Forgotten Boston

Forgot about Boston - Part 7 (Chicago)

2010-03-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

On the trip from Detroit to Chicago I was able to see Gary Indiana from the highway. If your like me and can appreciate beauty in industrial wastelands and social decay you can understand my excitement at seeing miles of smoke stacks and abandoned buildings. Alas I was not able to make my way to Gary on this trip but it's been earmarked in memory for a later visit.

I arrived in Chicago early afternoon, on the way I had managed to make contact with someone who could let me crash at his place that night, however he wouldn't be available until later that day. It's really hard to walk around a city with about 60lbs of bags so I decided to kill some time doing laundry. With a bag full of clean clothes and still hours to kill I made my way to his neighborhood. Luckily he was right near Lake Michigan so I was able to sit by the water for a few hours and enjoy the awesome weather.

As I was sitting at the end of a pier with a small lighthouse on it, a fisherman sat right down in front of me making my view all the more enjoyable

Sorry, I'm a gay man who enjoys a little butt cleavage ;)

With the sun setting and still no word from my host I decide to head towards the local watering hole to grab a bite to eat and a few beers. My luck would be that I find a place right across the street from a construction crane. I make a mental note and head inside. As I'm sitting at the bar a woman starts conversation with me after seeing all my gear next to me. I explain that I am traveling to explore weird shit, we start talking about climbing things. Turns out she's a huge fan of heights. I mention there's a crane across the street that I have my eye on. Before I can ask her if she'd like to join me she's out the door and heading across the street. I ask the bartender to watch my bags and follow her out. We quickly make our way into the construction site, locate the crane, circumvent their hilarious attempt at securing it and proceed to ascend. It had a great view but was pretty far outside of the loop to offer a good view of the city.

She had to take off so we made our way down, sadly I never did get her name or contact info so she's never seen this picture of herself. She was a very fun easy going girl and reminded me a lot of one of my best friends Becky.

Finally my host is available, I walk to his apartment, take a shower and crash.

The next morning I have to go basically as soon I wake up. Luckily I was able to get in touch with someone else that could host me for as long as I was in the city. I make my way into the Loop to meet Mark at his office. Mark saw my ad on couchsurfing and instantly jumped at the idea of urban exploration. Mark worked on the 11th or 12th floor of the Bank Of America building. From his office you got a clear view of construction going on down the street. As I make my introduction with Mark he asks me what I have planned for the day, I point out his office window at the two very large construction cranes and say "that!". Mark lets me keep my stuff at his office for the day and I head out to scope out the construction site.

Knowing full well that I don't have a chance to do a crane mid-week and mid-day I make mental notes on my plan of attack for later that night. After getting enough info about this site I start walking around town and scoping out a few things. One thing I noticed right away was that Chicago has GIANT fire escapes and every single one of them goes to the roof.

This is amazing as every city I have ever seen only has external fire escapes up to about the 15th story. Apparently in Chicago they don't have such limitations. I was not able to get around to climbing one of these but trust me when I tell you that I will on a return visit.

While eating lunch I made a call to a contact a friend of mine gave me, Katherine. Katherine was not able to come out to see me while I was in Chicago but she did give me some info on an abandoned construction site right in the Loop. With her hints I was able to find the location easily on my cell phone.

I arrived at the site only to find it surrounded by larger buildings and office workers on their lunch hours. It was a very busy site but I was determined to make it inside and see something today. I walked around the block 3 or 4 times before finally seeing the chance to make my move. There was no chance of getting over the fence without getting seen, my only hope was that whoever did see me wasn't going to make a fuss about it, luckily no one did. I quickly made my way to the top of the building and to my surprise, there's another crane, I couldn't see this one from the ground. This was my first daytime construction explore and I get lucky enough to have a crane on-site! What a day!

I chilled up here for a few hours before deciding I should make my way back to Mark's office so I can grab my stuff and follow him back home. On my way down the stairs I came around a corner only to see a pair of legs sticking out from it. Apparently I had missed the fact that there was on-site security! I quickly and quietly turn around, head back up a flight of stairs and find another stair well to make my decent on. Finally on the ground floor I make my way to a corner of the fence not overlooked by security and quickly hop over it into a circle of office workers out having a smoke. I mutter something about the construction around here being a complete disaster and that they are never going to finish my damn condo and quickly make my way out of sight.

Back at Mark's office I grab my stuff and follow him back to his place where I meet his roommate Brandon. Brandon and Mark had been thinking about breaking into the UE scene for a bit but never got around to starting it. I tell them that tonight is their chance and if they follow me I can promise to show them a view of their city they probably would never see.

Later that night Brandon Mark and I make our way back into the city and find ourselves staring up at the crane I had pointed to outside of Mark's office window. We look over the site, make sure there's no one on-site, check to make sure there are no motion sensors or video cameras and quickly make our way in. When we get into the building we are alarmed to find a radio turned all the way up giving the feeling that someone was there. After sneaking about a little bit inside I determine that it's safe to proceed and beckon the others to follow me up the stairs. As we get to the top floor we can see the 2 cranes looming over us. The path to the crane was basically a 2x4 layed from the roof the building to one of the bars on the crane shaft. Mark was too scared to make his way across the board but Brandon pushed on. We finally arrive at the top of the crane and marvel at the view of it. With a beer in hand I go about taking pictures.

Back on the ground I can't contain my excitement! I just climbed 3 cranes in 2 days, Chicago is FUCKING epic! I instantly fell in love with the city and forsee myself settling there later in life. We head back to Mark and Brandon's so they can meet with another couchsurfer they are letting crash at their place.

The next morning I awake and instantly realize that every muscle in my body was on fire, you can't climb 60 stories 2 times a day and not expect some pain, I take the day to rest and decide what I want to see next in the city the next day. As it turns out there wasn't much abandoned that I wanted to see. I decided I was going to scope out the Uptown Theater, but on my way I came across an abandoned church I just had to see.

I left here and made my way to Uptown, when I arrived I was shocked to see workers going in and out of the building out back. Not being put off by the sight of activity I went to the front of the theatre only to find that someone had installed a door bell, so I rang it. A rather portly gentleman answers the door and I explain to him that I'm a photographer interested in shooting the theatre. He advises that the owner is sick and tired of seeing his theatre on flickr in it's ruined condition and wants no pictures of it taken until the restoration is complete. The gentleman apologizes but asks me if I would like to see the theatre anyway provided I leave my camera in it's bag. Of course I jump at the chance and boy was it ever worth it. If you've never been fortunate enough to see this place look it up on flickr and you'll understand how absolutely stunning it really is in person.

Being this is my last day in the city I ask Mark and Brandon if they want come out with me later that night to try to get rooftop access somewhere in the city. They agree and also talk their other couchsurfer into tagging along. With some hints from UliveandUburn we head into the loop looking for a Marriott with access, you never really realize how many Marriott's there are in a city till you've been through them all. Finally we find out rooftop and proceed to give the city a fond farewell.

The next day I board my train to Boston, unfortunately for me I am seated next to the fattest family in America. Not only are they fat in that way that the french typically draw fat americans, but they are loud, obnoxious, ignorant and smell of frito's. 24hrs trapped on a train with these people and I've decided that I will never take a train over a plane ever again.

