrate, compared to the great monuments of the ancients that are only now being effected by modern pollution.
Other buildings that I have become fascinated with recently are warehouses and factories. I have passed by quite a few factories at night in my travels, all lit up like post-apocalyptic cities. Some are small with only a few lights while others seemed to be many blocks wide with hundreds of flickering yellow bulbs. They pump out billows of smoke or steam; some even have blue and yellow flames shooting out of the pipes. For all the harm they can cause to the environment they are a wonder to see. I try to imagine what it was like when the industrial age started and people saw such similar brick mammoths being built. These cities devoted to creating products for the masses. A love hate relation most likely started quickly with the general population. Now the Grandfathers of the new steel machines sit empty and forgotten. Some are bought and change into something else that was never there original purpose. While others go the way of many forgotten buildings. They become condemned and quite dangerous with not just flaking of harmful particles but also the weakening of the structure before it finally buckles in on itself.
In some way, they are a reminder that nothing lasts forever.
Elfie, you have a way with words. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteSorry Eilfie, didn't see this before, loved the story, can relate with it since my team and I have investigated a few abandoned warehouses, old buildings, and an empty hospital, so much history and stories behind each structure, and makes you think of why these places are no longer appreciated nor used. But I had asked what " espestice " meant, and if you were referring to asbestos ?? Not making fun in any way, nor trying to correct you, I was just curious. But very good story, and yes, you have a very good way with words.
ReplyDeleteHello Keith,
ReplyDeleteThank you for catching that error. I thought I had corrected that word. I had read over the post like three or four times to. lol.
It's cool when they are used again for something different then what they started as. It is a shame when one has be torn down due to being too dangerous.
Eilfie
LOL ... I busted you... just joking : ) But no maam I thought you guys in Pa. had something we never heard of down here in lil' ol' Texas... lol
ReplyDeleteAnd if I may I was wanting to answer something I was recently told when I got the opportunity of investigating an abandoned hospital nearby, I asked the owner of the land if he had intentions of restoring the hospital, and making use of it again, and he said no, it would be cheaper to tear it down, and start from the ground up due to the health codes, and the declining structure that held it together, so in other words, out with the old, in with the new. Thank you so much for responding, I love the new hair do, and have yourself a Happy St. Patty's Day !!
Love this post. It's fascinating to see something that was once so thriving, so full of life (factories, etc.) in an abandoned, forgotten state. It almost renders the factory unrecognizable. Of course, the same thing will happen to the things we currently hold dear. Some day, the giant Google complex, for example, will lay forgotten in near-ruins.
ReplyDelete-Jessie from California