# Have you ever explored an abandoned place? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 5, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989 "2012-05-05T14:39:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/21 "2012-05-05T22:39:47Z")
My brother and I explored an abandoned Titan ICBM missile base outside Boise Idaho. It was absolutely freaky and surreal. Pitch black except for our flashlights and the sun shining in the top of the empty missile silo. It was vast, and all underground except for the little stairway we climbed down from the surface. The top of the silo had been opened after the missile had been removed so the Soviets could see it was empty. Pigeons were flying around in the silo. There were gigantic radar antennas mounted on springs. The layout of the base was almost exactly like [this](http://thinkorthwim.com/2007/10/08/for-sale-by-owner-titan-missile-silo/). ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/22 "2012-05-05T22:53:22Z")
I spent some time visiting in Buffalo the Richardson psych hospital, that big hotel just east of Main near that big dome, and a few grain silos south of town. There are loads of pictures already out there, and I wasn’t any kind of photographer. Plus, getting into the psych hospital was a PITA with the security guards and scaling the fence (a chick I was with found a way to crawl under). I’m pretty much convinced Buffalo is the best place for urban exploration – never made it much else underground except the sanitized places in other towns. Nobody really gives a shit there – cops, neighbors, whatever. Probably worth taking a vacation there just for that reason alone. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/23 "2012-05-05T23:08:52Z")
When I was a kid, there was an abandoned factory about a mile from our house. My brother and I (and most of the other neighbourhood kids) would go inside it all the time. But my best explorations were decades later when I was a supposed adult and was working in [Fishkill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishkill_Correctional_Facility) prison. This was a huge prison and parts of it are no longer in use. Sometimes when I’d get bored I’d draw out some of the old keys and go look inside some of the abandoned sections. ---
**Author:** ![deball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@deball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deball)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/24 "2012-05-05T23:10:51Z")
One place we used to hike to and explore as 10 year old boys was the[Portland Cement Plant](http://www.flickr.com/photos/odalaigh/1532444089/) outside of Petoskey, Michigan. It was a massive abandoned post-apocalyptic gray zone. A few years later we discovered skateboarding and remembered the huge steel full pipes at the factory ruins. We skated the hell out of them. They were awesome. The place was demolished and turned into a [pretty massive playground for the rich and famous](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Harbor,_Michigan). Edited for grammar. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/25 "2012-05-05T23:20:22Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > A friend of mine is a amateur-bordering-on-professional photographer, and for the last two years photographing abandoned houses was her project. She got kicked out of a house once, for entering when it apparently wasn’t totally abandoned, yet. > > Hpwever, her pictures are wonderful. [Moody, dreamy, sad, creepy.](http://www.inekekamps.com/photographs/abandonment/) One of them was bought by a publisher for a book jacket. Those are incredible. Does she sell prints? I can’t find anything about it on the website, and there are a couple there that I really badly want… ETA: Never mind, I found a bit where it says she does. Now I just have to work out what sizes. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/26 "2012-05-06T01:56:45Z")
I am loving this. I love the slideshows of deserted places that pop up on Salon or travel sites. The Ruins of Detroit I revisit over and over, just awesome. The only abandoned building I’ve been in was a broken down barn in the middle of nowhere, full of rotting hay and hardly worth looking in. Found a horseshoe, though. I want to ask: is there a U.S. city that is built over, or near, underground caves or caverns? Buffalo? Rochester? Boston? I must have seen some TV show on the Discovery Channel about it, can’t remember the city. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/27 "2012-05-06T02:20:08Z")
Ransom Riggs, a contributor to Mental Floss has a whole series of “Strange Geographies” including an [abandoned school](http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/39309), [airplane graveyard](http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/33186), and [mental facility](http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/28071). You can spend hours clicking around through the links. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/28 "2012-05-06T02:28:01Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I want to ask: is there a U.S. city that is built over, or near, underground caves or caverns? Buffalo? Rochester? Boston? I must have seen some TV show on the Discovery Channel about it, can’t remember the city. Rochester doesn’t have caves but there are abandoned tunnels under the city for the old watermills. There’s also an abandoned subway system. There’s also the Broad Street Bridge. It used to be a two-level bridge but the lower level is now closed off and all traffic goes on the upper level. But you can still get into the lower level if you want to. But it’s not really a good idea because there are homeless people living down there. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/29 "2012-05-06T02:37:16Z")
Oh, these are actual caves, or caverns. You can leave your office building and be spelunking within the hour. It’s a biggish city but can’t remember! Speaking of abandoned tunnels and subway systems, there was a book written by a woman (again with the not remembering!) about underground New York City. Closed off subway stations and secret rooms still full of furniture. Absolutely fascinating, with a chapter on the homeless living down there. Though it turns out some of her stories were enhanced, or just plain made up. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/30 "2012-05-06T03:00:58Z")
The Lemp Brewery in St Louis was built on a series of caves used to cool beer. It’s also associated with a haunted house and a cursed family. I don’t know about spelunking. ---
