108 replies to this topic

[suburban george3]

wolverine, on May 20 2007, 10:34 PM, said:

I want some drama and see that building collapse into the hole.

If the new owner doesn't shore it up better soon, u might get ur wish!  Being a chain restaurant, wouldn't be much of a loss!

[seicer]

It was obviously built on the cheap!

[seicer]

Parker Tobacco Company burns May 22, 2007, most likely at the hands of an arsonist.

[seicer]

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky High School: Abandoned in the 1990s, I received permission to conduct interior photography of this historic structure. Unfortunately, the owner has no plans for the building, so it remains neglected and open to the elements. There are currently 16 photographs at Abandoned.

1. Auditorium


2. Auditorium: If you can't see it, there are people in the photo


3. Hallway: Much of the school is in disarray, as portrayed in this photograph.


4.


--

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky Baptist Church: Closed only a few years ago, the active congregation relocated to 'greener' pastures on the outskirts of the city. I will soon upload some photographs, including a rendering, to the site soon. There are currently 16 photographs at Abandoned.

5. Chapel


6. Offices


7.


8. Preaching: Jay is preaching to... no one!


Enjoy!

[seicer]

Located in the heart of a major city, the Tennessee State Penitentiary was closed to all prisoners due to its unsafe housing conditions and general lack of maintenance. Today, several film production companies utilize it, along with other smaller industrial businesses.

1. Administration building


Constructed of 800 single-occupancy cells in two cell-blocks, it also housed an administration building, offices, warehouses, and two factory structures. Outside of the prison walls was a working farm. Upon its opening in 1898, it housed 1,403 inmates, creating instant overcrowding issues.

2. "Chaos" in a cell block. This is five stories high.


Throughout the prison's life, it was the home of numerous staged mass escapes and riots, the last being in 1985. Mass overcrowding, inadequate facilities, poor ventilation, and "hellish" conditions earned it a class action lawsuit. The suit (Grubbs v. Bradley - 1983) stated that the Department of Correction was to never admit any new prisoner into the walls of that state prison due to its severe overcrowding, inadequate facilities, and non-existent ventilation.

3. Health clinic's isolation ward


In 1989, the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution opened its doors to house incoming inmates. The state prison, once hailed for its hellish and barren conditions, closed its doors in June of 1992.

4. Unknown building at the rear. It may have been a medical facility at one point (this prison housed the hospital for the entire state prison system), or a minimum security attachment. Some rooms were decorated in paint, while one had an elaborate "fireplace."


5. Power plant


6. Death row (that's not me)


I would like to thank the Tennessee Department of Corrections for showing us around the facilities and allowing us access to their buildings, and the Tennessee Film, Music and Entertainment Commission for helping coordinate the day-long trip! It was very much worth it. You can find many more photographs from this trip and prior trips at my entry on Abandoned!

Hope you enjoyed this photoset!

[seicer]

Disclaimer: Do not even attempt to trespass or venture wayward into the sprawling facility. It is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by armed guards! We entered through the Army Corps. of Engineers, and the process was very laborous... but well worth it.

On July 1, we were allowed access into the Indiana Army Ammunitions Plant. Tours are not given, and general media are not allowed inside, since one government contractor still produces black powder on-site. It took nearly three years of calling and persistence, but it was well worth it! Over a span of five hours, we did a quick run-through of four buildings -- a power house, power plant, laboratory, and a sulfuric acid concentration house -- out of approximately 400 structures, and hundreds of igloos. Sprawling out over 10,000 acres, the complex housed a smokeless powder plant, a rocket-propellant plant, and a bag-manufacturing/loading facility. A rocket-propellant plant was never completed.

1. Igloo 4801. Hundreds of igloos, many of them still active, store black powder.


2. Igniter line area. These structures were extremely contaminated and were burned in 2006. Only six buildings could be burned on a given weekend and only if the wind conditions were favorable.


3. This was once the main shipping and receiving hub for the ordnance works.


4. Power Plant (Building 2541). This was a smaller power house for the shipping and receiving area.


5. Shipping house area. These World War II-era shipping carts feature full rubber wheels. This is to reduce sparks that may come from contact, especially when working around black powder.


6. A shipping house is visible in the distance.


Part II, covering the Propellant and Explosives district, will be forthcoming! Enjoy this photo set! As always, you can see hundreds more with a full, detailed history at my entry.

