With profound gratitude extended to Downtown Mansfield Inc. and Preservation Ohio, the public recently gained access to explore the former Charles Schroer Mortuary.
Author: Sherman Cahal
With profound gratitude extended to Downtown Mansfield Inc. and Preservation Ohio, hundreds of residents were afforded the opportunity to delve into Mansfield, Ohio’s rich history through a series of guided tours encompassing five significant sites within walking distance. The first installment of this five-part series spotlights the City Mills Building.
If you have watched the Shawshank Redemption, Air Force One, Tango & Cash or Harry and Walter Go To New York, then you have at at least previewed parts of the now-closed Ohio State Reformatory.
Tour the historic San Francisco, California Armory for just $28 for two, now listed on Groupon. Constructed in 1914, the 220,000 square-foot armory hosted the National Guard until 1973 and then remained vacant for three decades. It was purchased in 2007 and then subsequently rehabilitated for adult film sets by Peter Acworth, owner of Kink.com.
To be offered beginning in June, the Indianapolis, Indiana Catacomb tours will take the public beneath City Market into mostly unknown catacombs that date to 1886. The cavernous walkways, featuring brick archways and columns of limestone, encompass more than 20,000 square feet and were part of Tomlinson Hall, a structure along Market Street that burned in 1958.
Among the iconic abandoned structures that dot the landscape of Detroit, Michigan, Lee Plaza poignantly embodies the city’s descent from prosperity to urban blight in the latter half of the 20th century.
In a distant chapter of my life, I was granted the privilege of exploring the Lafayette Building, a towering edifice that once graced the heart of downtown Detroit, Michigan.
Located in the Northwest Goldberg neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, King Solomon Baptist Church‘s facility at Marquette and 14th Street was best known for becoming a popular venue for influential black leaders.
Driving down Gratiot Avenue in Detroit, Michigan late night in the summer of 2011, I came across the former Eastern Catholic High School. The obviousness of its abandonment, with its blown out windows and the hulking structure contrasting to the vast, empty lots surrounding it, made the four-level school all the more interesting to enter and photograph.
For those entranced by the enigmatic allure of urban decay, the Packard Automotive Plant in Detroit, Michigan, has long reigned as a preeminent destination. This colossal complex, spanning a staggering 3.5 million square feet and dominating the vistas from all directions, has borne witness to the inexorable ravages of time, underutilization, and the incursions of scrappers.
Several years ago, nine schools in Cincinnati, Ohio were auctioned to the highest and most qualified bidder. The McKinley School was one of those.
Spurred on by an impromptu excursion to photograph a collapsed bridge in western Kentucky, I decided to visit a part of the state that I had not yet fully explored. From Owensboro to Paducah, from the isolated Land Between the Lakes to dense streetscapes, I toured the back roads in hopes of finding something new to write about and to photograph. Then, I came across Cairo, Illinois. What the hell happened here?
After a recent drive through Cairo, Illinois (article forthcoming), and seeing the effects of decades of racial segregation and violence, and then economic decline and population loss, I wondered what other major and minor cities in the United States has experienced such steep and dramatic losses? Besides Cairo, Detroit and Wheeling, I asked my Facebook readers of other examples.
In the aftermath of my photographic expedition at the Milton-Madison Bridge, as I traversed the winding roads of Trimble County, Kentucky, an unexpected discovery awaited me. Upon turning onto a side road, I serendipitously happened upon an antiquated schoolhouse, a vestige of a bygone era.
Railroad YMCA’s were once staples in the United States, offering lounges, recreational amenities, restaurants and a safe and convenient place for rest for the myriad of railroad employees. Russell, Kentucky is one such instance of a town that offered a YMCA.
During an expedition to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, specifically the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, I serendipitously encountered two abandoned railroads, vestiges of a bygone era when the region’s rich natural resources fueled an extensive transportation network.
Located along Stone Lick Creek north of Orangeburg, Kentucky is this quaint and simple farmhouse has newer gingerbread detailing.
Deerton, Michigan is an unincorporated community in Alger County that was founded in 1882 when the Detroit, Mackinac & Marquette Railroad constructed a station for a lumbering camp. A post office opened in 1922, and in 1926, a small school was constructed at the junction of Deerton-Onota Road. Today, not much is left in the community – most of the residences are abandoned, although the school still operates.
While whiling away a dreary afternoon at the local library, I chanced upon a trove of information regarding the now-defunct American Car and Foundry Company’s manufacturing operations in Huntington, West Virginia.
The Packard Motor Company on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan was constructed in 1903 and closed in 1958. With just the exception of a brief reuse in several locations, the entire complex – 3.5 million square feet over 35 acres, produced 1.5 million vehicles. Designed by Albert Kahn, the industrial complex used reinforced concrete for its construction, a first for Detroit.