Forgot about Boston - Part 6 (Detroit)

2009-12-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

If you remember I had made plans with Nan and Lynn to meet everyone in Detroit. There was going to be 10 or 12 of us crowded into 2 hotel rooms for 3 days, this was going to be fun.

On the train to Harrisburg I met a girl who seemed to be flirting with me, I hate girls with no gaydar, she proceeded to tell me how she took the train to NYC for an audition with some sort of acting troupe, I didn't care. All I could think about was burning her uggs, but I figured the smell would choke everyone on the train. I managed to get my headphones on (signifying my complete disinterest in her) and proceeded to stare out the window for the next few hours, admiring the landscape of central PA. The clouds where thick and gray, and there was a haze in the air threatening a down pour at anytime. It kinda put me in a foul mood.

I arrived in Harrisburg feeling depressed and slightly worried because I had not heard from Lynn in awhile and she was supposed to meet me at the station. Something about the weather and seeing the cops at Central Station got me into a frame of mind that things where not going to go right. I hate it when I get into these moods.

Within seconds of getting my bag situated and settling down Lynn calls and lets me know she's on her way, this woman is amazingly reliable. We're off to Detroit, but first we have to stop to pick up Roland. The ride up to get Roland was interesting, if you know Lynn you know she can talk! I mean, you know how sometimes you get in those awkward silences? Well that never happens with Lynn, she is just a ball of conversation.

We go meet Roland at a truck stop somewhere in PA. He's gonna leave his car there for the weekend and ride the rest of way up with us. The only way I can describe Roland is a Dorky kid who looks likes he's a virgin and talks about sex almost incessantly. If you know anyone easily offended do not introduce them to Roland. What I'm trying to say is Roland is good people! The rest of the drive up was a pretty great time.

We arrive at the hotel in Detroit about 3am. Roland and I quickly find spots on the floor and attempt to fall asleep. Seconds later Lynn is screaming the hallway that she was promised a bed and if she can't sleep in a bed she's going back home. Roland get's involved because if she's going home he's gotta go too. After much arguing it's decided Lynn gets to sleep in a bed, crisis averted.

The next morning we all wake to our free continental breakfast, I'm introduced to everyone, damned if I remember everyone that was there though. It's decided we're going to hit an old police station first.

There was an old City Hall or something right across the street, but everyone was on the move to our next location. A church a few had already seen before that has been dubbed Saint Curvy. I'd really like to go back and shoot this church with a wide angle someday.

This is DJ Craig and me.

Craig's reputation had preceded him. The funny thing about Craig is he doesn't take pictures, but he is one of the the most photographed people on UER. I learned of Craig by the pictures of him climbing some insane shit, shit I want to climb, so naturally we hit it off on this trip.

Our next location was an old Hotel. Of all the places I got to see in Detroit this was my favorite.

There was so much to see here that I could spend a day shooting it and still not have gotten everything I wanted, but we wanted to see more before it was dark. We attempted to see Michigan Central Depot despite the protests of a few who say Homeland Security had been watching because of a tunnel to Canada. We got out of the car to poke around a bit but within seconds someone from the group was yelling for us to get back in the car and get outta there cause they just saw Homeland Security. We decided that this would not be a good time to try it. Next was a recently abandoned hospital, as we drove up though we noticed a bunch of people near the entrance. As we got closer they noticed us as well and started hurrying towards us on their ATV's. Craig got out of the car and decided to ask one of them if we could take a few pictures. He not so nicely told us to get the fuck off the property, I have a feeling they where scrappers. Our next stop it was decided would be a factory.....yes another long empty building with concrete pillars that taper at the top. The same place every city has, but it was getting late and we wanted to do something that guaranteed us entry.

Except for leaving the front door wide open, this location was serious about security, this is Razor wire, you don't want to get tangled up in that shit!

Luckily there was a water tower on the roof that needed to be climbed.

And a pretty cool power station.

The group retired to the hotel, Craig and I wanted to try some rooftops downtown. I borrowed Lynn's car and headed towards the heart of Detroit. Craig and I walked around a bit looking for roofs that might be easy. It wasn't long before we came upon The Lafayette Building, a legend of Detroit exploration. Sadly at this point it was fully under demo and everything inside was in the process of being gutted. We poked around a bit but eventually headed directly to the roof before calling it a night.

The next day Craig suggested we break off from the group and go do some draining. I've never done any draining and was quite excited to give it a try. Once again we borrowed Lynn's car and stopped at Walmart, I was not about to walk around in an unknown drain with my only pair of shoes. We got some cheap waders and made our way to what Craig called Red Run.

We followed a 12 foot round concrete pipe for about 2 miles, this was pretty boring because there was little to look at and the echoing of us sloshing through shin high water was starting to drive me nuts. Finally we arrive at some sort of juncture, the problem is the pipes get too small and neither of us are willing to crawl through based on what we've seen already. I take a single shot and we head back

We try to meet up with the main group but everyone is everywhere and when we finally track someone down they have moved on to the next spot. This made the rest of the day a little tricky. We managed to meet up with Nan and Lynn at an old theater with an Aztec theme.

Lynn takes her car back and I head out with Nan and Amy (Rana X) to find a church Nan was convinced she saw. After a great deal of hunting we find it, but it's pitch dark and impossible to shoot anything. Still we make our way in and explore as much as we can. I decide I am going to try to paint the church with my flash to try and get a shot out of the visit.

Back at the hotel everyone is pooped and ready to pass out. The next day everyone was making their plans to head back home. I had managed to purchase a bus ticket to Chicago. I said my farewells to everyone with the promise of seeing them all soon for a party affectionately called Chestfest. Amy gave me a ride to the station and I was on my way.

Forgot about Boston - Part 5 (Philly)

2009-11-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

Ameris dropped me off at the train station, I couldn't wait to be on the move again. I was also excited to be getting out of NY. I like the state just fine but it seems a lot of the people are afraid, afraid of other people, afraid of their law enforcement, paranoid of anyone who doesn't look like they belong. I found the people in NY are too worried about what you are doing. I was told I shouldn't carry my respirator on my backpack because it makes me look like a terrorist, granted it is a full face industrial respirator, but still.....the thought never occurred to me.

So, full of glee to be going to Philly I boarded my train, but not before I took a cell shot of the bridge I was arrested on.

I made it to Philly and called my friend Dereck who was letting me crash on his couch for a few days. I hopped the right bus and was soon at his house. Dereck has been delving into his creative side with music lately. His "office" is a veritable cornucopia of knobs, sliders, petals, mics and instruments. You should check out what he does (Lostwars). That night Dereck and his awesome wife Rebecca took me out for mexican. On the way to the place we came across this dilapidated old church with attached rectory. Dereck and Rebecca mentioned the neighbors have been fighting with the old man that owns it for years. The old man and his wife inherited this property by some fluke and are trying to sell it for 1 Million dollars.......yes $1,000,000. I need to see this church!

After dinner and back at the house Dereck and I partake in a six pack or 2 and I get the great idea of going for a walk so I could scope out this church. With some gentle coaxing Dereck is willing to come. We get to the church and the main doors are locked up tight, I move to the rectory's front door, it's not even closed so I slip inside. I text Dereck to let him know I'm in, he had seen me and wants to come in too, He chooses the right moment and lets himself in. I did not come prepared for night exploring, all I had was my cellphone and wallet. With the flashlight app on my notaniPhone we poke around the place. The house looked as if someone was living in it, if it wasn't for the layers of dust and cobwebs on everything. The second floor consisted of 2 or 3 bedrooms, all of them with beds made up as if someone would be sleeping in them that night, one even had clothes laid out for the tomorrow that never came. I wish I had brought my camera so badly.

