MetaFilter posts tagged with urbanexploration

Chairman Mao's Underground City

Kattullus — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:33:27 -0800

Chairman Mao's Underground City is a pictorial travelogue of a small part of the tunnels that Chairman Mao had built under Beijing to serve as a nuclear fallout shelter. The intrepid urban explorers come across some surprising things. The complex, which was built by hand, could house three hundred thousand people for up to four months and had amenities such as restaurants, cinemas and roller rinks. Here's a short Travel Channel feature on the Underground City.

Detroit schools urban exploration & reclamation.

Item — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:49:39 -0800

Urban exploration has been featured here once or twice before, but Jim Griffioen's site photo-documenting his discoveries in and around Detroit deserves a look. Griffioen was recently interviewed [direct mp3 link] on the American Public Media radio program The Story. Jim is most interested in schools. He's taken photos of trees growing through books and other things left behind. Recently Jim has gone beyond documenting what he sees and is reclaiming what he finds. He collects abandoned library books and other school supplies and gives them to community centers. Previously - blog post by Griffioen on Detroit's abandoned Belle Isle Zoo

Canadian Urbex

dunkadunc — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:13:52 -0800

The Vanishing Point: Urban Exploration in Canada Michael Cook's website documents his trips to the dark, musty and exciting places where most people don't go. Ontario Generating Station, Niagra Falls Toronto Power Company Hydroelectric Plant, Niagra Falls Storm Drains of Toronto Storm Drains of Hamilton Monarch Mine, British Columbia

Miru Kim at TED

homunculus — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:00:58 -0800

Miru Kim: Making art of New York's urban ruins. "At the 2008 EG Conference, artist Miru Kim talks about her work. Kim explores industrial ruins underneath New York and then photographs herself in them, nude -- to bring these massive, dangerous, hidden spaces into sharp focus." [Via]

where few men have gone before

sidr — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:24:32 -0800

Adventuring by Wes Modes. Be sure to make it to the Infiltration Timeline and North Bank Fred's Trainhopping page. Here you might encounter souls like the Diggers of the Underground Planet, the Secret Urban Exploration Ninja Mafia, the San Francisco Suicide Club and other oddities.

"Wall up a dozen lawyers at one end and put a good fee at the other."

billypilgrim — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:21:18 -0800

Into the black. At nearly five miles, it's the longest transportation tunnel east of the Rockies. Built in 1874, its construction took 200 lives, nearly bankrupted the state of Massachusetts, and served as a crucible for modern engineering. Journey into the Hoosac Tunnel, urban exploration destination and the most haunted place in New England.

Slowly Gathering Moss

mippy — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:46:37 -0800

They call this “Sanctuary Wood” – for me it fulfils a dream. I’m sorry I trespass but if I had my dream somewhere like this would be my home and sanctuary. An urban-explorer and his girlfriend come across an abandoned caravan in the woods of Essex, then find they are not the only visitors... (The contrast between the rather purple prose of the commentary and the plainly-written comments from the stranger is particularly nice.)

Urban exploration Japan: abandoned mining town

planetkyoto — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:34:53 -0800

Urban exploration Japan: abandoned mining town. Step into the doctor's office for a dose of creepy. Three-part photo essay. "Haikyo" in the blog post title means "ruins".

Get yer urban exploration/dead mall fix right here

limeonaire — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:59:13 -0800

"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.

Night Vision

homunculus — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:50:17 -0800

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]

Urban Exploration Pictures

frobozz — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 12:31:34 -0800

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. Some of the best being the Hotel Vermont, the police department, Gary City Methodist, and the Holy Family Orphanage.

More abandoned places, because they're creepy and beautiful

dersins — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:07:13 -0800

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.

Urban exploration in Las Vegas

crazymonk — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 12:33:10 -0800

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.

Japanese Urban Ruins PhotoGalleries

jonson — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 23:04:37 -0800

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.

Decaying Thermal Generating Plant

jonson — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 22:30:42 -0800

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.

Gunkanjima

arse_hat — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 00:22:46 -0800

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.

One Can Only Imagine What Kind of Development Took Place Here

Gator — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 07:12:56 -0800

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.

Modern Ruins Photo Gallery

jonson — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:27:51 -0800

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.

The Williamson Tunnels

dhruva — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 19:21:53 -0800

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"

you can hear them in the halls at night...

exlotuseater — Sat, 16 Apr 2005 08:05:55 -0800

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.

Best.. Urban... Exploration.. Site.. EVER.

keswick — Sat, 22 May 2004 21:23:29 -0800

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]

Modern Ruins

papercake — Wed, 12 May 2004 12:37:06 -0800

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.

Invisible Frontier

sodalinda — Mon, 28 Jul 2003 14:43:08 -0800

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)

Gargantuan — Thu, 15 Aug 2002 15:56:51 -0800

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?