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Greener pastures – Champaign, IL

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Old Post Rd

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Barn’d

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SighLow

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The Back roads of Champaign had all kinds of forgotten places… 

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Honey>Home

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Better Days

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Environmentally Conscious

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Vyooless

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Friendly Reminder

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Mezzurs

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Road less traveled by

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Mooks

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Violencia

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Calm/Storm

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State Capitol Building – Springfield, IL

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Signs of the Midwest

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Keokuk, IA

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East St Louis was one of the craziest places I’d ever seen. If you could find people, they were finding ways to survive on the street or barely living. Everywhere you looked there was abandoned infrastructure. Most of the buildings must have been uninhabitable as most of the people we saw preferred taking their chances in shacks on the street. If you ever wondered what the apocalypse would look like, go here…

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A friendly game of cards

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My brother and I were going to head into this place, but some nearby residents warned us that the people in there weren’t exactly hospitable…

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HoboNashun

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Abandoned loading docks – N 1st St

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Da®ko

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Board to death

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Past is present

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ThruWá

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A-Block

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Always watching

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Shanty towns called Sparta, Wakesville and Hopeville had sprung up all along the abandoned waterfront. They had access to running water (below) and tapped into the electrical grid from the railroad tracks. From the looks of it, everything seemed to be up and running. They even had mailboxes and garbage collections for the city to manage…

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You have to be resourceful to live in East St. Louis…

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Cass Ave

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Looked like nobody lived in the houses that lined this alley

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Hadley Street

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Burnt-Out Church

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Not Happy

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View from the balcony

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Busch Stadium – The Rockies and soon-to-be-World-Champion Cardinals were playing a sunday night baseball game

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Looking South

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Waiting Game – Kansas City, MO

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Sunset over Kansas City, MO

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In case you were wondering…

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Coronado Heights, Linsborg, KS

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My father went to school out here. Seeing how small this town was, it must have taken years to recover from all the damage he caused. Him and his band of fellow New Yorkers would storm the highest point in the area – Mt. Coronado. Seeing him clear the cobwebs after 38 years away from Linsborg was quite a sight… as was the view from his old mountain…

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Looking south from the Heights

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Arkansas was one of the flattest places I’ve ever seen. We drove past hundreds of miles of flat fields with grasshoppers bobbing lazily for oil. Made me miss the city!

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Shanendoah National Park

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The deer were pretty brash, walking within feet of you without blinking an eye

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Before the Rains

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Sunrise

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Zucotti Park is the home base for OWS. There was lots of talk about the police moving in and forcing the protesters out in order to clean the park. The occupants stood their ground and the park’s owners backed off. From what I saw, things were relatively clean, but who knows what was underneath all of those tarps…

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TV antennas were everywhere

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El pueblo, unido…

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This guy had some nice pink hair under his hat. I tried taking a picture of him washing in the bushes, but he shot me some wild devil eyes and I backed off

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More details, please…

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Makeshift Corpsman

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Putting that art school talent to use

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I saw a few people losing their cookies around the park in the few hours I was there. Must have been some good drugs being circulated!

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Wake up

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Hard at work

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Appropriate backdrop

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This guy’s tarp was blocking one of the pathways. One of the park’s owners told him to keep everything clean or they’d be kicked out. He ended up attacking another one of the protesters after he was yelled at again.

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Just kids

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He was hugging one of the resident drug dealers in the park… apparently for good reason…

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Paws and effect

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Ruined one of my favorite childhood songs…

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The blonde chick was all about free love. She ran around smoking everyone’s dope and giving them free gropes and smooches. She was very 1968…

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William H. Depperman - Spokesman for the communist party movement. Apparently, his views have provolked some serious responses with some people…

http://www.angelfire.com/planet/depperman/

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Face painting was a big thing amongst the yoothes

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Executive decision

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Dude was in his own “suite” surrounded by tarps. Nobody dared tresspass near his plastic blue palace

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Footing the bill

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… or until it gets cold outside…

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Irrespective/Perspective

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My third eye seen it comin’

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Time to reflect

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The cameras flocked to Sid Vicious III

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Brothers in arms

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This group was calling for reparations from slavery.

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Generation ¿Que?

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POWER TO THE PIZZA!