Finished exploring the house I realized I hadn't found an entrance to the church, rectory's are typically attached inside at some point. I frantically go through the small house looking for something I could have missed, maybe a tunnel in the basement?

"That's a loose step.....Dereck be careful"

CRASH!!!

"Are you ok?"
"ya I'm fine"
"ok, WHERE THE FUCK IS THIS CHURCH?"

I got to the point where I was ready to move giant pieces of furniture in the living room to see if the door was barricaded. Dereck advised against this and suggested we head back home.

The next morning Dereck and I walk to Starbucks, I talk him into buying a G1 phone (referral bonus WOOT) and we go check out the church again. The caretaker is outside taking care of the property, that's what caretakers do by definition.....anyway, I stop him and ask if it's possible I could get some pictures of the inside of the church. He goes through some business of telling me that he doesn't want the pictures to stir up no drama for him and doesn't want the newspaper looking into him but sure I can shoot the church. I get all excited and run back to the house to get my gear. On the way back Dereck runs into another neighbor if his, apparently this guy is the one making all the drama about the church. Dereck tells him I'm going to shoot the church and the guy immediately starts in about how it's an eye sore in the neighborhood and they just wish someone would do something about it. I don't care for this guy at all and just go about doing my thing.

The nosy neighbor managed to nose his way into the church using me and Dereck, because of this the caretaker started to get all worried and asked us nicely to please leave. Later Dereck sent me an article about the church. The article mentions graffiti in the rectory but when I was there the place was untouched.

I spent the rest of the day looking for anyone who wanted to explore Philly with me. I wasn't able to get anyone to respond so decide I am going to hit Philly on my own the next day. I got a lead on an abandoned factory that had a tall roof and I knew I wanted to see the rooftop of Divine Lorraine, so with tazer in hand I hit the mean streets of Philly early the next day.

I found the factory with ease, and thanks to some careless squatters found the entrance with ease as well. When I got inside I realized that the building was full of people who where sleeping and probably living here. This became very apparent when I came to the 4th or 5th floor and found a guy and girl sitting around a crude table cooking some heroin in a spoon. They had spotted me so I quickly explained that I'm here to take pictures of the building and not them and that I wasn't here to start any trouble. They asked me if I had found the building on the internet, like on trainhoppers.com (not a real site). I let him know that a friend told me about it and that I was just going to head to the roof so as not to disturb anyone. He told me to be careful cause there's a crazy dude that lives there as well and he carries around a baseball bat and won't think twice about killing someone. I continue exploring through the floors, a little more cautious this time, till I make it to the roof, the only place worth seeing in this building.

While sitting up here enjoying the view I get a PM from Byberrian Fanman (forgot his real name). He says that he would like to go exploring with me. I let him know I'm heading over to Divine Lorraine and I would meet him inside, he said he would be there in about an hour. I made my way out of the factory and as I crossed the street I stopped to take a picture of the building on my cell phone.

An old lady notices this and mentions her grandmother used to work there as a seamstress. She seems nice so I tell her that it's just a shell of a building now and it's home of some of the saddest people I have come across in journeys, she shrugs her shoulders and tells me to have a good day.

It wasn't long before I could see the sign on top of Divine Lorraine that gave it away. The building itself is epic in it's design and prominence in the neighborhood. The area is so run down and obviously poor but in the middle of it stands what used to be home to some of the snobbiest richest socialites in Philly's history. I quickly case the perimeter and spot my entrance. On the inside I make my way to the first floor and quickly realize I am not alone. Not wanting to die and have no one know where I am I upload a geo-tagged photo of the lobby with the title

"if no one hears from me. I was jacked here. Divine Loraine"

This is the only shot I was able to get of the first floor. I came face to face with the others I had heard, they size me up while I position the tazer in my pocket. Our conversation went like this.

Me: "I'm only here to take pictures, I don't want no trouble"
Guy in front: "Ya it's cool man, go ahead"
Guy in back: "Nah wait up man! wait up"
Guy in front: "Nah man it's not worth it, we're cool, just go ahead and take your pictures"

This exchange made me uncomfortable so I quickly make my way upstairs. As I'm going through the floors I came to the realization that they where all stripped bare! There was nothing but bad concrete and 2x4's on each floor.

Some of the balconies in the middle where pretty cool though.

Finally I made my way to the roof.

I had been here for about an hour and still had not heard from Byberrian Fanman. I make my way off the roof and notice a smaller building attached by a fire escape in the back. I make my way in and find an extremely cluttered building. The place was stuffed with old bureaus, beds, chairs and wardrobes. I assume when they gutted the main building they put everything in here. Because of the clutter and boarded windows it was hard to get good shots in here. But I did find one lonely chair that needed my company.

Satisfied with my explore I make my way out and buy some lemonade and nuts from the bodega across the street and proceed to wait for Byberrian Fanman to get in touch with me. At some point I missed a call to my cell so I call the # back. I ask if someone called me from this # and the guy tells me some dorky white kid borrowed his phone a few minutes ago and left. He could offer me no other info, so I continue to wait. As I'm waiting a curious thing happened in front of me, 4 well dressed black kids and a large REALLY well dressed black man got out of an Escalade and started selling pies on the street. They never asked me if I wanted a pie, but I was extremely confused by this, I assume so was everyone else because they were not buying any pies. This went on for about 30 minutes and then they disappeared.

Byberrian Fanman finally arrived, he was given away by the fact that he and I where the only dorky white kids around, and he had a tripod with him. He was also carrying a broke ass mountain bike. Apparently his back rim decided to blow up while he was peddling over and this is why he was late. He had stopped to borrow someone's cell phone but was unable to get through to me. I let him know that I had finished Divine Lorraine and had no other sites I knew of, but I had spied a few schools from the roof. He advised they where not worth seeing and suggested we check out Pooley Furniture. I took his suggestion and we headed that way.

Pooley Furniture is the same factory every town has. A long tall empty building with concrete pillars tapered out at the top, floor to ceiling windows and nothing to see at all. I was able to get a few shots out of some of the vines growing throughout the building but otherwise was wholly unimpressed with the site.

On the plus side there was an antique bus in the basement but it was pitch dark and impossible to shoot. I said my farewell to Byberrian Fanman and thanked him for trying so hard to make it out and meet with me.

The next day I was shipping out to Harrisburg where I was going to meet with Lynn again. This time we where headed to Detroit for what would later be called Nanopex. Dereck dropped me off at the train station where I quickly realized it was Sept 11th! Cops and dogs where swarming the station. They had passenger's baggage neatly laid out in the middle of the station and the dogs where going to each one looking for something. Knowing that I had an hour to kill and a good amount of herbal medication on me I found a quiet corner and quickly busied myself on my cell phone to kill the time. I had no problems with the police this day.

All in all I like Philly. It's the only city where I had fears for my own safety, but only inside abandoned buildings. Everyone on the streets of Philly greeted me with a smile, regardless if I fit into that neighborhood or not. I would like to return soon to see more as I know I missed a great deal!

