Structural Descent

Battery Dearborn

2009-07-13T10:30:00.004-04:00

Battery Dearborn by Ratso59
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This was photographed in Alabama on the Gulf Coast it shows the bunkers used to store ordinances and artillery during and after the Civil War.

Photographed with 35mm film in 1999 and is available in both black and white (seen here) and color versions.

American Federail

2009-06-26T10:57:00.006-04:00

While visiting western North Carolina in 1999 I had the chance to visit Bryson City an old railroad town that today is part of the Great Smoky Mountain Railway tour.
On the tracks across from the station sat an abandoned American Federail mail car most likely from the 1940-1950's era.

Photographed with 35mm film.

Old Iron Ore Cart

2009-06-07T08:02:00.005-04:00

Old Mining Cart by Ratso59
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This was photographed in Garnet Montana which is an old abandoned gold town about 20 miles east of Missoula and is open to the public it has many renovations underway to preserve it's history.

Also available on my FAA store.

Decomissioned

2009-05-12T17:17:00.006-04:00

While some enjoy catching rays at the beach I prefer to go off with my camera on little adventures particularity on the intercoastal waterway where all kinds of abandoned places and objects can be found and are just eager to get photographed. This old boat was left to weather away on the shore near Holden Beach, North Carolina It was photographed with 35mm black & white film in 1982.

It is available at both my Zazzle and FAA stores.

Weekend Retreat

2009-04-15T18:46:00.007-04:00

In the city of High Point North Carolina used to be an old tourist attraction most likely from the 1930's-1940's from my best guess and is unknown by many to this day as Carter Town, it sat on the outskirts of the city limits though only about a ten minute drive from the cities center.
I was fortunate back in the 1980's to know someone who owned the land that purchased it from the family who once owned and operated it for many years, it was a small scale place most likely known only to local families and groups during its hey day, it sat off the main road on some old farm property as a dirt road took you down to the old mill and covered bridge (shown here), there also were numerous old structures and cabins on the land some that were relocated from other areas in the county and were set up as part of the exhibit.

From what I understand the creek was used for gold panning during the 1800's and also years later when it became an attraction but as time went on its wealth dwindled away, though I admit I had to gold pan it for myself a few times to make sure, unfortunately with zero results.

The old Ford truck belonged to me and made a great prop for the shot while I spent many of weekends there as sort of a cheap getaway, the last I heard about this place after I moved away was that my friend sold it to someone in the 1990's and I think it was scheduled to be torn down soon afterward.

I was fortunate enough to be part of its memories even though it was just for a few short years, I wish I knew more about its history but I'm having no luck researching it online.

The Homestead

2009-03-29T09:06:00.005-04:00

Photographed in Forsyth County North Carolina in 1981 this homestead was once part of a big farm that was found on a backroad while I was touring the area, it appears to be a very early 1800 structure built of log slabs and filler. I originally photographed it in color 35mm film but decided to converted it to B/W with Photoshop to capture its historic character.

Glen Island Castle

2009-03-24T16:10:00.004-04:00

The Glen Island castle was built in Germany and reconstructed at its new home in New Rochelle New York in the late 1800's and was part of John Starin's resort, after many changes over the decades since its conception it became part of The Glen Island Casino's surroundings, a popular place during the WW2 era where many of the Big Bands played often.
The castle still stands today though mostly abandoned, the last I remember and at the time of this photograph in 1981 it was used for the storage of the local Iona College's rowing team's boats and supplies.

Two Cabins, One Outhouse

2009-03-15T10:35:00.005-04:00

Garnet Montana is an old abandoned gold town once popular in the late 1800's and early 1900's It has many of its old abandoned cabins and commercial structures still standing, this interesting and inspiring place hidden in the mountains is great place to visit if ever in the region.

Photographed using 35mm film in 1996.

