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.

Broken Hearts -Guest Heart Thursday

These were the hunks and chunks of what was once The Abandoned.  Since the day I took this picture, these chunks have been reduced to pea sized gravel.  Not a bad thing.  Sissy and I have discovered one can find the most amazing agates and beautiful rocks in the piles of gravel left in the wake of the destruction of The Abandoned.

How grateful I am to see that the magic of the forest of our childhood is still alive and well.
For more heart art, photography and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday.

Crackle Mud Heart -Guest Heart Thursday

Sissy and I went for a walk through The Abandoned last week.  She was the one who found this heart for me.  Who would have thought of looking for a heart in a crackly, dry mud puddle?  

Here is the view of all that is left of the main building.  You can't really tell it, but I am standing at the top of a very steep cliff.  The tracks of big equipment are actually far below.  Those piles of gravel are HUGE.  One can find the most amazing agates and rocks here.

Above you see the main building which once stood here.  They've done a very good job of  reducing the entire complex to bits and pieces of gravel and rubble.

It still seems magical to me.  Especially the forests which still surround this area.

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

Skybridge Heart -Guest Heart Thursday

I have not had a chance to walk The Abandoned with Sissy since the last round of demolition, which appears to have flattened whatever was left of the buildings.  Above you see part of the old skybridge.  I was thinking about all the memories Sissy and I share--our walks here, our friendship, the way we laughed over the ghost stories people told.  (There are some true-life, hair-raising stories which are actually true.)  Such great memories from this wonderful magical place.

Happy Birthday, Sissy!  Cheers to all the memories yet to be shared over the years ahead!  I love you, Honey.

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

WARNING: Please do not visit this place unless you have permission. Though the buildings are flattened and the area has nothing to show for what once was--there are survailance cameras in place. I happen to have heard there are pictures on file. The owners are quite determined to identify those who trespass in The Abandoned.

Rubble Hearts -Guest Heart Thursday

On our last walk together through the rubble of The Abandoned, Sissy and I found several hearts, held barely in place by twisted rebar.

There are few walls left standing.  In a year or two, thankfully all of this will be gone.  Brand new homes with manicured lawns will take its place.  All that will be left of The Abandoned will be the memories and photographs of what once was here.  It will be abandoned no more.

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

WARNING: If you visit The Abandoned without permission, you risk getting arrested for trespassing. Please be careful. Since the buildings have been demolished, some question the presence of surveillance cameras.  Don't assume there aren't cameras in place. Individuals who come onto the property without permission, should know the owners are VERY serious about identifying trespassers.

Rebar Heart -Guest Heart Thursday

There's something theatrical in the rebar touching the skies.  Below one can find beautiful twisted rebar hearts in the rubble.  Strange that hearts can be found in  the midst of such destruction, they are so graceful.

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

WARNING: If you visit The Abandoned without permission, you risk getting arrested for trespassing. Please be careful.  Since the buildings have been demolished, some people question the presence of surveillance cameras. Don't assume there aren't cameras in place. Individuals who come onto the property without permission, should know the owners are VERY serious about identifying trespassers.   

Enter here little Ghostie

I was going through some photographs from my last walk with Sissie, when I discovered this interesting picture.  As you can see--there's a little ghostie in the middle at the bottom of the photo.  Brrrr....  (grin)  It was not shining full sunlight, so I found its presence to be interesting.

Looks like the Shadow People are still out and about!

Have a beautiful day.


WARNING: If you visit The Abandoned without permission, you risk getting arrested for trespassing. Please be careful.  Since the buildings have been demolished, some people question the presence of surveillance cameras. Don't assume there aren't cameras in place. Individuals who come onto the property without permission, should know the owners are VERY serious about identifying trespassers.   

Pink Heart -Guest Heart Thursday

This is another rubble heart found while walking with my Mother and Sister through what is left of The Abandoned.

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

WARNING:  If you visit The Abandoned without permission, you risk getting arrested for trespassing. There are some who question the presence of surveillance cameras, since the buildings are being demolished.  Don't assume there aren't cameras in place. Those who would come onto the property without permission, should know the owners are VERY serious about identifying those who would trespass here.  Especially now.

Heart in Rubble -Guest Heart Thursday

When the big machines grew quiet in the evening, Sissy, Mom and I went for a walk.  Not much is left of the original buildings.  Yet it is amazing how much artistic beauty can yet be found here.

Happy Valentines Day to the Shadow people and to those who grew up loving this enchanted place.

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

WARNING:  If you visit The Abandoned without permission, you risk getting arrested for trespassing.

Green Heart -Guest Heart Thursday

This green heart is long gone. 

The halls and most of the walls of this place have been flattened into the earth.  I will miss this place with its rare halls and high ceilings. 

Still, the magic of The Abandoned lives on.

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

WARNING: If you visit The Abandoned without permission, you risk getting arrested for trespassing.

Guardian -Guest Heart Thursday

First of all, I want anyone reading this blog to know I would never dream of walking here without an escort who has permission to be on the property.   Anyone visiting The Abandoned without permission should be aware there are surveillance cameras in place.  The property is regularly patrolled by local policemen, as well as watchful neighbors who won't hesitate to report illegal activity.  There is also a full-time caretaker living on the premises.  If you are caught trespassing, you will be arrested, jailed and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.  