Next: Detroit

Forgot about Boston - Part 4 (The Catskills)

2009-11-17T09:31:00.000-08:00

Adam arrived at 7/11 promptly, he let me know that we where going to pick up his friend Eric in NYC. With a quick call we learned Eric is just falling asleep and isn't feeling well. Apparently he was out climbing a high profile bridge the night before. With a few quick insults and gentle taunting from Adam Eric agreed to come along anyway. After a long drive into the city we had Eric on board and were on our way to the Catskills.

The Catskills was an extremely popular resort for most of NYC's Jewish population during the early parts of 1900 till about 1970. The advent of cheap airfare and reliable automobiles left the resort community with hundreds of hotels and bungalow style living quarters abandoned and neglected. The Jewish influence still remains however as one can see Hasidic Jews in almost any convenience store in the area.

Our first stop was a hotel that somehow had remained open for quite some time but had recently closed their doors. Adam was excited about being able to see this place as he has been waiting for it close. Sadly as we pulled up we found a security guard sitting in the booth at the front gate. We weren't too upset though cause we had another destination planned.

On the way Adam told me how the last time they were here they were chased off the property by a mob of angry Hasidic Jews. The confusing part is they where trying to turn the resort into a casino by claiming to be Native American. I had to see this for myself. We arrived at the resort and started with the small bungalows on the far left side of the property.

We worked our way over to the back of the main hotel where the some of the smaller rooms were located.

The place looked like everyone just up and left one day. There was still food in fridges and suitcases with clothes in them. Eric found an old bottle of milk and threw it at one of the buildings. I don't think I've ever smelt anything so vile in my entire life. We quickly made our way to the back where there was a big water tower to climb. The view from here was awesome.

(camera phone pic)

After the water tower we decided to check out the pools.

The function hall was a pretty cool place, but sadly I didn't get any good pictures of it. There was a giant teepee in the center of the room and Native American artwork everywhere. Keep in mind this place was owned and operated by Hasidic Jews. It was a confusing sight, but an amusing one as well.

We left here but were not quite sure where to head to next. Eric still was not feeling well but Adam was ready to do something else. We settled on The Pines as I had never seen it and it was one of the most popular places to visit in the Catskills, or at least it used to be. They felt bad bringing me here because of how trashed it is now, but I was happy to just see something new.

We arrived at The Pines and quickly made our way in, they where not kidding about how trashed this place is. I found it hard to get any good pictures of the place in it's current state.

I managed to snap one of the famous pool before Eric and Adam started filling it with the scattered lawn furniture.

While they were having their own fun I explored the rest of the hotel but found nothing of interest. I managed to get one more shot outta this place before I was done.

On our way towards the exit we stopped to check one of the side hotel buildings, as expected there was nothing to see, but we did find a room that appeared to have a bum living in it. He had covered all the windows with blankets and sheets so as to block out all light. The room was littered with recent newspapers, food wrappers and soda/booze bottles. It's sad to see anyone living in this sort of condition so I tore down the makeshift blinds to let some light into the room, maybe he'd be a little less depressed now......I doubt it.

Eric was kind enough to let me stay with him that night as I would be leaving early in the morning to make my way to Poughkeepsie. I cuddled with his kitty for a few hours and quickly fell asleep. The next day I woke up, said good bye and made my way to Penn Station.

I arrived in Poughkeepsie kinda late so there was very little daylight left. My contact here was Ameris (Snap228). She met me at the train station and let me know we were going to pick up her friend Ian (944kid). Our first stop was Hudson. Being that we had limited light we opted to do one of the smaller buildings that day.

We left here and headed to a rooftop Ameris had been scouting. This is one of the tallest buildings in the city and is right next to a pretty cool bridge right over the Hudson. As we got closer to the building it soon dawned on me that this is one of NY's multiple high rise ghettos. We walked right up to the building and without making eye contact with the man behind the bullet proof glass that is supposed to be security made our way into the elevator and to the top floor. What we found was a door with an alarm on it, but it was broken and the door doesn't close properly. Score!

After a few shots and a quick beer Ian suggests we do a bridge he knows is under construction. Why not! The bridge is called The Walk Way Over The Hudson, it used to be an abandoned railroad line but now is a pedestrian walkway. The site was easy to access, walk around a fence and walk out on to the bridge.

I just finished taking this shot when we noticed a flashlight headed our way. Ian had run off to explore further down the bridge so we knew it wasn't him. We quickly learned that it was a state cop investigating a tripped motion sensor. oops. We tried to txt Ian to tell him to stay put but he walked towards us and was eventually seen by the cop. We followed the cop back to the station where he gave us trespassing violations and told us we had to come back for court in 2 weeks.

After this mess I didn't want to do anything else in Poughkeepsie, I felt defeated and was worried about getting arrested. I booked my trains to Philly and was getting the hell out of New York as soon as possible.

ADDENDUM: I was kinda upset that I only got to see one building of Hudson on this trip so made plans with Ian and Ameris to do an overnight when I returned for court. I was particularly interested in seeing the woman's wing and the Administration building. Ameris and Ian met me at the train station and we stopped to grab a case of beer, it was going to be a long night. We made our way into woman's as that was the only entrance we knew about. Ameris was going to get some sleep, wake up early, take a few shots and then head to school. Ian and I where going to explore hudson all night. The woman's wing is extremely dangerous, the floors are all falling into the basement and if you don't watch where your going you can fall through. Ian learned this first hand at 3am when he fell through the floor and got a floor joist to the nuts.

We where looking for a way into admin, and it wasn't long before we realized we could take the tunnels to it. Once in admin we poked around a bit until we found a wide open door. We quickly made our way back to woman's, collected Ameris and our stuff and moved our camp out to the roof of Admin. It was a gorgeous night and we all got a few good hours of sleep. We woke to watch the sunrise over Poughkeepsie and when we were confident there was enough light made our way into the building to start shooting. By this point Ameris had to leave to go to school.

Finished with Admin we made our way out. I noticed a groups of houses up on a hill, we went in to check them out quickly but didn't find much of interest

Back to woman's.

After woman's we went to the Rec Center.

Last but not least was the newest building and the tallest of them all. We quickly made our way to the roof and worked our way down the floors. About halfway down my camera finally died, but it was ok, I got plenty of shots today.

Ameris was scheduled to meet us at McDonald's and take us over to the court house so we could deal with these violations. As Ian and I were waiting for her a state cop pulled up and asked us what we were doing. We explained we were waiting for a ride to court. He noticed our tripods and told us to don't even try going into Hudson cause they would arrest us. I let him know that we had no intention of going into those buildings anytime soon. Ian and I had a good laugh at that for a bit. Finally Ameris showed up and we made our way to court.

We arrived at court and all stood in front of the judge at the same time. He asked us what we were doing on the bridge. I explained we were only taking pictures and handed him a print of this one

He liked the picture and dropped all charges, we were to only pay the court fines of $125. I was pleased with the results.

Next: Philly

Forgot about Boston - Part 3 (NY in general)

2009-10-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

At the station in Buffalo I met a father and son scrapping team. We laughed for a bit about our rivalry until I realized that they where downright retarded and probably dangerous people. I boarded my train to NY making sure I didn't sit anywhere close to them.

I arrived in NYC around 11pm. I had plans with Ray (Aerofennec) to crash at his house in Long Island and explore a ton of places he knows well. Ray picked me up from Penn Station and took me to one of the funnest entrances to any site I've ever been to.

