Well it only took me 2 months, but I’m back. I’ll post something later in a futile attempt to excuse my reneging on such important commitments as maintaining my precious unread blog, but for now I’m just going to share some incredible photos I stumbled across on Flickr that kept me up way past my bedtime yesterday.
I can’t pinpoint exactly why I am so utterly fascinated by the abandonment and decay of grand structures - the ravages of time and the elements chaotically etching away at their once flawless carefully-designed surfaces, accented by a random smattering of aged artifacts providing subtle clue as to how the space was used, a tantalizing incomplete glimpse tempting us to imagine the mundane life that once took place in this now inhuman space. Inhuman and decay are, of course, terms inherently loaded - the drip-drip alteration (which sometimes ends in complete consumption) by the forces of nature, after a building is left exposed to the elements and berefet of utilities/climate control/etc., is actually the natural state of things, in a sense.
Desirable? Nope. Pleasant? Not exactly (thankfully, photography doesn’t convey the rancid stench of mold/mildew).
But damn, it’s beautiful.
These photos are taken by user eholubow, who I think is one Eric Holubow, a Chicago-based urban explorer and photographer (that’s about all I can glean without going into stalker mode). Anyway, some of his stuff is absolutely incredible, not only in terms of visual composition but also in the depths and detail of the stories told through his chosen inanimate objects and scenery. Through a combination of some good gear and layering exposures on top of each other, he’s put together photographs that radiant color and life in spaces that, to the naked eye and abused nose of a visitor, would otherwise seem dank, dark, and awful. I’ll share a few of my favorites, but recommend you check out all 21 sets he’s got posted.
First, to an abandoned church in Gary, IN:
Day of Rest
Next we go to Chicago’s West Side, to the Brach’s Candy Factory (part of which was blown up by Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight). Check out the snow cover.
Brach's Pano
Tiny Tracks
Stairwell
Next down to Hyde Park, where the corpse of St. Stephen’s church rotted for much my childhood and remains to this day, just a block or so from my parent’s house.
St. Stephen's Great Room
Stalls
Two more stops. Mr Holubow made it into Michael Reese Hospital, which is noteworthy for a few reasons. First, I was born there. Second, this is the desired site for Chicago’s Olympic Village, should Chicago succeed in its bid to host the 2016 Olympics. Third, it’s got a whole lot of 1950-fabulous architecture and furniture. The local preservation community is actually in total freakout mode right now, since it was recently discovered that the Reese campus and several of the buildings were partially designed by Walter Gropius himself, meaning the near south side of Chicago has campuses planned and designed by each of two masters of the Bauhaus and Modern schools of architecture (the other being Mies Van Der Rohe’s IIT). In typical Chicago fashion, the current plan is to save the decent but otherwise unremarkable main Reese building dating to 1907, and demolish the irreplacable mid-century-modern museum pieces that make up the rest of the campus.
….anyway, I rant because Mr Holubow encountered some TOTALLY AWESOME mid-century modern furniture in his exploits and for some reason did not think to loot it for himself. If you need me, I’ll be at Michael Reese Hospital liberating some furniture so that it may decorate my house.
Michael Reese Hospital 1
Michael Reese Hospital Nurse's Kitchen
Waiting
Final stop involves some overt, beat-you-over-the-head awesome symbolism. Chicago Public Schools recently rebuilt Westinghouse Career Academy High School - demolishing the old building, and constructing a new one across the street, rather than rehabbing or similar. This is what they did with the textbooks in the old building:
CPS Library
Just in case I need to remind you, check out eholubow’s photostream and see the rest.