The Old Lake Waramaug Casino

2009-02-25T10:13:00.010-05:00

The old casino on Lake Waramaug Connecticut was once a very active place, its early history is unclear at the time of this posting but my best guess perhaps would be it was built in the late 1930's or early 1940's.
During the 1970's it was a hot spot nightclub for young adults from the surrounding towns as well as out of state individuals many whom owned homes around the lake.
It also played a part both interior and exterior for the 1981 Hollywood production of "Friday the 13th part 2" which was also filmed around various parts of Lake Waramaug including New Preston a village of Washington Connecticut which borders the lake. This was photographed in late 1981 after it closed its doors for good and prior to it being burned to the ground a year or so later.

Lyndonville AFS (Abandoned)

2009-02-15T07:50:00.005-05:00

East Mountain in Vermont once housed the Air Forces ground-based air facility for the military. Originally named the North Concord Air Force Station it was constructed in 1952, in 1961 it reported a UFO sighting that lasted roughly eighteen minutes and a few hours before the alleged abduction of Barney and Betty Hill that was made famous by a book and later by a TV movie starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons in 1975. In 1962 the Air Force Station's name was changed to The Lyndonville AFS and a year later in 1963 it was deactivated and closed down.
The abandoned radar buildings and barracks came under years of decay and abuse followed by the closing of the road to the mountain a few years after this photograph was taken in 1997. The last I heard plans were made for the land to become a wind farm for the surrounding towns.
A great report on the area with images can be found here and is well worth a look.

Abandoned Bridge (The Old Sunshine Skyway)

2009-02-07T14:39:00.005-05:00

This photograph of the old Sunshine Skyway a cantilever span type bridge in Tampa Bay shows the destroyed pier that was struck by the freighter "MV Summit Venture" on May 9 1980 killing 35 people.

This image was taken with 35mm slide film in late 1986 as the final stages of the new Sunshine Skyway Bridge were being completed, in 1993 the Old Bridge shown here was demolished.

Inside The Roundhouse

2009-01-30T08:19:00.008-05:00

Photographing abandoned places could perhaps be said as capturing a fragment of ones own personality as well as the viewers who admire and connects to such genre.
Being able to communicate visually ones point of view to another with such interest and enthusiasm is an art in itself especially when your subject matter is about decrepit, decaying and abandonment it's much different and more challenging then photographing beautiful landscapes but being able to accomplish this with just natural lighting and without any fancy effects makes it most unique and rewarding.

This monochrome image was taken at the Spencer Shops in North Carolina in the early 1980's inside the now restored roundhouse, the natural light coming from the upper windows sheds it as needed to give it the necessary mood that I was wanting to convey while the exposed post and beams of the structure along with the old locomotives being stored adds the theme.

Life after Death

2009-01-23T09:20:00.003-05:00

As gloomy as it may sound I find walking through graveyards very relaxing and sometimes a place where great photographic opportunities exist.
Take this shot for example, where in an abstract kind of imagination the life of the tree almost appears to have taken on the spirit of the young departed, both tree and headstone being quite old.

This was taken in an older section of a fairly large cemetery somewhere in North Carolina which also shows other graves from the 1800's with both children and adults. I look at this headstone and imagine a young family that moved to the south from the north during the time of the civil war or soon after and losing this adolescent to perhaps either sickness or another type of accident.

Though originally photographed in 35mm color I decided to convert it to black and white for the reasons of both contrast and mood.

Georgia Farmhouse

2009-01-18T11:00:00.005-05:00

Sometimes taking backroads has its benefits, this old abandoned farmhouse was outside of the historic town of Andersonville Georgia where I stopped for the first time to shoot a few photographs on the way home from Tennessee back in 1997, the countryside was gorgeous and while leaving the historic town I decided to take a route that was a bit out of the way of the main highway but well worth it.

Like out of a novel, the miles and miles of lonely roads filled with farm's and abandoned structures bought me to a transitory state, It was a great opportunity of the senses and I could easily visualize the historic past coming to life before me as I drive past the forlorn aged dwellings. This image was a result of my experience of this area it captures the feel of a families past, their dreams and hopes that as time went on and generations past, slowly declined into an almost dreamy death.

This was photographed using Kodak 35mm Infrared b/w film and Pentax camera.