[seicer]

Disclaimer: Do not even attempt to trespass or venture wayward into the sprawling facility. It is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by armed guards! We entered through the Army Corps. of Engineers, and the process was very laborous... but well worth it. See more photographs and history at my entry.

Part II: Propellant and explosives area

7. These unmodified World War II-era flatcars are in excellent shape!


8. One power plant... we didn't enter this one.


9. Sprouting buildings up like weeds.


10. From the interior access roads, you really could not see much for the heavy vegetation. But from the roof of a power plant...


11. ^


12. The pump house is immediately visible.


13. Laboratory (Building 706-3). Although mostly empty, this fantastic building is akin to walking into a time portal. Vintage signs, equipment, and papers lay scattered about. The building itself is in excellent condition, given that it has been closed for nearly 40 years!


14. ^


15. Change House (Building 707-29). The triple X's indicate that black powder may be present -- on anything from clothes to shoes and even hair. The plant took the safety of the workers very seriously.


16. Sulfuric Acid Concentration House (Building 303-2). I have no idea on the purpose of this four-story building, but I'm pretty sure it involved sulfuric acid and wasn't too pleasant.


17. ^


18. ^


19. Pump House (Building 402-3). Cooling Tower Chlorinator...


20. ^


21. ^


22. Power Plant (Building 401-1). Chemox Gas Mask.


23. ^. Holy light.


24. ^.


25. ^. Cart.


26. ^. Going higher.


27. ^. At the top interior floor. Don't look down. I'm very much afraid of heights, and I was literally taking baby steps all around the upper floors!


28. ^. Peering up.


29. ^. Peering down at the top interior floor.


30. ^. I couldn't resist.


Pshew! You can see all the photographs from the propellant and explosives area here, and view hundreds of more photographs and history at the main article here. Comments/questions welcome. Enjoy!

Edited by seicer, 02 July 2007 - 02:06 PM.

[Mobuchu]

Prison or not, I love that administration building.  Thanks for the photos.

I have some interior pics of a building that was recently demolished here in Charlotte, I'll post them when I get a chance.

[Rural King]

This is an awesome thread IMO. Of course I am a industry and industrial history fan, so it may just be me. LOL I find these sort of industrial sites and operations, and their histories, fascinating. Most people just forget about such operations, but they usually had a tremendous impact on the economic and urban development of the communities and areas they were located in/by. Also, its cool that your persistance payed off and that you got to get your tour and take your pics. Now you have a very rare and interesting collection of pics that are definitely a conversation starter!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to post this very unique and rare set of pictures. Also, thanks for posting the disclaimer.

-To other mods: I have checked and the author of this thread and he states he has received legal permission from the facility operator for publication of these pictures on terms of the publishing of the disclaimer attached to both posts.-

[seicer]

Here are a bunch of randoms that I've uploaded to Abandoned over the past week. I've almost gone through my 2007 photograph collection, which means that I can start going through some 2006 directories!

1. Kentucky School for the Deaf: No real information here, just that some buildings are abandoned.


2. Exteriors at the Mt. Sterling High School in Kentucky.


3. Raccoon Furnace: Constructed in 1833 along what is today Kentucky Route 2, it closed in the late 1800s.


4. Along the road next to the Old Taylor Distillery.

[Mobuchu]

I was lucky enough to get inside this building before it was torn down to make way for new development.  I was there for work purposes so unfortunetly I didn't get to run around to take pics and I only had a point and shoot with me.  But the gentleman escorting me was nice enough to show me a couple things.
Charlotte has a bad rap for tearing down its old buildings for new developments.  This block is now the future site of a 27 story condo tower, ~35 story condo/hotel tower, ~17 story office tower, a parking deck, and street retail.  What do you think?  Should this building have been saved???
The Power building, built in the 1920's.















The basement


The security guard who was with me said there was once tracks leading into the building on these columns, and was later built over.  I dont really know if thats true or not?




Back outside:













And finally, here's a "before and after" from about the same angle......RIP

[seicer]

^ I'm not for sure what to think. There isn't a huge amount of street accessibility as shown from your latter photographs, but the ornate nature of the building is something that isn't replicated today. It needed some gut rehabilitation, but it was salvageable.



