The Abandoned: Old Growth Beauty

Monday, January 18, 2016

Old Growth Beauty

This is one of the incredibly beautiful Cedar trees which grow in the canyons and woodlands surrounding what once was The Abandoned. It is beautiful. The trees grow big and graceful. If I were to stand next to the cedar tree you see here, I would be dwarfed by it's sheer size.

I love this place--these forests. There is such incredible hidden beauty there.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: Oh Beth, this is so wonderful. I feeling like Anne of Green Gables came and sat with me and had a chat. Love this beautiful tribute to memories and to our Creator. Love Wendy; January 24, 2016 at 10:41 PM

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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.