**Author:** ![emu2swan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@emu2swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emu2swan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/31 "2012-05-06T03:51:42Z")
> **[Norwich State Hospital](https://opacity.us/site64_norwich_state_hospital.htm)** > > Norwich State Hospital, photos by Tom Kirsch / opacity.us I’ve explored this place extensively. It was fascinating and creepy. What they are not showing in the pictures are the catacombs which I didn’t fully explore because were to long and I was afraid of getting lost. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/32 "2012-05-06T04:14:23Z")
[http://capitaldefence.orconhosting.net.nz/prfles/post1930/wrthil1.htm](http://capitaldefence.orconhosting.net.nz/prfles/post1930/wrthil1.htm) WW2 fortress in NZ, we got in well before it was open to the public, as someone else had used a gas torch to get through one of the steel plates over an entrance. Amazing but creepy. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/33 "2012-05-06T05:13:20Z")
> [@emu2swan](#): > > [Norwich State Hospital: an Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital in Preston, CT](http://www.opacity.us/site64_norwich_state_hospital.htm) > > I’ve explored this place extensively. It was fascinating and creepy. What they are not showing in the pictures are the catacombs which I didn’t fully explore because were to long and I was afraid of getting lost. Let me just add that if you like photos of abandoned places (and I do), Opacity is the holy grail. His shots are gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/34 "2012-05-06T06:19:19Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > My brother and I explored an abandoned Titan ICBM missile base outside Boise Idaho. It was absolutely freaky and surreal. Pitch black except for our flashlights and the sun shining in the top of the empty missile silo. That’s fucking amazing. Holy fucking shit that sounds cool as shit. When you were _kids_ to see that shit? Fucking incredible chance. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/35 "2012-05-06T07:21:07Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > One overcast Saturday morning in 1968, a friend and I explored the grounds and derelict structure of Houdini’s old estate (“Houdini’s Castle”) in Laurel Canyon. We had been there for about 20 minutes when a guy in his twenties, t-shirt and jeans, holstered handgun on his belt, appeared; informed us that we were on private property and ordered us to leave. Being idiots, we tried to engage him in our excited conversation about the history of the place. No dice. In a calm, neutral voice he just repeated the order to leave, and walked us back to the gate we’d climbed over to get in. We’d gone in with no bad intentions, just irresistible curiosity, but of course we’d known damn well that we were trespassing. End of story. > > . Oddly we did the same, in the early 70’s, and found nothing but a homeless dude, who did threaten us with a bamboo ‘spear". We also did the Wrigley estate, nearby and the tunnels under Ft Mac Arthur, like Battery Oswald, etc. Where the 14’ gun emplacement was were quite a few tunnels. Now they are welded over, but then they weren’t hard to get into. ---
**Author:** ![highrollinwooded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@highrollinwooded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/highrollinwooded)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/36 "2012-05-06T11:31:09Z")
Exploring abandoned stuff is a passion of mine! Show me a propery with no signs posted, or that I don’t see (wink, wink) and I am there!! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/37 "2012-05-06T12:00:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Rochester doesn’t have caves but there are abandoned tunnels under the city for the old watermills. There’s also an abandoned subway system. > > There’s also the Broad Street Bridge. It used to be a two-level bridge but the lower level is now closed off and all traffic goes on the upper level. But you can still get into the lower level if you want to. But it’s not really a good idea because there are homeless people living down there. I can remember going through the subway as part of a local historical society tour back in the early 80s [I had a friend who was working at the living history museum in Mumford and it was something they arranged for patrons and employees.] It was rather strange, there were abandoned subway cars that people had turned into living space, and it was very horror movie-esque. At the same time period, I had a friend who was engaged to a lady who worked at [Pilgrim State](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_Psychiatric_Center), and she said that there were escaped inmates living in some of the tunnel system that was mostly abandoned. They only used a couple of the tunnels between the buildings that were kept clear and locked/guarded. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/38 "2012-05-06T12:25:21Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > Years ago, I went through the abandoned Torrance Hospital at night. It’s still there, but supposedly there’s a more aggressive effort to keep people out now. It’s an abandoned psychiatric hospital with an open, newer one within walking distance. It’s been closed for decades and the creepiest place I’ve ever been. The plaster’s peeling from the walls, beds are scattered in some rooms, as I recall there’s a shower room on one of the underground floors, and the boiler room was something else. If you’ve ever played a Silent Hill game, Torrance was the only real place that’s given me a similar feeling of dread as one of those. Been there. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/39 "2012-05-06T12:48:50Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > My brother and I explored an abandoned Titan ICBM missile base outside Boise Idaho. It was absolutely freaky and surreal. Pitch black except for our flashlights and the sun shining in the top of the empty missile silo. It was vast, and all underground except for the little stairway we climbed down from the surface. The top of the silo had been opened after the missile had been removed so the Soviets could see it was empty. Pigeons were flying around in the silo. There were gigantic radar antennas mounted on springs. The layout of the base was almost exactly like [this](http://thinkorthwim.com/2007/10/08/for-sale-by-owner-titan-missile-silo/). Did the same thing in eastern Colorado. It was really freaky. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989/40 "2012-05-06T14:34:50Z")
[Here](http://www.forgottenoh.com/abandoned.html) is a guy in Ohio who posts pictures of various places he has explored. Great stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-explored-an-abandoned-place/620989.md?page=3)