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Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, more practical theories were at play…

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/nyregion/21building.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

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The Beast – Northern Exposure

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Eastern Exposure

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Southern Exposure

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Playing Corners

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Glassed from the Past

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Ghost Stairs

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Each floor had trap doors to hoist safes down to the ground floor

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Shadows of the building skeleton were everywhere…

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The peeling paint showed 5 Beekman’s long history better than anything else. There must have been six or seven layers on some walls, it was beautiful and sad all at once…

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This guy was trying in vain to get out. He flapped himself upside down on the floor, covering his wings in dust. I picked him up, threw him out of an open window and he dusted off and fluttered away

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The Atrium – One of the building’s most redeemable characteristics…

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At one point in the building’s history, it served as a keeper of hospital records

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PitMouth

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5 Beekman’s family grew up tall around her. When she was born in 1882, she was as tall as most of the buildings on the island. Now, she’s the dwarfed older sister…

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One WTC Rising

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Reflecting on Gehry

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Knock/Noggin

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The Elevator room – I was afraid of stepping on the white (cement) bubbles. If broken, they would have taken someone right down the shaft, 100+ feet below. It smelled like my grandfather’s basement in there – old grease and electricity

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Thing’umabobz

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Doohickeys

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Pin/Wheel

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‘VatorGutz

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I saw two of these really old ladders around the building. One here in the elevator room and one in the bowels of the basement. Two of the furthest places they could have possibly been from each other.

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Wallpeeler

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Detailed ironwork was everywhere. The one thing missing from today’s buildings is attention to detail – they give buildings such character. Some of the finer examples were found in the stairwells and on the ceilings of the building…

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Floor to ceiling details

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The infamous Iron Dragons – These were uncovered when the sheet rock was removed a few years back.

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Railings

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Down

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Up

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Rumor has it that there was once Tiffany Glass in the lattice of steel engravings on the staircase. This was unfortunately ripped out years ago by developers who has no clue of its worth.

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Hopefully the developers will utilize this courtyard. Looks like they were in the process of filling in the windows with some frosty nonsense.

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Upward thinking

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Self-ish

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By Way

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No light needed – The Atrium is one of the most striking aspects of 5 Beekman. This gem was covered-up with sheet rock for decades, which ended up preserving the magnificent lattice of iron work up above. 

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Looking down from the 6th Floor

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Looking up from ground-level

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Test/Time

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Through-Way

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While each room was bare, each had its own character. It was interesting seeing the different layouts with different spatterings of paint which peeled back in layers. You could see where desks had been, where things had been spilt decades before. In rare cases, you could see the charred remains of timbers between the floorboards from a fire 120 years ago. One thing was certain, this place was built to last.

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Photo shoot leftovers – At one point, they turned the place into a Garden Of Eden with all kinds of leaves and such.

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In and Out of Shadows

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The original elevators - According to a NY Times article from September of 1882, they were capable of carrying the occupant nine floors in thirty seconds, some of the fastest lifts in the world.

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Take the dust… leave the tiles

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More film shoot leftovers – The glass on top of the piano had a huge spider in it

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MonstroCity – Scenes from the basement of 5 Beekman. It was pretty creepy down there with the lighting…

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Broken

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Nightmare on Beekman Street

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Piesa-cotta

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This area will be a night club once all of the renovations are finished

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Shlitz Throwback

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Found this old sign buried in dirt behind one of the pipes

Amazingly, there was actually a first-hand account documented on film taken in the tornado’s path. It was from a convenience store in the Eastern part of the city. The people were all herded into a walk-in freezer and survived. The video can be seen by clicking here. You can’t see anything, but the sound says it all. Listener discretion is advised… A similar event took place at a nearby Pizza Hut. The manager, Christopher Lucas, held a bungee chord around the door until it broke. He along with one of the waitresses were sucked out and killed, but the rest of the people survived. Seeing this city was by far one of the most sobering things I’ve ever witnessed…

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Streets have no name

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St. John’s Hospital – Four deaths were confirmed here. The tornado shifted the building four inches off its foundation.

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Half-way House

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All that was left of most houses….

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All of the trees had their bark ripped off. Most limbs looked totally contorted.

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Joplin High School – Luckily, the graduation ceremony that day was held outside of town.

