The Abandoned: Lonely Heart -Guest Heart Thursday

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Lonely Heart -Guest Heart Thursday

Sissy and I found this lonely heart placed beneath the window on the second floor of the main building. This area no longer exists. The entire complex has been reduced to a field of rubble.

I haven't seen it up close yet. It is so odd to look over where the buildings once stood and see a clear, clean skyline. I remember when The Abandoned was built. I remember the workers pouring the cement walls. I remember feeling so sad at that time--because they'd made my beloved meadow into a cold giant hillside. I missed seeing the foxes play and the birds that came there to nest.

Now I am sad to see this magical place compacted into dust. Strange isn't it?

Soon over 400 homes will be built where this place once stood. Progress, I suppose.

For more heart art, photography and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday.

2 comments:

Maria said...: As I read your post, I can't help but compare the place into the bird phoenix ;-); June 21, 2013 at 2:12 AM
Clytie said...: Sigh. One of my favorite photographic haunts is gone forever ... it's amazing how little there is left over there. Just piles of rubble in some places and holes in the ground in others ...; June 23, 2013 at 8:56 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.