Dad died just before Thanksgiving, so we haven't had much spare time--even for a walk in The Abandoned.  Since Dad left us, I have only visited here once.  After so many months away, I found myself in awe of the great changes taking place.  Though I am sad over the loss of these buildings,  I find that I can hardly wait to see this area restored to its once natural beauty.  However I am sure the idyllic meadows and old swamplands I remember from my childhood--a magical place where foxes came to leap and play--are likely a thing of the distant past.

As a girl, I remember feeling deep grief as dump trucks piled vast mountains of dirt and rock into the meadow, obliterating its former beauty.  Where deer, foxes, wild birds and other forest animals played, there was a huge, barren hill which was used as a parking lot.   My siblings and I were fascinated as we watched the building's walls grow tall as cement was poured into forms.  Years later, as a single woman I walked my dog along those pathways. As a young wife and Mother, living in my grandmother's basement apartment, Mom and I took our morning walks there.

In Dad's twilight years, with the gracious permission of the new owners, we walked with Dad so he could get exercise on smooth ground.  I still smile, remembering the tap tap of his old wooden cane and that funny little smile which played around his mouth as he walked through The Abandoned.

Over time, I've watched these rare, elegant buildings vandalized and gutted until only the option of demolition remained.

These photos are from the first and only time Sissy and I walked through The Abandoned since Dad died.  It is startling to see light where darkness once held sway.  The broken walls have let in the light to this area.  Soon these hearts will be crunched into rubble.  The rare architecture of this place will only be a memory.

Though the castle will soon be demolished, its guardian will still be there--watching from the mysterious woodlands--full of old growth trees, native plants and wild animals who live in the forests surrounding The Abandoned.

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

WARNING: With the demolition of these buildings, The Abandoned is especially dangerous. If you visit without permission, you risk getting arrested for trespassing.

Inside Out

When I visit my parents home, it is a treat to go walking with my sister, Clytie.  We often visit the woods of our childhood and sometimes, when weather allows--we walk through The Abandoned.  However, since Dad died just before Thanksgiving, I have not had the privilege of walking here.  This was from my first visit here in a long time.  A LOT of change has taken place over the past three months.

Here is a shot of what was once the inside of the building--now outside.  It is hard to get one's bearings, especially since the more familiar graffiti pieces were obscured by the staff of Grimm.  These are more of their fanciful designs.   It is mystifying to try to figure out where things once were and to get one's bearings within these broken buildings.

That high window once looked out over the inside of the building.  I believe it was the children's classrooms.

I liked this window with it's floating piece of stone.  There's something magical about this photo.  It is an interesting study of beauty and destruction.  There will always be a bit of magic permeating this landscape--even when the buildings are gone.


WARNING: With the demolition of these buildings, The Abandoned is especially dangerous.  Those who come here without permission risk arrest for trespassing.

The Magic Lives On

Yesterday I visited The Abandoned for the first time in months.  Sissy and I were in awe of the demolition taking place.  Everywhere there is twisted wreckage and broken walls.  Though the main structure is still mostly intact, I was amazed to see how much land had been revealed.  The complex is HUGE.

One can still peak through a window from the outside to the inside--to see the work of graffiti artists.  I loved this contrast of winter grasses and swirled blue.

This is another example of fabulous graffiti art from the television show, Grimm.  How truly fun to see a smiling face perched behind piles of twisted metal and rubble.  An inside wall, now on the outside.  Amazing.  This funny face made me laugh.

The magic of The Abandoned still lives.  Even when it is gone, the ghosts of memories will persist. 


WARNING: With the demolition of these buildings, The Abandoned is especially dangerous. You shouldn't visit The Abandoned without permission from the owner or caretaker. If you do, you risk getting arrested for trespassing.

Graceful Heart -Guest Heart Thursday

Another graceful heart imprinted above the piled rubble.  Soon pictures of this place will be all that's left.

Those and our memories.  I wonder if the magic that was here will still linger?

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

WARNING: With the demolition of these buildings, The Abandoned is especially dangerous. You shouldn't visit The Abandoned without permission from the owner or caretaker. If you do, you risk getting arrested for trespassing.

Demolition Has Begun

As of a few weeks ago, the big machinery was moved in.  The walls of The Abandoned are being torn down and soon it will be leveled as though it had never been.  Memories will continue, but the buildings will be gone.  One of the owners told Sissy and I that there are plans to put in over 400 brand new homes in this area.

But the forests of our childhood will remain.  The old growth trees will continue to flourish, maiden hair fern will grow in the canyon next to the creek, wild animals will thrive and Sissy and I will still be able to walk the paths where we played as children.

WARNING:  Because of the current on-going demolition, The Abandoned is especially dangerous at this time.   Those who come here without permission risk arrest for trespassing..

Changes for The Abandoned

It appears one of the new owners of The Abandoned is a demolition business.  Happily the clean up has begun.  They have brought in architects to peruse the gaunt buildings--and so far, there is no plan to demolish these beautiful structures.

They're cleaning the roads of blackberry vines, they've installed gates and mended fences.  There are no trespassing signs placed around the edges of the property.

Perhaps there is yet hope for The Abandoned.



NOTE: If you intend to visit The Abandoned, be sure to get permission from the owners first. If you do not have permission, you may be arrested and prosecuted for trespassing.