Are you like me and fascinated with abandoned places? -

[The Dude]

Detroit is the Holy Grail of urban exploration locations is Detroit, Michigan. Due to many different political, economical and cultural problems (I have my own opinions on Detroit's decline, but I'll keep them to myself) Detroit went from being a beautiful city full of culture and prosperity, a veritable boom town, to having nearly a quarter of it's peak population numbers all in the span of a century. It has left many incredible buildings and locations abandoned and open for people like myself who enjoy urban exploration. Here is a website that I have found detailing many of Detroit's most interesting abandoned landmarks in photographs. Enjoy.

http://www.detroiturbex.com/content/index.html

 

[CatParty]

weird nj is good too

 

[Judge Holden]

I am, albeit due in part to my innate nervousness in such places coupled with my addiction to being unnerved. Last week I happened accross an old celtic Fogou (underground tunnel system used by the celts for unknown reasons, possibly related to cthulhu worship....maybe) with 2 of my friends while going to some local "arts show" (dont ask) and managed to waste a good 2 hours doin ourselves a bit of exploring until it hit twilight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliggye_Fogou

However back as a teen, me and my friends would periodically dare eachother to go in pairs to various abandoned locales, with the "abandoned cinema of utter terror" being the favoured location to pop our fear cherries.

Basically it was an old cinema we used to visit as kids in the middle of a formerly affluent high street before some shady incidents closed the place down, and it had long since been boarded up by the time I and my classmate were sent in. It was in a word, extremely freaky, and had a bit of a mary celeste feel with a lot of stuff seeming to have just been dropped and left abandoned by the employees, and there was an unsettling feeling that we were not alone with us hearing quiet footsteps far, far too close for comfort (not in terms of ghosts, in terms of various addicts who were reputed to make their home there).

Here are some pics of the place by an actual urban explorer a few years after we went in, which shows how it was when we saw it (albeit with a deccnt flashlight rather than the red tinted piece of crap that we had)

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/the ... 009-a.html

Personally I would love to see a genuinely epic example of an abandoned location, and would sell my right testicle to go somewhere like pripyat

 

[Something Vague]

I sure am! There is this abandoned asylum in my area. It's been remodeled and its buildings used for things like reception halls (perfect for a Lovecraftian wedding), restaurants, bakeries, beauty salons, classy clothing stores, even classy apartments. It had its own farm which is now home to community gardens where you can purchase or rent some land to garden on and such. There is a whole but there is still a lot of abandoned unremodeled places. Of course, you have to watch out for asbestos and lead paint and stuff in any abandoned building. Even though its one of the most humane asylums of its time (it closed sometime in the late eighties) and even gave longterm patients work opportunities, its still kinda creepy.

I also like looking at abandoned Japanese Love Hotels. There was a picture of a medieval fantasy suite that was pretty cool looking, it looked like a ruined castle or something...

 

[KatsuKitty]

I really, really wish I drove up to the Dixie Square Mall before they ripped it down. Fortunately, there's a flicker album that has TONS of pictures.

 

[Lady Houligan]

My favorite is Six Flags New Orleans. There's just something so haunting about it, and not in the usual creepy way that most theme parks have. Of course I'm fascinated by New Orleans in general, but something about the park and how it's so clear that something went so wrong... I don't really have the words for it.

 

[Something Vague]

Oh yeah, abandoned amusment parks! That reminds me of this one abandoned mini-golf course that is right by the road that always was interesting and how the vegetation overtook it.

 

[Picklepower]

Does anyone one know the name of that town, it was is some Southern state, that was evacuated because of toxic fumes coming from the ground? The land is unlivable, so the town is still completely in tact just with no people. I saw it on some Discovery channel show a long time ago, it was like something from War of the Worlds.

Oh I just found it, Centralia, Pennsylvania.

 

[Lady Houligan]

Does anyone one know the name of that town, it was is some Southern state, that was evacuated because of toxic fumes coming from the ground? The land is unlivable, so the town is still completely in tact just with no people. I saw it on some Discovery channel show along time ago, it was like something from War of the Worlds.

Oh I just found it, Centralia, Pennsylvania.

