The Abandoned: March 2015

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The Abandoned--Abandoned No Longer

The deconstruction of The Abandoned is done now. All the mysterious tunnels and tall buildings with their elegant curled stairways are gone. Soon there will be houses built in this place. I'm grateful they are leaving the green spaces.

The land, with its rolling hills and open vista reminds me of a big golf course.

This was once the parking lot of The Abandoned. Strange to realize someday people won't even think about the place which once stood here. I surely loved its mystery.

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.