Abandoned Brick House

2009-01-15T07:55:00.006-05:00

Living in an old railroad town has its benefits, both preserved and abandoned buildings run in the abundance and can be found within blocks away. This house was probably built in the early 1900's and was used both for residential and commercial ventures over the years most recently a hairstylist salon but was closed and boarded up about 5 years ago.

There are many other small towns within a 20 mile range from here that I have been scouting for photographic opportunities and will eventually post the images here.

This was photographed with my Nikon digital camera and converted to sepia with Paint Shop Pro X2.

Rustic Barn

2009-01-11T09:26:00.006-05:00

Old abandoned barns make for great explorations and photographic opportunities, their individual characteristics of architectural details present themselves beautifully for the camera giving a hint of history and somewhat of a time line to the past.
This image was photographed in Guilford County North Carolina in 1981 using 35mm film, most of the farmhouse sharing the land was destroyed by fire but the old barn survived in the overgrowth of pastureland.

The Back Shop

2009-01-08T07:44:00.004-05:00

Built in 1905 in Spencer North Carolina was the huge Back Shop facility used by Southern Railway to overhaul their steam locomotives, it was once filled with milling machines, tools and a huge crane that serviced the iron horses at a rate of about three a week during its peak and was once North Carolina's largest commercial building of that time period.
With the modern upcoming age of diesel the building gradually became obsolete and finally closed its doors in 1960 though the classification freight yard remained open until the late 1970's.

Now part of the North Carolina Transportation Museum it is under Phase II of its renovation and seeking donations to help cover its $16 Million in construction costs.

This was photographed in 1979 prior to its renovation using 35mm film.

Doorway to Darkness

2009-01-05T15:22:00.006-05:00

Fort Morgan Alabama on the Gulf Coast is quite a place to explore indoors and out, the abandoned fortress and its interesting history puts this on my favorite places list.

Its construction was completed and garrisoned in 1834, the forts new world architecture was designed by Baron Simon Bernard who was a French general of engineers and once served under Napoleon, years later he emigrated to the United States where he soon served as Brigadier-General of Engineers and given numerous extensive work for the government notably at Fort Monroe Virginia and around New York.
The fortress was named after Daniel Morgan who served in the Revolutionary War and later became a US Representative of Virginia.

In 1864 the confederacy with 600 men led by Brig. General Richard Page a cousin of Robert E. Lee surrendered the fortress during The Battle of Mobile Bay to Union Forces on August 23 1864 after a heavy two week artillery bombardment.

The fort was active during four wars.. The Civil War, The Spanish-American War, World War 1 and World War 2.

Listed as a Historical Landmark in 1960 and in 2007 it joined the list of the "10 most endangered battle sites" by the Civil War Preservation Trust.
The site is maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission and opened to the public.

Abandoned Roundhouse

2009-01-03T11:46:00.004-05:00

Located in Spencer North Carolina is the famous Spencer Shops this was Southern Railways maintenance facility of the southeastern US, the roundhouse built in 1924 for steam locomotives has 37 bays and is one of the largest ever constructed, outdoors there is a 100 ft turntable that was used in conjunction with the roundhouse for servicing these mighty iron beasts of yesteryear.

This photograph was taken in 1979 as the second phase of land and buildings were being donated by Southern Railways to The State of North Carolina for its new transportation museum.

Today The North Carolina Transportation Museum has restored most of the buildings including the Roundhouse and Backshop, this facility is also used to restore both steam and diesel locomotives as well as antique passenger cars and rollingstock. It houses many exhibits including a great selection of fine antique automobiles. A train ride taking you around the property is also available.

I highly recommend this place to both history nuts and railfans alike, if your ever in the Charlotte and Greensboro areas this is a great place to visit.

Being an old urban explorer for many years I was fortunate enough to be able to have access to the site during the late 1970's and early 80's to photograph this image and many others that I will be posting from time to time in the future.

Photographed with 35mm film and Pentax camera.

