The Abandoned: Feather Tree Blossom

Friday, July 1, 2011

Feather Tree Blossom - Weekend Flowers

Sissy was telling me about the magical red feather tree she found growing in The Abandoned. As we walked the rain misted everything around us--our footsteps were sogged as we walked through the deep rain soaked grasses.

We meandered through the empty buildings--cameras in hand. Then just as we emerged from beneath the old sky bridge, the sun burst through the clouds. Bejeweled flowers and leaves sparkled all around. We were in a veritable garden of rainbowed diamonds.

This is my first ever entry for Weekend Flowers! I think this is going to be GREAT fun! I hope you'll join us at Terra's blog Goodies for a Pleasant Life.

WARNING: Think twice about visiting The Abandoned without permission. You risk getting arrested for trespassing.

2 comments:

Tina´s PicStory said...: What a beautiful picture! Some drops of rain can make such a fantastic shot possible. :) Thanks for joining us on Weekendflowers. We will be there every Friday! Have a nice weekend! Lg Tina; July 1, 2011 at 10:48 AM
Clytie said...: Ah sissie! It's absolutely GORGEOUS! What beautiful gems we found that day - and this is one of the best!!!; July 2, 2011 at 10:22 AM

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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.