The tracks would have been on top and coal dumped to the bottom. Since it is a fairly large building, it would have required a massive boiler... and lots of coal.

[tombarnes]

Seems a bit of a waste to me.  Nice details over the entrance.  There was no protest whatsoever over its demolition?  I'd think that at least parts of it might have been worth the trouble of preservation.  BTW, I'm most impressed with your thread here Sherman.  Outstanding work you've done.

Edited by tombarnes, 19 August 2007 - 11:58 PM.

[seicer]

Ammunitions Depot: The self-sustaining factory, containing residential communities, power plants, offices, and much more, made artillery charges but was closed in 1992.

Nitrating House (Building 105-3)

1.

2.


Knife Grinding & Die Shop (Building 217-2): What was a relatively unassuming building provided to bear its fruit, with intact machinery, tools, spare parts and more lying about in a slowly decaying structure.

3. You only see these places in the old World War II movies.


4.


5. There were relatively few incidents at the facility over the years.


More coming!

Edited by seicer, 30 September 2007 - 11:55 AM.

[seicer]

Power Pack House (Building 221-3): These linear structures were served by a rail siding, and were connected to multi-story cylinder-shaped "rotation" houses via a conveyor.

6. These smaller carts collected whatever product came off of the conveyor, and were dumped into giant hoppers that were loaded onto the rail cars.


7.


Box Store House (Building 223-8): Nothing more than warehouses with conveyor belts, the contents inside ranged from items labelled "Explosives" to "Radioactive." Sounds nifty!

8. Don't smoke!


9. Note the power lines. In some areas, the wires are dead -- cut, down, etc. In others, they are live. But looks can be deceiving. A maintenance man, who presumed several lines to be dead, was quite literally shocked when the lines were live... he survived thankfully, but you can't trust anything inside!


More to come!

[seicer]

Vertical Dress House (Building 234-2): This was once used in the manufacture of black powder.

10. Vintage. There were some very nice handpainted signs elsewhere.


Sulfuric Acid Concentration House (Building 303-2):

11.


12.
Prepared for winter: thick coat and a radiator.


Main Laboratory (Building 706-1)

13.


14.


15.


Laboratory (Building 706-3)

16. It's no wonder why the grounds at the plant are so contaminated...


More to come!

[seicer]

Air Test House: I'm not for sure why some buildings are given crazy, off-the-wall names like "Air Test House," but this small wooden structure held many vintage Plymouth locomotives!

17. Plymouth locomotives rest in excellent condition. These were constructed in Plymouth, Ohio by the Plymouth Locomotive Works.


18. ?????


Firehouse: This was used until recently as a Charlestown fire station.

19.


20.


Power Plant (Building 401-)

21.


Propellent and Explosives area (new photos at bottom of gallery)

22. Power Plant (Building 401-1)


23. Cotton Dry House (Building 104-3): Used in the manufacture of black powder.


24. Nitrate houses on the left.



Enjoy these photo sets! Main page of the ammunitions plant.

[seicer]

River Valley Hospital will soon be demolished. A ceremony celebrating its long life as a hospital drew several hundred Sunday, and it will soon make way for upscale housing, which Ironton currently lacks a lot of. Read on about its great history and its expansion plans that were brought to a sudden halt.

1. Newer entrance, stocked full of copiers, equipment and furniture draped in black mold and other nasty toxins.


2. Original entrance from 1937. An ambulance business is in front, blocking portions of it. Several small extensions and renovations were underway when the facility abruptly closed.


Southeastern Kentucky Baptist Hospital: Constructed in 1951 and expanded in the 1970s, this will soon be torn down thanks to money provided by Governor Ernie Fletcher. It's already a total loss in some areas, with the only restoration remedy being a total gut and rehabilitate -- which is unlikely given its condition. I poked my foot through the roof while climbing around. I added a lot of history relating to the building, and photos under "Last Chance."

3. Morgue.


4. The hospital was pretty much like this throughout.


5. Surgery.


Enjoy these photos!

[ZachariahDaMan]

I have ton of photos I can post.  However I won't be giving building names or history.  I don't really want these places to be ruined for explorers by people going there to get drunk and trash crap.  If you know Detroit very well you will know them anyways.











Next one

[gsupstate]

seicer, on Oct 15 2007, 05:39 PM, said:

5. Surgery.


Enjoy these photos!

Really cool photo.