The Abandoned: Abandoned Heart - Guest Heart Thursday

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Abandoned Heart - Guest Heart Thursday

Here the graceful work of a talented graffiti artist has been brutally kicked into pieces by the vandals--leaving behind an abandoned Heart.

For more wonderful randomly found heart photography check out Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday!

GUEST HEART THURSDAY

NOTE: If you intend to visit The Abandoned, be sure to get permission from the owners first. If you do not have permission and are caught, you will be arrested and prosecuted for trespassing.

8 comments:

Limarea said...: Well, look at that. Even vandals have a heart :) Sorry about the art though.; July 15, 2010 at 10:59 AM
Clytie said...: Wow. Great catch, sissie! With all of the vandalism in the past few weeks, that heart is probably now gone .....; July 15, 2010 at 11:05 AM
SquirrelQueen said...: A great capture of the heart but it is always sad to see art damaged or destroyed.; July 15, 2010 at 3:27 PM
MaR said...: have a heart for vandals...? great find!

heart of stone; July 16, 2010 at 12:45 AM
Anonymous said...: That's sort of amazing.; July 16, 2010 at 2:13 AM
Maria said...: What an insightful entry. A silver lining to every cloud. Hate/Love thing.; July 16, 2010 at 5:43 PM
Dani said...: artistic vandalism. Like it.

Thanks for the visit.

Have a lovely weekend; July 17, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Serline said...: Quite gut wrenching to look at, really...; July 18, 2010 at 12:44 AM

The Abandoned

Years ago, I dedicated this blog to The Abandoned, a huge complex of abandoned buildings in rural Oregon.

Surrounded by wetlands and old growth timber, The Callahan Center was built in the 1970's by the State of Oregon as a rehabilitation center for people recovering from injuries on the job.

In 1992, the property was bought by a mega church. However, the Living Enrichment Center closed in 2004, amidst financial scandal and the property was abandoned.

The buildings stood empty for many years. Over that span the property was vandalized and looted. Yet the beauty of its rare architecture shone through the shambles of abuse and disrepair.

In the summer of 2013, the complex was completely demolished. We were all sad to see the buildings go, but because of trespassers and vandals, it was necessary to take them down.

The area where The Abandoned once stood is filled with $500,000 mushroom houses (homes built so fast they pop up like mushrooms) built on postage stamp lots. There are sidewalks and tall lamps where I once watched the foxes of the field leaping above the grass, hunting rodents.

The surrounding woodlands still survive. It is my prayer the wetlands and forests with their pristine creeks, native trees and flowers, as well as the wildlife which shelter there, will be protected.