We make our way in and head to the roof as it's too dark to shoot anything inside. I'm kinda amazed that I'm in NYC for the first time in my life and I'm on a rooftop within 1hr of arriving.

Ray's camera has some super ISO magic shit going on so he decides he's gonna shoot some no light stuff. I give it my best shot.

After stopping at McDonald's for some 2am burger and fries we head back towards Long Island to get some rest for the day ahead of us.

Kings Park is a place some people love and some people love to hate. Love it or hate it it's something every explorer should go through before it's gone for good. The graffiti and vandalism is staggering, but I implore everyone to try and see this place.

We started with Building 93, the tallest and most prominent building in the park. This building has the most graffiti and vandalism of all the buildings. Most recently some one knocked one of the walls on the roof into the kitchen below.

We moved onto Group 2, across a street and deep in some woods. These are the most decayed of all the buildings. Really they are just ruins being reclaimed by the earth more and more with each passing day. I think this was my favorite spot at KP.

I wasn't able to find any information on this Morose artist but it was the only graffiti in KP that I enjoyed

We went over to a group of other buildings and easily got into one. There wasn't much to see here...

...but as we where going through we noticed some kids outside with cameras poking around. I beckoned them to come play with us in my best creepy little boy voice. They got noticeably spooked and we laughed.

After taking a bunch of complicated tunnels under the buildings we arrived in what Ray assured me was where the morgue was. True to his word it was here, but it was so horribly vandalized I didn't want to use any of the shots I took of it. Maybe if I had seen it a few years ago....But no matter cause those kids are right outside the window!!!

"Hey kids, come play with us!"

Eventually they spot us and we chat about the buildings. I shared a bowl with one of em through a hole in a small window, Ray recruited more members for his awesome local site and we left our new friends to their exploring.

It's getting later in the day but we still have a few hours of light left. We happened to be poking around York Hall earlier in the day and noticed that there was a pretty easy entrance into it, but first we gotta meet up with Sean. Sean's a cool kid who loves big trucks and firefighting......and he shoots with Olympus. I shoot Olympus.....do you? OF COURSE YOU DON'T! We're the only 2 in the world! Sadly he didn't have any glass to share, but we bonded in that no body has anything to share that we can use on our camera's.

So Sean, Ray and I head over to York Hall, this is my second favorite spot at KP

By the time we're done shooting this I need to go get some food, Ray seems to survive off Skittles and Soda but I need some protein. We grab a bite to eat at a pizza joint, I grab a six pack from the nearest gas station (this is the only thing I LOVE about NY) and we head over to Central Islip.

I don't know much about this hospital (Ray knows enough about all of these hospitals for all of us.) but the building I saw was full of shots I had seen before and it was kinda exciting to see all the spots I felt I knew.

I kept shooting until it was pitch dark...

...and the red street lamps came on (wtf?)

Finally I wrapped it up, Ray wanted to explore some tunnels he had found in the basement. These tunnels where very small and didn't lead anywhere interesting. one was a dead end, but we encountered asbestos eating squirrels with bad attitudes and the other end went down some stairs into about 3 feet of water. After some talking about who could or couldn't cross the water by hanging from the pipes on the ceiling we decided to head back.

Does anyone know what the Federal Courthouse on Long Island looks like? It's kind of a landmark I think. Well, I could see it from where we parked near CI. It was covered in scaffolding and super climbable, except for the fact that there's a bazillion cameras as well as stationary and mobile security. I kinda got excited, but other people where throwing around words like suicide, terrorist, crazy....idk, but someone mentioned an Eric and said he might do it with me. Sadly (or not) this climb did not come to fruition but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I got excited at the thought.

Sean had to call it a night and we said our farewells. Ray suggested we get some night shots from the roof of the old Pilgrim hospital. Sure, why not. He informs me this is OMH territory so we have to be ninja....I am totally ninja.....well not so much, but we managed to not get caught.

Old and New

It's late and we have a ton of stuff we gotta get to tomorrow. I take a shower to get all the asbestos from the tunnels off me and pass out cold.

The next morning we're on the road by 8am, there's too much to do and not enough time. Our first destination is Creedmoor. Legends of the Creedmoor Bum are told to me on the way. He's chased kids with baseball bats and threatened to murder people.....we need to be careful. We arrive and park in the parking lot of a local police department. There's large almost unclimbable fences around all the buildings. This place looks like a fortress but I'm told that no one cares about it and you can walk around the campus without any worry about being busted. Sure enough we walk right up to our target and walk right in.

On our way out we hear some talking by our entrance. Ray gets all worried that the Creedmoor bum is waiting for us outside. With tazer readily available I make my way out the entrance, I see the Bum, our eyes lock, he reaches out his hand......and asks me if I can spare a dollar. I tell him I don't have any cash but I do have some cigarettes I keep for just this occasion. He's grateful. The Creedmoor bum is tamed by cigarettes.

Our next stop was Yonkers Power Plant. We had to walk through this park by the river where there's a good ole' fashion block party going on that day. It looked like a blast and I kinda wanted to mingle with the folks, but a relic from WWII was looming overhead beckoning for us to enter.

Ray and me in the smoke stack

While I was climbing around the crane track at the very top of the plant the block party next store starting bumping Jump Around by House of Pain. I couldn't help myself and started breaking it down forgetting for a moment that I could plummet at least a 100 feet to my death. This was a super fun place to explore and if you haven't done it yet, you should try to get out there. On our way out one of the block party people stopped us to ask if we had just come from the building. He looked disappointed when we said yes. Apparently he would have loved to tag along so we told him where the entrance was and warned him to be careful and to not bring the kids.

Next stop Rockland. I'm told of bowling alleys and tissue samples. But alas OMH has this building staked out and the closest one we can get to only has a bunch of clothes, a few bikes and beds in it. Still it was fun to see another hospital and I'd like to see the rest sometime.

We ran outta light really fast, so we called it a day. We stopped at Fridays on the way back to Ray's for some less than good food, and a better than great margarita, that hit the spot!

The next day I had to wake up early, so I was hoping to get some sleep, but as we arrived at Ray's house we learned that his black poodle had gotten out and was missing. We spent the better part of the night looking for it. I learned later on that it was hit by a car that night, I'm sorry for your loss Ray.

I woke at 6am, showered and let myself out without waking Ray, he had a big day of his own planned and needed some sleep. I walked down to the 7/11, grabbed a Red Bull and a pastry and waited for Adam (Caligula) to arrive. I was on my way to The Catskills.

Part 4 (The Catskills and Po'keepsie)

Forgot about Boston - Part 2 (Buffalo)

2009-09-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Nick and I arrived in Buffalo around 10pm. We headed towards Buffalo Psychiatric Center to meet up with Jake and possibly explore a smaller building of the campus.

We parked the car on the street and left all of our gear inside. We both carried only our wallets and cell phones. As most of you know Buffalo Psych has been a little hot lately due to certain events that I won't go into because of all the drama it brings up. The security that patrols this campus is called OMH (Office of Mental Health) and unbeknownst to be at this point they are legitimate police officers on their own property. Anyone who has done any hospital explores in NY is familiar with OMH and it seems most are terrified of them.

