October 9, 2002

10:39 AM

There may be something in the human psyche that finds crumbling and abandoned structures somehow fascinating. In Abandoned-Places.com, Henk van Rensbergen, a Belgian airline pilot, has compiled an archive of brilliantly atmospheric and evocative images from decaying and deserted industrial complexes, airports, hotels and other assorted structures from around the world. Arguably superior in composition to those found on many comparable sites such as zone-tour.com and abandoned-buildings.com, his images can be haunting, intriguing or disturbing, but are always strangely compelling. Enjoy!
posted by Doozer (22 comments total)

couple more links @ this thread.
posted by robself at 10:47 AM on October 9, 2002

(Er, including all of these. But that was almost three months ago.)
posted by languagehat at 10:52 AM on October 9, 2002

My personal fave (OK, cuz most of them are a short drive away):
The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit
Detroit's a hotbed of abandoned building action, a mecca for urban spelunkers.
(Sorry if redundant, I didn't see the link in the other thread).
posted by chandy72 at 11:01 AM on October 9, 2002

I like the pics of George Dubya's Brain.
posted by zanpo at 11:03 AM on October 9, 2002

I mentioned it first

you guys are late

BWAWAHAHAHA
posted by matteo at 11:06 AM on October 9, 2002

I like the pics of George Dubya's Brain.

For the love of god, can we leave the partisan sniping out of at least one thread?
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:09 AM on October 9, 2002

This place is a pretty good source of stuff like this ...

http://www.deadmalls.com/

This mall in particular
posted by Dillenger69 at 12:15 PM on October 9, 2002

Not really abandoned anymore - it is used as a movie set - but the Ambassador Hotel is a interesting abandoned place. Home of the Coconut Grove, Robert Kennedy's assassination and early Academy Awards ceremonies, there is just something very cool about it in a I'm-ready-for-my-close-up kind of decaying Hollywood glamour way.

"The Decay of Fiction" a film showing at the New York Film Festival was shot there. Read about it at the Village Voice. Hope it comes out west.
posted by birgitte at 12:16 PM on October 9, 2002

Can anyone explain the woman's picture at the end of the Compagnie Maritime Belge series? (7 o'clock on the wheel) Is that a billboard outside the window, is it Photoshopped, or what?
posted by deadcowdan at 12:20 PM on October 9, 2002

Also from Detroit: Urban Decay
posted by BinGregory at 12:38 PM on October 9, 2002

Billboard
posted by matteo at 12:38 PM on October 9, 2002

Also, try out the viewing hole gallery.
posted by jasonspaceman at 12:44 PM on October 9, 2002

Thanks Doozer. I've seen this site before, but it was good to be reminded of it (some of the pictures are just fabulous). I love things like this, and I'm happy they seem to make repeat appearances here. Here are some more: Essex Mountain Sanatorium, Danvers State Mental Hospital (where Session 9 was filmed) and infiltration.org.
posted by biscotti at 12:45 PM on October 9, 2002

One of the cooler abandoned buildings I've ever seen (though not up close) is the Arsenal on Bannerman's Island in the middle of the Hudson.
posted by risenc at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2002

Yeah, isn't Bannerman's Island something? I've been close in a boat, but I'd love to land and roam around the ruins. The history is fascinating too. (From that site: "Do not attempt to visit Bannerman Island. At this point it is a very treacherous combination of buried hazards and dangerous wall conditions.")
posted by languagehat at 1:35 PM on October 9, 2002

For Detroit ruins enthusiasts, this book is fascinating. There are some essays in here speaking against the ruins tourism too, particularly against people like Vergara , who was into the idea of making Detroit a ruins environment a la Athens.

That Dixie Square Mall is out of control...unbelievable that they let it stand. deadmalls is a great site but they sure don't seem to update it much. Would love to see more.
posted by marzenie99 at 2:22 PM on October 9, 2002 [1 favorite]

There is an old abandoned hotel in my town, Fayetteville, Arkansas, called the Mountain Inn. Lots of people break into it and climb on top of it all the time. I never have, but I hear it's really kind of cool.

I'd love to have an art show in there before they finally decide to tear it down.

There's also an old abandoned basement back behind the Mountain Inn, in this alley. It's under a restaurant. That's kind of cool. And right by the basement is this really neat atrium in the middle of this downtown building. Very odd.
posted by geekhorde at 3:05 PM on October 9, 2002

part abandoned, part infrastructure: Invisible New York by Stanley Greenberg. Some images here, but better browsed at your local bookstore.
posted by eddydamascene at 5:21 PM on October 9, 2002

...and thanks for the links Doozer. Great post.
posted by eddydamascene at 5:27 PM on October 9, 2002

I love this kind of stuff. I'm in London Ontario, and if anybody knows of any cool places to check out in this fair city, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!

Doozer, good post, even if it was already posted a few months ago.
posted by ashbury at 7:18 PM on October 9, 2002

Also check out the beautiful abandoned roads at The Lost Highway. (I searched like crazy and found nothing -- hope this isn't a duplicate post.)
posted by boredomjockey at 8:11 PM on October 9, 2002

I just posted this the other day for the thread on night photography. Check out Lost America.
posted by bicyclingfool at 11:36 PM on October 10, 2002