"Q: What the hell is this site about? This is a site about urban exploration in the Ozarks." Abandoned water slides, underground tunnels, abandoned buildings and half-demolished malls throughout Missouri were all once fair game for this blog, and remain fair game for those who post in Underground Ozarks' forums.
posted on Jun 16, 2008 - View this thread

The Light-Painter of Mojave D: An Interview with Troy Paiva (previously) about his photography and his new book, Night Vision: The Art of Urban Exploration. [Via BLDGBLOG]
posted on Jun 12, 2008 - View this thread

Like to poke about in abandoned buildings? Sure you do. But since you're not doing so right now, this guy has quite a few photo sets to tide you over.
posted on Oct 20, 2007 - View this thread

Illicit Ohio has a wide range of photos and essays of abandoned places in Ohio, from the Cincinnati subway system (yes, there really is was one, and it's been discussed here before), to various and sundry prisons, government installations, hotels, hosiptals, houses and more. And don't miss the old vs. new galleries, either.
posted on Aug 29, 2007 - View this thread

Beneath the Neon is a book-length account of author Matt O'Brien's exploration of most of the 400+ miles of flood-control tunnels underneath the glitzy lights of Las Vegas. This excerpt contains an interview with one of the hundreds of people who manage to live in these tunnels, despite the lethal floodwaters that sometimes wash through. Here's another excerpt, and there's also a Flickr gallery of images from the book's photographer, including graffiti galleries, enterprising inhabitants, and rarely seen perspectives of the Strip.
posted on Jun 2, 2007 - View this thread

Amazing collection of several galleries full of Japanese "urban ruins" photos, including abandoned amusement parks, refineries, apartment blocks, hospitals, schools, bowling alleys, & much more, including Battleship Island, the (previously posted) abandoned coal mining island off the coast of Nagasaki. Via.
posted on Dec 5, 2006 - View this thread

Despite the occasional cheesy superimposed nude (nsfw), for the most part this photo series of images taken by Charles Bodi inside a decaying thermal generating station is quite nice; my personal favorite.
posted on Nov 24, 2006 - View this thread

Gunkanjima or Battleship Island is 480 x 160 meters and was home to more than 5000 people. Abandoned for more than 40 years it is a microcosm of 20th century industrial development. A soundtrack to the photos. Or take the multimedia tour. Urban exploration.
posted on Feb 25, 2006 - View this thread

Abandoned Memories is short on text but thick with photos. Even without captions for every picture, contextual clues can give us a disturbing idea of what life might have been like in the Wayne County Child Development Center (before it was abandoned, razed, and turned into a golf course). The rather-less-easy-to-navigate Northville-Tunnels.com also has photos and information.
posted on Feb 3, 2006 - View this thread

There have been a number of urban exploration or modern ruins photography posts here over the years, but I couldn't find any that linked to my new favorite modern ruin site, opacity.us. With 85 galleries of subjects as gorgeous as Bannerman's Arsenal and as haunting as the Verden Psychiatric Hospital, it's a treasure trove of entropy on film.
posted on Dec 26, 2005 - View this thread

The Williamson Tunnels "The explanation most commonly offered [for the construction of the tunnels] is that having risen from humble beginnings, the rich retired merchant was touched by the poverty which pervaded the Edge Hill district and offered construction labour to the unemployed as a gesture of generosity"
posted on Aug 2, 2005 - View this thread

This post got me thinking about a couple of places on Long Island, NY, that are pretty scary. The Kings Park Psychiatric Center, for example. I've been there at night, and I tell you, knowing some of the history, it's terrifying. It's also strangely beautiful.
posted on Apr 16, 2005 - View this thread

You've probably seen Modern Ruins, Forgotten New York, and even Lost America... but have you seen the abandoned island of Gunkanjima? [via Boing Boing]
posted on May 22, 2004 - View this thread

Modern Ruins are a window into human histories, they tell the stories of the past through the stark presence of objects and architectures. Perhaps the most powerful aspect of ruins is the subject that is missing in the photographs; the people who once worked, lived, walked, talked, slept and dreamed in these spaces.
posted on May 12, 2004 - View this thread

Consider: a man in a suit on the roof of the Pan Am/Met Life Building. Yeah, that's a real photograph. Continuing the ever popular theme of urban exploration, the Jinx Magazine guys have documented some of their more audacious adventures. (warning: flash on the last link)
posted on Jul 28, 2003 - View this thread

Are You Up For The Challenge? It's about adventure! Urban Challenge is not how fast or how far you run or how well you know the city. Did Columbus know the seas well enough to look for a new route to the West Indies? Did Lewis & Clark adequately train for their expedition to find the Northwest Passage?
posted on Aug 15, 2002 - View this thread