We started off by walking on a path the goes directly behind the giant kirkbride. It seemed interesting to me that they light up this beautiful building for all to see but barricade any possible entrance into it as soon as it's discovered. I was told of doorways inside the building that are completely cemented shut making it almost impossible to navigate it even if you where to find an entrance. Too gorgeous to demolish but too old to put to use. We come up to our target for the evening and start to make our way around the back of the building. Within 2 seconds of stepping on the grass we're surrounded by OMH police, hands placed on cars, everything emptied from our pockets and being questioned about what the hell we're doing here. We keep our calm and explain that we're just cutting through to meet a friend of ours at the nearby dorms for Buffalo State College. They don't believe us and start trying to play good cop bad cop with us. We're not deviating from our story though and they are getting frustrated. I finally decide to start playing the scared pedestrian in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Are we in trouble? I didn't know we wheren't supposed to be here! I'm not from here, please just let us leave!"

Finally we get our cellphones and wallets back and are told to leave the grounds immediately or we would be arrested. We make our way off the grounds all the while noticing that we're being followed and carefully watched. We meet up with Jake and explain what just happened. This apparently isn't the norm for this hospital and only because of recent events has it become so hardcore. I suggest we go get a beer and discuss our next course of action, Jake can't drink cause he's not 21 yet (whats with all these young ass explorers) and Nick is pretty much ready to call it a night. Defeated and sober I agree and have Nick drop me off at my couch-surfers house.

If you've never heard of couchsurfing.org you should check it out. It's a great resource for the budget minded traveler and a great way of meeting people from all over the world, if your comfortable letting complete strangers sleep in your house. The people that are into this scene all appear to be adventure junkies and are looking for the edge, that new thrill. It's seriously an awesome thing and I plan on opening my place in Boston to as many people as possible.

My host in Buffalo is Jeremy and his roommate Tom. Jeremy greets me at the door around 12am and immediately makes me feel at home. He offers me a beer and shows me the couch I will be sleeping on, already made up with sheets, pillows and comforter. We get to talking about our adventures and life stories. Jeremy has traveled all over the world and has spent a considerable amount of time in Hawaii. He runs his own record label and skateboarding company (B. Lo Boards). I explain why I am traveling and he gives me some tips on where I might be able to find some cool stuff around town. The general idea is follow the freight lines and you'll find stuff.

The next day I set out to explore Buffalo on my own. I take Jeremy's advise and follow the tracks throughout Buffalo. I come across building after building that appear to be abandoned, but on closer inspection they are all in use, at least to some extent. I checked out Buffalo Color only to find it under construction and all the roads around it blocked off. This saddens me and seems to confuse a few exploring contacts who had no idea that this was being done. I also walked the tracks to Concrete Supply and find CSX working on the tracks just after the bridge I need to cross to get there, defeated again. Eventually I come across an extremely tall building just off the tracks.

Buffalo Malting Corp, this looks like a good place to enjoy a beer and soak up some rays. I make my way into the building (not hard as all the ground level doors are wide open or missing) and proceed to take shots of anything I find interesting.

I make my way to the roof and decide I'm just gonna chill up here and put out a message to any Buffalo explorers to see if they wanna meet up.

I ended up falling asleep on the roof for a few hours and wake to a pretty fierce sunburn. No matter cause I just love being above everyone on the ground. I check my email and I have a response from Gerry. We make plans to meet at Pearl Street Grill in a few hours. I make my way out of the Malting Corp and head back towards Jeremy's to slap some cool water and aloe on my face. I look like a fucking lobster!

Jeremy was heading downtown to some minor league baseball game so I decide to walk with him as Pearl Street is right there. On the way I see a building right near the stadium that has an easy to access fire escape, I make a mental note of this for later. Finally I arrive at Pearl Street and wait for Gerry to show up. A few minutes later he arrives and we get to talking over a burger and me a beer (are you getting the theme here? I'm an alcoholic!). I suggest we go explore something quickly tonight and we also make plans to meet up tomorrow afternoon to do some cool local shit he knows about.

Gerry didn't believe that Buffalo Color was being worked on so we drive by there to confirm what I had seen. He's confused at the sight of work being done around the largest of the abandoned buildings, but it doesn't look too serious. I begin to tell him about the Malting Corp and he admits he's seen it but never gone in. I suggest we go do that as the view of the city is great from up there and it's night time now.

We basically bee-line for the tallest roof and spend about half an hour taking pictures.

After leaving here we head downtown to meet up with Jake to climb some rooftops (apparently this is a new concept to you people from buffalo). Jake shows up with his crew, we harass the only girl in the group for wearing ugg boots (when the hell will women learn?), scout a few rooftops and find that City Hall is covered in scaffolding. At the sight of a major landmark building being climbable my jaw drops and I start screaming like an excited 14 year old girl. Knowing that the rest of the group may not be up for something so epic, I decide to save this for the next night. and we head to the fire escape I had seen earlier. Without hesitation I turn the corner, pull the fire escape ladder and start running up it to the surprise of everyone there. All made it to the top of the fire escape but only Jake was man enough to climb the final ladder to the rooftop. To her credit though the girl in the group tried the the ladder at the top but she felt too short to make it to the roof itself. She ended up hanging around at the top of the fire escape until Jake and I came down.

The next morning I'm woken by Jeremy asking me if I was with a girl that fell through a chimney last night. I have no idea what he's talking about so look online for the article he had read in the local paper. Sure enough there's a story of a girl that climbed a street level ladder to the top of a chimney and fell down into it breaking both of her ankles (link). I guess she was able to pull herself out but the fire department still showed up and she was arrested. I don't know who this girl was thankfully but my first thought was to thank her for ruining a perfectly good rooftop for the locals.

Gerry shows up around 11am and we decide to see if we can get into one of Buffalo's best sites. It's a work day so the businesses around this site are in full swing and there's people driving all around the building. As quickly as possible we duck under the fence and make our way around the back of the building. We soon find a wide open door and make our way to the basement moving up through the floors.

We leave here and decide to go check out an old grain silo.

me = emo?

Gerry

Gerry and me

It's getting late and we're loosing light so I have Gerry drop me off at Jeremy's.

Earlier in the day I had put a post online about climbing city hall and only Shawn W responded. I got in contact and we made plans to meet up at city hall around 11pm. I decide that I'm going to walk downtown and kill some time at a bar. Oddly enough almost every bar I find is closed, and it's not even 10pm yet? Admittedly it was a work day but if you go to any city in the US your guaranteed to have a few townie alcoholics, where the hell do they go to drink in Buffalo? Anyway, I waste time walking around the city instead and eventually meet up with Shawn. Jake was supposed to come as well but he's not answering his phone or txt messages (I later learned he fell asleep and is still kicking himself in the ass for it).

I had fully scouted this site earlier and knew my plan of attack. Shawn, not missing a beat, follows right behind and we quickly ascend the scaffolding to the highest point possible. Unfortunately the scaffolding only went to one of the lower roofs, but it's still high enough to get a great view of the city,

and the very top of city hall.

Being the narcissist that I am I need to take a few portraits and a group shot.

We make out way back down and Shawn gives me a ride back to Jeremy's house. It's hard to sleep after a rush like that. The next day I pack my stuff up, Jeremy gives me a brief tour of some of Buffalo's prettier sections and drops me off at the train station so I can make my way to NYC.

Buffalo is a great city and so close to Toronto you feel you can reach out and touch it. The point of my trip is to see the parts of cities that most people don't so I didn't get to see Niagara falls or any of the other touristy crap. There's so much to explore out there that it warrants a return visit (this time with a passport so I can make it into Toronto) and maybe next time I'll take the time to see the tourist traps.

