The Abandoned: column

Friday, September 10, 2010

Reflection Revealed in The Abandoned

Inside the dark hallways of The Abandoned, bright columns, through which Children once entered their classrooms, are now festooned with Graffiti. A soft blue reflects onto the dark ceilings. A curiously beautiful word, Reveal, creates a certain spiked harmony as it sprawls down the curved yellow paint.

For more wonderful reflections from around the world, be sure to visit James at Weekend Reflections.

WARNING: Anyone wishing to visit The Abandoned, must have permission from the owners first. If you do not have permission, you may be arrested and prosecuted for trespassing.

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.