Abandoned - The story of a forgotten America.

A Revisit to Dracula’s Castle

Within the storied walls of the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, echoes of the past resonate through corridors that have seen the passage of 155,000 souls over its 104-year guardianship.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church Sanctuary Ceiling Detail

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish contains an abandoned church, school, and parish house in the Newburgh neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio.

Crowell-Collier to be Demolished

The printing operations for the Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, then the world’s largest magazine publishing house, was located on High Street in Springfield, Ohio. After years of underutilization and disuse, the remainder of the once-storied complex will be demolished.

Ashland’s Field Department Store and Sears

The Millard F. Field Building, located at Winchester Avenue and 16th Street in downtown Ashland, Kentucky, was home to the Field Department Store and Sears.

Opulence at Proctor’s Palace Theatre

The first impressions of the historic Proctor’s Palace Theatre included several floors of debris, seats, and metalwork piled high, stairs that had devolved into ramps devised out of plater and asbestos, and dingy darkness. But the second tier offered views of the theater’s mammoth size and its remarkable, intact features, such as the balconies, orchestra pit, and extensive stenciling.

Photographing Lonaconing’s Silk Mill

The Lonaconing, Maryland silk mill, last operated by General Textile Mills, is one of my favorite buildings to photograph. From its early 20th century machinery to its dated calendars and papers, it is remarkable that this testament to industrial heritage remains standing well over 50 years past its closure.

Hotel Belvedere Burns

The historic Hotel Belvedere in Apollo, Pennsylvania burned to the ground shortly after midnight on July 24, 2019.

Friars Club Mural by Lumen Martin Winter

Friars Club Murals

While living in the now-demolished Friar’s Club in Cincinnati, Ohio between 1941 and 1944, Lumen Martin Winter painted murals on the walls of the residents’ lounge. The 1,600 square-foot scenes, painted in tempera emulsion on a casein ground, depicted regional highlights of industry, music, religion, and literature.

Walter’s Airplanes

Some time ago, an opportunity arose for me to survey the private assemblage of aircraft belonging to the late Walter Soplata.

Warwick State Training School

Warwick State Training School, a former alcohol and drug treatment center, youth rehabilitation complex, and prison will now be host to a brewery and medical marijuana farm in upstate New York.

Palmer Park

The Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District, well regarded for its ornate and varied examples of active and abandoned apartment buildings, is located in the Palmer Park neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan.

The Rise and Fall of St. Michael’s Catholic Church

The Rust Belt defines a vast declining industrial corridor of the United States roughly between Chicago and Albany, New York, and dominating many of those once-bustling communities are churches. Many were built as domestic steel mills were being constructed across the country in the early 20th century, and many were closed with the collapse of the steel industry.

Waterfalls, Abandonments and Ithaca

In 2016, I embarked on a journey of self-reinvention, turning my attention to the Finger Lakes after enduring a challenging period in Cleveland, Ohio.

Hoarder’s Paradise

The former Belvedere Hotel in Apollo, Pennsylvania was a hoarder’s paradise.

Lawrence Frick State Hospital, SCI Cresson

Exploring the Allegheny Tuberculosis Sanatorium

At 2,500 feet in elevation, exploring the former Allegheny Tuberculosis Sanatorium was a delight. With heavy fog blanketing the campus in the early mornings, perpetual overcast days, and cooler temperatures even in the dead of summer, its location along the Allegheny Mountain front in Pennsylvania was ideal.

A Sunrise at the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant

Many years ago, I night hiked into the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (IAAP) in southern Indiana—the most substantial industrial abandonment in the United States. Sprawling over 19,000 acres, IAAP was overwhelming.

Suwannee Belle

Driving home to upstate New York on a cold, blustery evening, I stopped to visit a childhood memory: the everlasting tourist attraction, Roadside America, but I arrived too late, and the kitschy gift shop and model railroad exhibit was closed for the day. Determined to make the best of the waning evening, I stopped by next door to visit the ruined Suwannee Belle.