Forgot about Boston - Part 1 (Rochester)

2009-09-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

On July 3rd I set out to find a rooftop to photograph the Boston fireworks the next night. I scouted a roof right on the edge of the Charles River that was covered in scaffolding and made plans with another explorer to meet up the next day. Little did I know this event would change my view of the world.

I've been bitten by an exploring bug, a thirst for adventure and adrenaline I've not experienced any other way. Seeing a city from a rooftop, knowing that no one around you is looking up, or sneaking into an abandoned building that people see everyday but never notice is a rush I can only describe as addictive.

Of course with any addiction there are side affects. I started spending all my free time exploring new heights and abandoned buildings. I wasn't sleeping and was starting to realize that sitting at a computer all day fixing the plumbing problems of modern day pipes was not at all rewarding or exciting by comparison. I became increasingly frustrated with my job and how much of my life it consumed. Because of this my attitude with coworkers and my employer deteriorated to the point they felt it necessary to write me up.

I sat down with my employer and explained the situation. I'm over worked, under payed, burnt out and starting to hate computers. Their solution; give me a month off to explore as much as I can and try to get it out of my system.

I recognize that this is unheard of in almost any company and freely admit that the people I work for and with are fucking awesome and I am happy as shit that I work for them. I don't know if this trip will help in the long run cause now I have a major case of wanderlust. But if this is something I can look forward to each year then I think I am going survive.

The plan for the trip; there is no plan. I knew I couldn't afford lodgings or to fly everywhere I wanted to go so this was going to be a legit backpackers journey. I borrowed a quality backpack, bought a tent and sleeping bag and packed up everything I thought I would need (roughly 55lbs of stuff, way too much in hindsight) and set out on Aug 29th to Rochester.

The train ride to Rochester was 11hrs long, with a 2 hour break in Albany. I found a local dive bar and quickly pounded a few coronas (the bartender apparently has a hatred for wheat beers so I took the only swill I could handle). The bartender turned out to be an old faghag and we got along great. She gave me her history of Albany and introduced me to a few locals, charming as it was I was desperate to get back on the train and to my first destination.

I arrived in Rochester around 11pm and made contact with my first couch-surfing buddy, Nan. Nan had come highly recommended by a few of my friends. If you haven't met Nan it's hard to explain her. Nan is a veteran of the exploring community, a legend even! Her house is filled with amazing trinkets from the places she's explored throughout the years. If you think you've found a new place chances are Nan has already been there.

She arrives promptly at the train station with a very drunk don_corlyone (Steve) who proceeds to yell at me as my name is Don and he insists he is The Don. I politely remind him that his name is indeed Steve and he will need to forfeit the title Don while I am around. He begrudgingly agrees. I compromise in that I will call him Corley for the rest of my visit, he either likes this or is too drunk to argue further.

We get back to Nan's house where I meet her husband and another explorer Lynn (Gotpaisley!). After a few hours of smoking, drinking and good conversation I'm informed that we will be exploring a newly abandoned power station tomorrow morning provided we can keep Corley from drinking all the booze in the house and passing out for a day solid. Surprisingly I think he had already finished every last drop so had no option but to sober up. We all head to bed, me on the couch cuddling with Nan's awesome labradoodle Hudson.

The next day I wake to Corley double fisting beers, I'm not sure where he found them cause all the booze in the house was gone when I went to sleep but already the Corley that everyone seems to know and love is coming out in spades. This coupled with Lynn believing she is personally responsible for his actions (as she did drive him here) is a recipe for some comedy gold.

Our tour guide for the day Nick (EvilNick) arrives and we all pile into a couple cars and head towards our destination. On the trip we get to talking about personal protection and I let slip that I have a tazer on me. Corley is visibly excited by this and demands to be tazed. Being that I have never used it on anyone I jump at the chance. I'm not sure if the batteries were dead or not but it barely seems to effect him. We stop to get replacement batteries, same effect (I did eventually try it on myself and have to say that it's not pleasant).

We arrive at the power plant and make our way inside. The first thing that hits you once inside is the smell of coal and oil. Everything is covered in black coal dust, you can feel it invading your lungs and gritting up your teeth. Eventually you resign to the fact that there is nothing you can do about it and start to marvel at the majesty of all the machinery and metal.

The explore went off without a hitch except when Corley left to find another explorer (Troy) and locked himself out. After leaving here we head back to Nan's house so I can pack up my backpack. Nan needed to spend some quality time with her husband and I sadly couldn't sleep on her couch that night, it's ok as I have a better plan anyway.

Corley, Lynn and I decide to grab a bite to eat before they head off back home. As we're sitting in the restaurant watching Corley get drunker and drunker off of SoCo Lynn decides she wants to taze him again. I don't really see a problem with this and hand her the tazer. I guess this time it hurt a little more.

The old people at the table next to us wheren't quit sure how to react to a tazered screaming drunk man and report us to management. As we're paying our bill and getting ready to leave we where asked nicely to vacate the premises.

I say goodbye to Corely and Lynn and meet up with Nick again for a night time explore of the power station. Without the constant shouting of Corley and Lynn bickering back and forth Nick and I could explore all the hidden places of the power plant we felt rushed through earlier that day.

Nick and I make plans to head to Buffalo tomorrow night (my next destination anyway so free ride, woohoo!) to explore a hospital and I have him drop me off a gorgeous cemetery Nan and Lynn showed me earlier that day, this is where I plan to make camp tonight. Getting into a locked cemetery with over 50lbs of gear is not an easy task. Eventually I make it in, find one of the tallest hills and setup a tent I've never used in the pitch darkness. I eventually get it setup properly and get as comfy inside as possible. I slept amazingly well even knowing that I was sleeping on top of dead people.

The next morning I wake at the crack of dawn. Some deodorant and a change of clothes and I'm ready for the day. After packing up camp, I walk off my hill towards the little chapel on the edge of the cemetery. This site is affectionately called Saint Nan's because of the explorer who first found it.

I spend a little bit of time in here and realize that I need to poop badly! I don't want to poop in this beautiful church so pack up my camera gear and head out to a coffee shop across the street.

The people at this coffee shop where nice enough to let me charge my laptop and phone here for a few hours. The funny thing is carrying around a giant backpack with a sleeping bag and tent on it tends to attract questions. People want to know all about you and where you are going. There was no shortage of people who said to me "I admire you so much for just packing up and going" or "I wish I could do that, but...." but what? Just do it! Take a month unpaid, sublease your apartment for the month, pack up a bag and just go. There's resources out there for the poor traveler as long as your willing to live outside of your comfort zone, and isn't that what adventure is all about, finding and expanding your comfort zone?

After chatting with the locals for a little while I decide it's time to head out. I get permission to drop my crap in Nan's backyard so I can explore Rochester on my own. My goal for the day was Rochester Psyche's Terrace Building. This is a skyscraper of a building that was meant for patient housing. Now completely abandoned and offering a view of Rochester from just outside the city. I hear tales that it's completely empty and covered in black mold (you know the very bad kind). I don't care and decide I will get in here to see it for myself.

