c/abandoned-places-photos

Found a photo of the old mill from 1995, went back last weekend

I was going through some old family photos and found a picture my dad took of the Riverside Mill back in 1995. It was still standing then, just closed. I went back last weekend to see it for myself, and the main building is completely gone now, just a concrete slab and some rusted machinery left. The woods have grown back in so thick you can barely see where the loading docks were. Has anyone else seen a place change that much in under thirty years?

Found a photo of the old mill from 1995, went back last weekend

I was going through some old boxes and found a picture my dad took of the Riverside Mill back in 1995, when it was still running. Went out there last weekend and the main building is just a shell now, the roof is completely gone. It's wild how 30 years of weather and no upkeep can just erase a place. What's the biggest change you've seen in a spot you've revisited?

Checking out the old mill in Westbrook versus the one in Biddeford really showed me the difference a solid roof makes for keeping the vibe intact.

The Westbrook site had a mostly sealed roof and felt like a time capsule, while the Biddeford one was a total wreck with collapsed floors and water damage everywhere, so which do you think is more interesting to photograph, a place that's well-preserved or one that's completely falling apart?

A perfect day at the old Lakeside Amusement Park

Last Tuesday was one of those weirdly good days where everything just clicked. I drove out to the old Lakeside Amusement Park, which closed back in 1999. The main gate was wide open, which never happens. I got inside and the light was just perfect, this soft gold hitting the old wooden roller coaster frame. I must have taken 200 photos before my battery died. The best shot was of the ticket booth, with vines growing through the window and an old price sign still hanging. It was so quiet, just the wind through the broken rides. Has anyone else been out there recently and found it unlocked like that? I'm thinking of going back next week.

Hit 50 abandoned sites in my county alone. That number feels way too high.

Just finished logging all my visits. Found 50 forgotten spots within 30 miles of home. Old mills, empty schools, a whole shut-down motel on Route 9. Makes you wonder how a place just gets left behind like that. Do you think that many abandoned spots is a sign of bad times, or just normal change for an area?

Unpopular opinion: We're way too casual about the asbestos in these old spots.

I was poking around the boiler room of an abandoned school in Poughkeepsie and found a stack of original 1960s insulation tags. They literally said 'CAUTION - ASBESTOS' in faded print. Made me realize we're just breathing in decades of dust for a cool photo. Anyone else actually check for this stuff before going in?

Got locked inside an old school basement in Toledo last fall, had to pick the door

I was checking out this abandoned 1920s school, and the heavy metal door to the boiler room swung shut behind me and just stuck. I mean, I was down there for maybe 45 minutes with just my phone light, trying to jimmy the latch with a piece of rebar I found. Do you think it's better to force a stuck door open in a place like that, or just wait and hope someone comes looking?

Found an old photo of the mill from before it was fenced off

I was going through a box of old pictures from maybe 2008 and found one I took of the Riverside Mill. Back then, you could just walk right up to it. I spent years going to places like that, just taking a few quick snaps and leaving. The moment it hit me was last fall at the old Ashton Hospital. I saw fresh spray paint over a historic door frame, and a guy was trying to pry a cast iron radiator off the wall. I realized my whole 'take only pictures, leave only footprints' thing was naive. By posting the exact locations online, even without meaning to, I was part of the problem. It draws in people who don't care about the history, just the thrill or the scrap metal. Now I'm way more careful about what details I share. Has anyone else pulled back on sharing spots after seeing them get trashed?

Rant: The old train station in Cheyenne made me see my own house differently

Last month, I was walking through the abandoned Union Pacific depot, looking at all the peeling paint and broken windows, and it hit me that my own front porch has the same kind of weathered wood. I realized I've been ignoring the slow decay of my own home while I go out to find it in other places. Has anyone else had an abandoned spot show them something they were missing at home?

Update: Found a 1950s motel sign in Nevada that people keep calling 'art deco' when it's clearly streamline moderne.

I've been photographing the old 'Starlight Rest' sign off Route 95 for 5 years, and the rounded corners, horizontal lines, and lack of geometric ornament are textbook streamline, not deco, which matters because it tells a totally different story about when it was built and the optimism of that specific post-war era. Has anyone else run into a spot where the architectural style gets mislabeled constantly?

Found a perfectly good couch in the old mill at Riverbend

Went out to the abandoned Riverbend Paper Mill last weekend, and in the middle of all the rust and broken glass, someone had set up a whole living room. There was a clean floral print couch, a coffee table, and even a rug. It was so weirdly normal it made me jump. Anyone else find something totally out of place in a spot like that?