I was about to say, I don't think of PA as Southern. But I wasn't sure if you were talking about talking about a separate town.

 

[Picklepower]

Oh at first I didn't remember that it was PA.

 

[cypocraphy]

weird nj is good too

Yup, I was going to mention that. I'll try to find my old magazines....

 

[JarlaxleBaenre]

My friends and I explored an abandoned house about 7-ish years ago. It was a rite of passage thing if you were a junior or senior in high school. The group that had went before us was caught by the town police. The house in question is back a bit from the highway, practically hidden by bushes, brambles and twisted old trees. The group that got caught decided to park (2 vehicles) in front of the gate. We were smarter about it. We parked at a gas station a half mile from the house. Climbing the fence without being seen by passing cars was fun. The house itself had an old matress, some broken trophies and old Christmas cards. The woods out back were thick with overgrowth, but we found some half-sheds with mason jars. As we were leaving, a couple of the girls with us kept popping up from the underbrush right when a line of cars would zoom by; needless to say, we were trying to get past the tangles and fence without being seen by anyone.

 

[Midnight Kissy Bull]

Here's an urbex pro I like to check on from time to time: http://opacity.us

He's visited mostly American sites, but he's gone abroad to England, Germany, France, and even Luxembourg. Sites range from factories, children's hospitals, academies, and churches.

Check out the wallpaper, too.

 

[Bugaboo]

I like that abandoned island in Japan that's full of friendly bunnies.
That's the best way to have an abandoned anything, fill it with cuddly animals.

 

[sparklemilhouse]

I was ready for Dixie Square Mall to be torn down. I was surprised an urban explorer or dead mall enthusiast never got killed there from a floor caving in or something.

 

[The Dude]

I like that abandoned island in Japan that's full of friendly bunnies.
That's the best way to have an abandoned anything, fill it with cuddly animals.

Island in Japan with friendly bunnies? That won't last long. Before you know it the radiation Japan is putting off will change those cute little bunnies will be 50 stories tall, covered in mangy matted fur, and torching the people of Tokyo with atomic fire breath and tearing down high tension power lines.

 

[Springblossom]

I would love to do urban exploring, but I'm far too twitchy and panicky to do it alone, and none of my friends share my interests. It's a shame, because there was a gigantic empty mall near my house that would have been fascinating to explore.

It got a bad rap after a horrific murder (http://www.truecrimediary.com/index.cfm ... ses&id=161) and closed down not long after.

 

[AngelicSchmoople]

I went to The Purple Hotel a few weeks ago when I heard it was going to be torn down. Got caught on film photographing the place, and my mom saw me on the news later on. That was weird. I really should get those photos up.
There are a few abandoned hospitals around here as well that I'm dying to explore, but probably won't have time to before I go away to school. Childrens' has sat empty since they moved to the new building downtown, the old Prentice Womens' is slated for demolition, and Edgewater Memorial (birthplace of Hilary Rodham Clinton and John Wayne Gacy) is in my old neighbourhood, but sealed up more tightly now after some kids got in a few years ago and hurt themselves goofing off with an electrical transformer.

 

[Coldgrip]

Indeed. Me and my friends do like to explore abandoned structures (barns when we leave leave city, condemned houses when in town) in hopes of finding any interesting trinkets or anything useful left behind. Most often though we find graffiti and used needles.

 

[The Tyrant]

Quite, quite! I have a morbid love for paranoia and the unknown, so abandoned structures would be an easy place to find me, were I around many of them. Unfortunately, where I reside there is nothing very interesting aside from a few closed schools and hospitals that are halfway torn down. I wish I were around some sort of an asylum or an abandoned amusement park or something creepy like that. The historical knowledge is more of a value to me than it being abandoned on its own; I fancy having a story to digest with my scenery. Matsuo Ghost Mine is a particular destination I hope to someday, somehow, explore.

I recall my father working within a hospital that has a house that cannot be torn down where very unusual occurrences went down. One in particular makes me giggle; the home is completely locked down with no ways in or out unless you are a member of the hospital staff, and a take out employee stopped by and stated that someone ordered food from that address.