The Baker Hotel, located in Mineral Wells, Texas, was a renowned luxury resort and spa that operated from 1929 to 1972. The history of the hotel is one of opulence and glamour as well as mysterious deaths and ghost stories, most of which I refuse to entertain on the grounds of nonsense. At 14 stories high, the hotel looms over the town in a Bran Castle-esk manner and upon its construction was considered the first […read more…]
It’s hard to describe the current state of Harlem’s P.S. 186 without falling into the dreaded verbal blackhole of flowery rhetoric that plagues urban exploration writing. I can’t count how many times I’ve read the phrase “reclaimed by nature” in regards to a “concrete jungle” or “lost city” and while I understand the compulsion to use those trite phrases, I wish more writers would resist the urge. So I’m not going to attempt to describe […read more…]
On July 12th 2015, the best abandoned building at Middletown Psychiatric Center burned down. (Top photo c/o Middletown Fire Dept.) Previously known as the Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital (and State Homeopathic Asylum) the large brick building was the oldest and most historically significant structure on the campus. I’ve been holding onto my photos of Middletown for a future book, but it seems appropriate now to go ahead and publish them online. Built in 1874, Middletown […read more…]
Birchwood was a quiet honeymoon resort, that like most Poconos resorts, had a heyday in the 60s and saw a rapid decline leading to mass closures in the 80s and 90s. Birchwood was briefly in the news in 2014 when a convicted cop-killer Eric Frein was caught hiding in the airplane hanger at the Birchwood airport, where he’d been holed up for seven weeks. Birchwood is owned by the guy who owns Spa Castle in […read more…]
Quick background about the theaters: Although separate theaters, both the Poli Palace and Majestic Theatre share the same building, along with the abandoned Savoy Hotel, in Bridgeport, CT. The theaters opened in 1922. The Majestic closed in 1971, and the Poli Palace closed in 1975. They’re both currently owned/maintained, so they’re in fairly good condition. The Majestic is used for prop and costume storage. The theaters began with vaudeville and silent films, moving into major […read more…]
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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 a very romantic surprise, if you’re into that kinda thing. Spoiler alert: he said yes. Then come back here to enjoy this gallery of photos. The comic references this post I did on Penn Hills, where I first discovered the relocated World’s Fair lampposts. The […read more…]
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. These round bottom bottles were made in the mid 1800’s and up. It’s fairly rare to find something like this still intact at Bottle Beach. Many bottles have been strung up on a downed tree at the shoreline over the years. Hurricane Sandy knocked a […read more…]