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A few recent photos of the Lowe's Kings Theatre in Brooklyn NY, which closed in 1977. It is slated to become a performing arts center by 2014, and restored to its original 1929 appearance.
We passed by a small cemetery just south of Geneva NY (by chance) as the sun was setting, and spotted a small chapel-like structure that seemed a bit worse for wear. A quick peek inside revealed spaces packed full of junk; the tight crawl inside didn't seem worth it. We wandered into the cemetery, which was full of deer, darting back into the woods upon our presence. Some of the stones almost began to glow as the moon rose... so we grabbed our cameras.
We stood in an empty street among an expanse of empty apartments in New Orleans, listening to the stillness that surrounded us. The Desire neighborhood in the 9th Ward was almost completely obliterated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. From some vantage points it was possible to have a 360° view of absolute vacancy. A shiny barbed wire fence stretched along the blight, but the gates were left swinging in the cold January breeze.
Officially dedicated in 1839, the Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore is the final resting place to over 65,000 people. It was modeled after the Mount Auburn cemetery in Boston, which started the rural or garden cemetery movement in the United States. Rural cemeteries were intended for public enjoyment before the widespread development of public parks. Greenmount is a fine example of funerary architecture and sculpture that has been long lost in contemporary times...
Visiting some of the large industrial sites in Germany left quite an impression on me, as many had been converted into parks and museums open to the general public. I remember asking, "how could this be?" I was astounded to see these massive, decaying brownfields turned into centers of culture, amusement, and thriving businesses. In the United States, it seems like most of these kinds of places are the exact opposite, unless the existing structures have been completely leveled and remediated.
While exploring some places in Mississippi, we came across this decrepit sign for Royal Land - an amusement park that has been closed since the 1970s. When I returned home I wanted to know more about it, and found this wonderful history...
