TEPCO Beach
If you used to read this blog, please forgive my nearly seven-year absence. I left NYC, (I did the bulk of my exploring on the east coast) moved home to…
the New York World’s Fair
To read about the history of the New York World's Fair (and its lampposts) please go to the New Yorker to read my comic about it. The second to last panel has…
Bottle Beach at Dead Horse Bay
2018 update: My comic about Bottle Beach eventually became part of my book Tenements, Towers & Trash, and you can hear me talk about in on the New Yorker Radio Hour.…
Brooklyn Navy Yard: Naval Hospital & Admiral’s Row
The Brooklyn Naval Hospital is on the grounds of the perpetually changing Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is half abandoned, half commercial/office/film studio space. The hospital opened in the 1930s and…
Belton Court
Belton Court, constructed in 1905, is a historic estate in Barrington, Rhode Island. The medieval-inspired, castle-like mansion has undergone numerous incarnations in the past 100 years, including Ferrin Hall, Gibson…
The Red Hen
When I think of things I did NOT enjoy as a child, the list is surprisingly short: Math, church service, the tuna fish and crumbled crackers dinner my dad made…
Greycourt Women’s Prison- La Guardia Men’s Homeless Shelter
These buildings started out as Greycourt Farm Colony- a woman’s prison- in 1918. It covered 258 acres of farmland that were tended to by female prisoners. (If you’re wondering what a…
Vieques Military Bunkers
(go here to see all Vieques Island posts) Around Christmas 2012, I spent a week running around the island of Vieques by myself. I explored abandoned military bunkers, sugar mill…
Playa Grande Sugar Plantation
(go here to see all Vieques Island posts) The Playa Grande Sugar Plantation ruins are on Vieques Island in Puerto Rico. For the sake of honesty and full disclosure, the…
Puerto Ferro Lighthouse
(go here to see all Vieques Island posts) The Puerto Ferro Lighthouse lies on the south side of the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico. (Vieques has an unfortunately sordid…
Arcade Building
Going to the mall in ye olden days was a completely different experience than going to the mall today. Around the turn of the 20th century, “shopping arcades” were starting…
New York City Farm Colony
Farm Colony is the Times Square of urban exploring. Everybody goes there, takes the same photo (see above) walks around the streets for a bit, and then complains about…
New Rochelle Water Co.
One of my favorite aspects of exploring, besides the actual act of it, is researching the histories of the places I visit. I can spend four hours exploring a place…
Bodie, CA
Bodie is a ghost town open to the public, so I'm not going to write a history of it since you can just google it. Here's a gallery of my…