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Books were left on their shelves in some places

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To get an idea of the opposing forces created by the wind, just look at the hole in this manhole cover…

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Newly installed tornado siren

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It’s hard to imagine the swath of destruction. Where there was once neat rows of houses, there was simply nothing. I ran down one block that had relatively unscathed houses on the south side and had nothing but debris on the north side. This is looking East…

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West

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South

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Survivor

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Most of the telephones had been replaced. Most that remained had been ripped in two.

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West

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Hope still thrives in Joplin

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Odd things came together in the massive winds

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Apocalypse

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One of the few places we saw that had a basement

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The tornado took the lives of two people inside, but left their clothes behind…

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Some people wondered if you could ride it out in a car. These crumpled wrecks should answer that question…

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The Elementary School

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Those who didn’t have basements went to the most firmly-secured spots on the house. There were quite a few tubs still intact…

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“Writing House”

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Looking Glass

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One of the houses that still had it’s wooden floors was turned into a make shift memorial. People wrote on pretty much every part of the house that was still standing…

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Newspaper Woman – 45th St

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Chairs of Bryant Park

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Heat/Beat

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The Claw

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Guitarman - W4th Street Station

This guy is usually crowding the alley, playing awful riffs and netting a decent payout from naive tourists

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Pete

This guy held down the courts at West 4th for hours. After getting out of the bar across the street at 7:30, I saw he was still out there and had just finished off another challenger. Foolishly, I goaded him into another game. I would have been no match for him in normal gear, but I was in my suit. Coupled withe the heat, it made the defeat even worse. At the very least, it was a good workout, despite the stares from people on the train looking at the drenched businessman…

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Washington Square Park

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Lazy Days

Slow Practice

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As one would expect, the Washington Square Park fountain was rather lively. People all gathered around it and lazed in its lukewarm spray. Even though the waters were almost bath-like, it was still a respite from the opressive waves of heat blasting off the sidewalks…

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Washbow

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Draggin

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Getting Down

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What gives…

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This kid was having a blast

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This guy’s kid kept chasing him around the fountain

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Aqua Shadow

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In the midst

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Dribble/Drivel

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New Additions to Washington Square

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W4th

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Sign of the Times

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Hunkered

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Not sure where this kid’s parents were, but he was perfectly happy hanging in the middle of the sidewalk…

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En Route

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CI Karaokist

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Dragonsnare

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Necessary Eveils

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The Kite Runner

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Palm Sunday

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Reason #2,441,904 why you shouldn’t swim in Coney Island…

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The water wasn’t closed, but it should have been. In the midst of this heat wave, one of the sewage treatment plants on the East side shut down, flooding the waters around New York Harbor with all kinds of nasties. That didn’t stop the people from jumping in to beat the heat

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Overlook

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This guy only had one claw to fight back with…

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Poor guy swallowed the hook. They tried to work it out with pliers, but that never works. The dudes didn’t realize that fluke have enzymes that can break down fishing line. If they would have cut the line and threw him back, he might have met a different fate…

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…and the sea

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Crushalot

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He wasn’t happy about the bath…

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This woman did NOT want to be dunked. Her protests rang on deaf ears…

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I always see this guy collecting cans on the Boardwalk. he took a little break to check out the action in the salsa ring

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El Rithmo

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When the mood strikes…

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Salsero

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Invrt

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Wild Birds for sale off the Boardwalk

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Wiley

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Ol’ Faithful

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Wave/Palm

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Froze/Fish

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Squishy Shark

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The Living – National Zoo

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I’ll be…

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Mani/Pedi

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Golden Tamarind

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Meery

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Howler

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Momma

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Get me outta here

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Monstrous

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Blue Notes

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He looked so happy up on his perch…

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Philipine Croc

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20 Ft. Anaconda

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False Water Cobra – While their bite is nasty, they don’t have a rep for killing folks like their cousins (below)

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Monitor

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Surface>Air

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Briefcasing

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Giant Island Iguana

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King Cobra

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Aussie Snake-Necked Turtle

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Queens County

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The Watchman

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VicPick

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Hump’r

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RökRöl

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Slipree

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Ghost Tree

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Lazy Day

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The seeds of the cottonwood trees were everywhere. During this time, cottonwoods disperse them in hopes that they’ll land on the moist riverbeds and swampy areas. it is the only place the trees can grow in such a harsh environment

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Der Großvater sitzt im Garten und raucht das Rohr

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Some of the locals…

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Power Flower

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Striations

The upper layer of the mountains is called navajo sandstone. It was once one of the largest deserts on Earth. Over millions of years, it was packed down and solidified by water and makes up the tops of most mountains.