Fort Slocum

2009-01-01T10:41:00.007-05:00

In New York on the western end of Long Island Sound lays Fort Slocum on Davids Island that is owned by the City of New Rochelle, its history starting back before the Civil War consisted of a hospital that was built for military use and also servicing confederate prisoners that were located on Hart Island, one of the smaller islands next to it.

Over the years it was used by the Army Air Force and then as the temporary home of the First Air Force, in the early 1950's it went back to Army use and soon housed a school for Chaplains and the Armed Forces Information School, from 1955 through 1960 the new Nike Ajax Air Defense system was setup, the Radar and Control Systems were on Davids Island while the underground missile silos were installed on Hart Island.
The Chaplain school was moved to nearby Fort Hamilton in 1962 followed by the closing and transfer of the information school in 1965 to Fort Ben Harrison Indiana this was followed by the military totally abandoning the island after more then a century of operations, in the years following overgrowth, vandalism and fire damaged most of the building.

Unfortunately the City of New Rochelle officially condemned the island and everything was totally demolished in late 2008.

I would like to thank Michael Cavanaugh of the Fort Slocum web list and Alumni Association for contacting me and giving an update of the saddened news of Fort Slocum, his website has a more in depth history with photos of this great place and I would recommend anyone who may be interested to stop by and visit.

This photograph was taken with 35mm film at Glen Island in New Rochelle around 1980.

For you urban explorers a YouTube flick was released of some people exploring Davids Island, taken in 2003 it's about 10 minutes long, be advised some language written as graffiti may not be suitable for young viewers.

The Old Mule

2008-12-30T15:33:00.004-05:00

Rural communities are true treasures in my opinion you can always find unique subjects to photograph such as this antique McCormick-Deering tractor.

These tractors were sold around the world and built for life, this one looks to be a 10-20 model built in the early 1920's it has a four cylinder kerosene engine, steel wheels, pulley drive and crank starter that enhances its character far more then today's modern tractor.

The old white barn with its faded and scaling paint made a great backdrop while the red window accented the rusty old mule making it take center stage in shot.

Information on these old antique tractors and other types can be found on the Antique Farming website.

Photographed in 1997 somewhere in Montana using 35mm film and my Pentax camera.

Brewers Farm

2008-12-29T21:15:00.005-05:00

This old abandoned farm was photographed in Davidson County North Carolina back in 1982, though I don't know the exact age of the structures my guess would be early 1800's from looking at how the structures were constructed and materials used. The owner whose family ancestors owned and worked the land originally gave me permission to photograph the buildings and its surrounding landscape.
The image was taken with my Pentax and 35mm film.

Life in a Ghost Town

2008-12-28T07:35:00.005-05:00

Garnet is an old mining ghost town, located in the western mountains of Montana approximately 32 miles due east of Missoula that is accessible to the public and is being slowly restored by its small population of residents. Besides the structures, many remnants of its past can be found on the land such as ore carts, antiques and various other machinery, the mountains and tall pine trees that surround the town makes a beautiful and picturesque backdrop for everyone to enjoy. If ever in the area this is a great place to see that will take you back to a time when gold and silver mining was part of American history.

Photographed in 1997 with my Pentax camera using 35mm film.

Greetings

2008-12-27T12:29:00.002-05:00

This is my second blog on blogger.com which will be focused more on Abandoned and Decayed structures as well as other various objects. Photographic prints, postage and other gifts can be purchased on my Zazzle store "Ratso's Place". I will constantly be adding new content and links so please feel free to stop in again and visit.
Most images were produced with 35mm film over the period of 30+ years though recently I have gone digital.

I hope you enjoy your stay.
-Richard

End of the Line

2008-12-27T00:48:00.000-05:00

The Virginia and Truckee (V&T) Railroad, Nevada's first shortline was constructed to haul lumber, ore and other various supplies from Carson City to Virginia City for the Comstock Lode in 1870, soon after it was extended to Reno. This old section of track stores several decaying rail cars that sit exposed out in the open desert near Gold Hill, a suburb of Virginia City where some of the old abandoned Comstock mines still can be seen.
Photographed in 1997 using 35mm film.