A guy told me my photos looked too clean, like a real estate ad

So I started shooting with a 35mm film camera to get more grain and mood. Anyone else switch up their gear to capture that true abandoned feel?

My tripod leg snapped right in the middle of an old factory floor

I was trying to get a steady shot of this massive, rusted machine in Detroit and the whole thing just folded. Had to balance my camera on a pile of bricks for the rest of the shoot. Anyone have a good brand that can handle uneven ground?

Just realized the creepiest part of the old mill in Poughkeepsie wasn't the building itself

I went out to that big brick mill by the river last weekend. The whole place is falling apart, but what got me was the second floor office. There was a desk calendar still open to October 12, 1998, and a coffee mug with a dried-up old ring inside. It felt like someone just got up and never came back, which is way weirder than any broken window. Has anyone else found a place frozen in time like that?

Visited the old Carter Mill in Vermont and the second floor is starting to buckle inward.

If you're planning to go, maybe stick to the ground floor for now, has anyone else seen a collapse risk there recently?

Checked out that old train station in Joliet last Tuesday. The silence hit different.

Rant: I thought the old mill near my town was just a creepy eyesore until I met the caretaker.

He told me, 'This place isn't dead, it's just resting,' while we stood in the boiler room last fall. Ever had a local spot's story totally change how you see it?

Just realized the real history is in the stories, not the photos, after an old guy at the mill in Pottstown told me 'they used to pack the whole floor with kids on payday'.

Anyone else ever get a story from a local that totally changed how you saw a spot?

I used to think you needed permission for every spot, but a talk with a ranger changed that.

For years, I would only shoot places I knew were open to the public or had clear posted rules. I missed a lot of cool spots because I was scared of getting in trouble. Then last fall, I was at an old mill in upstate New York and got talking to a park ranger. He told me, 'Most of the time, if you're respectful and leave no trace, nobody minds a few photos. The real issue is when people break things.' That stuck with me. Now, I still check for 'no trespassing' signs and avoid active property, but I don't let vague fears stop me from exploring public land or clearly abandoned structures. I got my best shot of a decayed theater lobby two months ago because I just walked up the public access road. How do you guys decide if a place is okay to explore?

Checked out the old textile mill in Lowell and the sheer amount of graffiti is ruining the vibe.

It's a historic site, not a canvas for every tagger in eastern Massachusetts, and it completely overshadows the actual decay and stories in the brickwork.

I dropped $300 on a drone for abandoned site scouting and it was a total waste

I was trying to get a better view of an old factory roof in Detroit to plan a safe entry point. The drone kept losing signal behind the brick walls and crashed into a pile of rubble on the second try. The camera was okay, but a motor arm snapped, and the repair quote was almost as much as a new one. Has anyone found a cheaper or more reliable way to check out upper floors before going in?

I used to think taking things from abandoned spots was okay, but a photo from an old school in Detroit changed my mind.

For years, I would grab small things like old bottles or bits of metal from places I explored. I thought it was just taking a piece of history. Then I saw a photo online of that school in Detroit I visited back in 2021. Someone had posted a shot of the main hall, and right in the front was a broken desk I remembered. The next photo in their set was from last month, and that same desk was totally smashed to pieces. It hit me that every person who takes just one 'small' thing is part of the problem. The place gets worse bit by bit until there's nothing left to see. I was that person. Now I only take pictures. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where you saw the damage done over time and it made you stop?

Tried two different cameras for my trip to the old Pottersville mill

I brought my phone and a basic digital camera to the abandoned Pottersville textile mill last month. The phone shots looked washed out and grainy inside the dark rooms, but the camera with its manual settings let me capture the peeling paint and broken looms clearly. Has anyone else found a specific camera model that really works for low-light spots like that?

Hit 100 photos in my 'Forgotten Ohio' folder this morning

It's just a folder on my computer, but seeing that number felt like a real thing... all those early morning drives and quiet places. The one that got me there was an old feed mill near Zanesville, the light through the broken roof was perfect. Anyone else keep a personal count like that?

Overheard a park ranger say something that changed how I see old buildings

I was at a state park near an old logging camp, and the ranger told a group, 'It's not abandoned, it's just resting.' That hit me. I used to think places were just empty, but now I see them as paused. Do you ever get that feeling when you're out exploring?