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The Virgin river is responsible for carving these magnificent mountains. It moves millions of cubic feet of sediment every year, with most of the major flooding coming over the srping thaw.

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Hanging gardens

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Angel’s Landing (center background) was one of the most challenging hikes I’ve done. After going through a maze of switchbacks, the last half mile takes you scrambling up a ridge with a 4,000 foot drop on either side.

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Desert Rose

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The West Rim trail snakes through some amazing canyons. You can barely make out the people towards the bottom at the base of the huge chasm

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Dragon’s Maw

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Big Bend

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Long way down

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Looking south from Angel’s Landing

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East

North

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This woman was nuts

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The Grotto

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Looking back on the ridge from the summit. You can see how small the margin of error is from this vantage

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Skinkfight

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Approaching Walter’s Wiggles, one of the wildest switchbacks I’ve ever seen

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Dave

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Looking into the grotto

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Bird’s-eye view of the west rim trail

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Dug in

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Plateau Lizard

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The old Utah Juniper

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Meanwhile, back in Vegas…

It was like a culture shock coming back from Zion to this seemingly strange land. You go from natural landscapes and fresh breezes to tall plexiglass and smog. Where you barely saw any people a few hours before, you were surrounded by drug dealers and nudie flyers shoving thier respective products in your face. Amazing how dynamic this country can be…

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Garagitti

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Slotitti

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Leaving Las Vegas

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Easy access

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Lumière

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Logement

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The old Dow Brewery, now being converted into lofts downtown. Good to know they’re keeping the exoskeleton in place, it’s a really cool building

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There were people who had lived in this building at one point, evidence of their presence here was everywhere. I never ran across a soul while exploring this area, all that could be heard was the wind whipping off the icy river

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Cruz

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Perdu

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Abandoned Truck

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Storyboard

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Absentia

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Home made Checkers

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The old Mill Street grain terminal

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I wasn’t expecting anyone to be around, suddenly this freight train came barreling down the tracks and blocked my access. Had to wait a few minutes for the whole thing to pass by…

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St. Laurent Shipyards

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Locked-In

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Done Over

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Paysage Urbain

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Old Montréal – Rue de la Commune

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Faded Hopes

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FrozePence

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Chapelle Notre Dame de Bronsecours

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Even in late March, there was still ice everywhere

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Rue de Champlain

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D’égout

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Doorlocks

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Scribble – McGill University

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L’Amour

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This dude was very excited about some sporting event going on that day…

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Club Opera – Now closed after being gutten by fire

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Rue Clark

While exploring, I noticed a whole string of abandoned buildings. After accessing the rooftops, it was clear that a huge fire had gutted almost the whole block. All that was left of these places were crumbling bricks and peeling paint…

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NuphSed

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PinkABoo

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Makeshift Ladder

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Addage

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Boogie Chillen

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Pas de guerre

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Flocking Geese - En route to the border

Check the next page for some more Montréal culture…

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Formyulayik

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Chinois

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Jordy

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Indienne

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Le bien, Le Mal

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De Luop

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Volière

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Brikwörk

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Wannabe Banksy

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Merde

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Longtraxx

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GeeDubz

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Southland

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Bend

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Bent

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Inspiration Point – Fort Washington Park

Designed by Gustave Steinbacher in 1925, this Hudson overlook fell into extreme disrepair in the 1970′s and 80′s. The only article I found was from the Times, 21 years ago, stating that the city was attempting to clean up the point. While the greek columns above might have been refurbished, the recreational area underneath remained a victim of the city’s neglect.

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Deepdive

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After peeking around a couple of corners, the point didn’t look like much. After kicking around the busted up bathroom stalls, we decided to check around the last dark corner. It turned out to be a pretty large squat…

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Kaatakömbz

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War is Over

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Daybrake

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Room with a view

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Smut

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Efficiency police

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Bodybag

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Henry Hudson Bridge

Misc…

Freightening – Champaign, IL

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Emmanuel – Champaign, IL

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Zeus – Brooklyn, NY