I arrive at the location and walk the perimeter looking for easy entrance, it's locked up tight! I send out a few txt messages and find that there may be a tunnel from the abandoned power plant out back that leads to the building. I gain access to the power plant only to find that I'm locked in one room and can't get any further unless I break some windows. Being on my own and the fact that there is construction going on across the street I decide this is not a good idea.

I leave to go get a beer, something to eat and to reassess what I had scouted. With nourishment and liquid courage I decide I am going to make another crack at this building, I will not be defeated again!

I get on site again and walk the perimeter, on my second pass I notice a shuttle van is watching me. The van slowly pulls up to me and an old man rolls down his window to ask me what I am doing here. I explain that I am a traveling photographer and I want to get pictures of this building.

"oh you don't want to get in there, it's empty and filled with mold" he tells me.

This not being unknown to me I respond, "no, you don't understand, I REALLY want to get in there. Do you know how to get in? Do you know who I can talk to about getting in? Please help me out guy!"

"Now I'm not hear to bust your balls and I'm not gonna call the cops but you can't go in that building and I would recommend you leave the property before the police make their rounds."

I take his advice and leave feeling defeated for having not explored anything on my last day in Rochester. I head to the same restaurant where Corley, Lynn and I where ejected the night before. They have $3 blue moon and free wifi so long as I keep drinking, this is a great deal! After a few beers I start messaging all the people I know in Rochester and demand they come drink with me. Trent and Andrew (VelcroZepplin) show up to my surprise. A few more beers with new company and I'm trying to talk them into climbing the Kodak building that is covered in scaffolding from ground to roof. Andrew has other engagements to attend to but Trent is willing to climb something (maybe not the kodak).

We head to Trent's apartment where I meet one of his roommates (I can't remember her name but she was awesome and hooked me up with some gushers and oatmeal bars). Trent gets his things together and we head downtown to explore. As we're crossing a bridge near an awesome waterfall I notice this cool looking building that appears to be abandoned. Trent, knowing all the local spots, tells me how it's an unused building of the Genesee Brewing Company located right across the street. I ask if we can check it out and he starts climbing the metal lattice work leading up to a chute of some sorts. He beckons me to follow. Once at the top of the lattice work you need to squeeze into a maybe 2 foot tall crawl space between a rooftop and the floor of the chute. You have to crawl at a 33 degree angle for about 100-200 feet till you reach the roof of one of the smaller buildings. Once on the smaller building Trent show me the wall we need to scale to get to the upper roof. I've never been much of a rock climber and watching Trent go through the motions I start to question if I can do this. When presented with these situations the first question is "do we need to go out this way?" cause climbing down is always worse. I get assured that we can walk right out a front door, this is all the encouragement I need and I quickly scale the wall and make my way into an open door on the roof.

As we're loosing light we decide to head back to the roof to get some pics of nearby waterfall and sunset.

Trent explained this as one of the easier entrances in Rochester, I'm floored as it's the hardest entrance I've encountered to date, but one of the most rewarding simply for the adventure of it. He gives me a ride back to Nan's house where I grab my stuff, meet up with Nick and head off to Buffalo.

After leaving Rochester I've learned of a few people in the city that are keeping the roof topping scene going out there. Yami Doki is someone I wish I had had the chance of meeting. The pictures of Rochester coming from him are amazing and I wish I could have seen some the places he's been. I've also become closer to VelcroZepplin since leaving and am excited to revisit because of the thriving draining scene he has going on there. I hope to spend more time in Rochester and with some of the coolest people I've met on my trip.

Part 2: Buffalo

Forgotten Boston - Abandoned Dry Dock

2009-08-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Tucked behind the Bank Of America Pavilion and in plain sight of Harpoon Brewery is a relic of Boston not many have ever seen. Complete with decaying cranes, ancient pump house, vandalized bathrooms and a 50 foot caisson holding back the ocean. This is one of Boston's forgotten dry docks.

Unimpressive as seen from behind the locked gates meant to keep you out, but promising views not often witnessed by even those who work and live closest to it. Formerly part of the Charlestown Navy Yard, construction of Dry Dock #1 began in 1830 and completed in 1833.

The Dry Dock was eventually closed by the Navy in 1973. In January of 1976 the National Park Service assumed management of Dry Dock #1. In Sept 2004 the NPS proposed a $4.4 million project to rehabilitate the Dock but by all accounts this proposal has stalled and the dock left for disrepair.

Patches of concrete that have fallen into the ocean, promising a watery grave to anyone not mindful of it's hazards, and often patrolled by harbor police this location is not safe for the general public.

To visit the dry dock properly one would need to follow the almost hidden staircases to below sea level, walk among the years of mildew, mold and animal droppings at the bottom of the empty ship container and stare up at the steel caisson holding back a wall of water that would surely destroy anything in it's path if let loose.

I've visited this place too many times to be worried of such troubles. I find myself meditating out here often, a quiet abandoned piece of Boston waterfront not concerned with the goings-on of the modern world.

There is a lot more information about this site found here
http://www.hnsa.org/conf2004/papers/carlson.htm

Forgotten Boston - Island Hospital

2009-08-24T05:58:00.000-07:00

We took a cab from the T stop. The cabbie was helpful in dropping us off at the right spot near the beach. It was 12am and the tide was coming in fast, we got stuck on the rocks between the ocean and a road well traveled by police. We waited till the tide started to recede and plodded on
across the slippery rock coast line.

Finally we reached the bridge to The Island, guards posted on both sides and nowhere to hide.

After battling our way up the steep slope, dense shrubs and deadly pricker bushes we hide behind a guard rail and wait for the guards to leave. When we're confident we can make the half mile walk without being seen by passing cars we make our move. We quickly walk to the other side and make our way under the bridge just as a car passes, we made it by the skin of our teeth.

Only another mile along the pitch black rocky shoreline and we're at our goal, an old hospital long forgotten by everyone in Boston. The only thing separating us from the hospital is a steep slope and an untold amount of wilderness (Goddamn pricker bushes). Finally we make it, it's 5am. We beeline for the roof to rest and watch the sunrise. I don't know what they survive on out there but the mosquitoes where so thick it was hard not to get them in your mouth or nose when breathing. As it turns out a citronella candle rubbed on your clothing is a pretty good deterrent.

As the sunrises and we get better lighting we make our way through the hospital taking as many shots as possible.

Finally at 8am we decide we're done. We make our way out of the hospital and towards the morgue, stopping at the power station on the way by.

The Morgue has two very dark rooms that are next to impossible to shoot, we
do what we can and decide to leave.

The question at hand, do we trudge the beach and the bridge again and hope to not get caught in the daylight, or do we turn ourselves in and hope for an escort off the island? I want an escort, I'm tired, itchy, hungry and I need a shower......badly. As we walk out into the open near the homeless shelter we see an MBTA bus.....this can't be right? I walk over to the bus and ask the bus driver if it's possible to get ride back to wherever he's going. He tells me that this bus is for the shelter, but this particular run was for the "special" people....I don't know what that meant. He tells us to hang around and when he comes back again he’ll take us. AWESOME!

Right next to the parking lot is another abandoned building, it's the theater the Dropkick Murphys filmed "The State Of Massachusetts" in.

We check that out for about half an hour and head back towards where we saw the bus. True to his word the bus driver lets us on and we're escorted off the island in air conditioned victory. All in all it was the best adventure I've ever had.

Word to the wise: Do not attempt to visit this place if you are not up for an adventure.