I travel Rt 117 in Weston, MA every day. There is a large building on the side of the road (no street number posted). It appears to be of cast concrete, with a wooden roof, and three large garage style doors. There is no evidence that these doors are ever opened-as leaves and debris have piled up againat the doors. The windows are boarded up, and these is nere anyone around it-the only other thing is that there is an electricty hookup (I see a meter on the side). That and a “NO TRESPASSSING” sign are it.
I wonder what secrets this building holds? how would I go about researching it?
Crowbar?
If you can see the meter move then something alive is inside. If not, then just ghosts.
Actually, if it’s in a tax jurisdiction, as most buildings are, somebody at the city or county building would be able to tell you exactly who owns it, the address on record, and if it’s abandoned for unpaid taxes, etc.
In my town we have a creepy restaurant that looks open and people come up to it all the time wanting to try it and find it locked. It’s been that way for five years, since it got flood damaged and the owner just gave up on it. They pay taxes just in case, but it’s neither scheduled for repair or sale. I guess some people have money to leave lying around.
If it helps I knew when you described it exactly what building you were talking about. I too have driven by it many, many times and wondered what it was.
It can be seen on Google Maps if you enter “42.382264,-71.284846” as the location, or “155 North Avenue Weston MA”. It’s on the SW side of the road, between 117 and the railroad tracks. It’s almost right on the road, there is no driveway to speak of.
I had always assumed, on the basis of no evidence at all, that it was somehow connected with one of the big old houses along 117 there. There are a couple on the other side of the street there (I think one is now a nursing home) that look like they could have had a detached garage of that size back in the day. Rte. 117 would have had much less traffic back then so having a garage across the street wouldn’t be too much of a hassle, especially if you had a chauffer to run across the street to get the car. The houses on the same side of the street as the mystery building are all much newer so I don’t think there is any connection.
My other thought was that it might be a town highway dept. building of some kind, but I agree with you that the doors have so much debris in front of them they look like they haven’t been opened in years.
Of course, I wouldn’t advocate that. Astroboy already did and besides, someone may have already committed B&E on your behalf.
I wonder if any urban exploration (or “urban spelunking” etc.) sites have it. Here’s a blog on a site in Weston (not updated since Oct);
http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread.asp?fid=1&threadid=45219
Here’s another UE page with many places in MA and elsewhere:
That seems to be Weston, West Virginia.
My bad. Guess my googling leaves something to be desired. :smack:
Some day I’m going to stop and check the place out. I have NEVER seen any activity around the place. I agree-it looks like it might have been a garage. The other question: in tis era of insane real estate values, why would owners leave a place idle for decades?
It reminds me of a garage in my hometown-it was on a dead end road, and always locked. You would peer inside (through dirt-encrusted windows) and see two dust-covered 1920’s era sedans inside. Who owned them, I never knew-I never saw anyone open the doors or enter this garage.
No biggie. It took me a minute to figure it out too. There is at least one huge abandoned state hospital in MA.
That other site you linked to is really interesting, although I don’t condone the activity the people engage in.
The lot looks very small, and like I said it is practically ON the road. I suspect it is too small, and without enough of a setback, for a residential lot under current zoning. In fact if they ever widen the road even a couple of feet that building is going to have to come down.
ralph124c you must either live or work very close to where I live.
Which building on that google map is it? The green arrow pints to the road shoulder, not near any building.
Check with the county in which it is located.
When I worked for Loomis and did pickups at the Property Tax department of Hennepin County (MN), I would entertain myself while waiting by looking through the ‘printed every 5 years’ PID, or Property Identification Document. Listed every property in the county, by city by address. Name of the taxpayer, name of the owner, assessed value, assessed value of just the land, tax amount, last time it was sold and for what amount.
For instance, there is a house on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis that is owned by the Queen of England, but the registered property tax payer is the Canadian Government. I assume it’s a consulate or something like that. Unless it’s some secret hideout for Brit royals just in case the balloon ever goes up…
And yeah, now I know when all my friends in that county bought their houses, what they paid for them, and how much they pay in taxes on it (at least, in 2005, the year it was printed).
Good entertainment.
Egad! We’ve been found out!
Fascinating stuff, IMO. I found a site once where the guy got in big trouble with authorities for going into an abandoned missile silo. Anybody’s guess who radioactive he is now.
Boatload more sites (though not the silo):
My theory (and I have nothing to base this on) is: that it’s not suited to current zoning standards and the owner refuses to remodel or rebuild over it because he wants to spite Weston.
The town of Weston has very strict zoning and building requirementsfor new construction, down to requiring you to have approved by the zoning board the kind of flowers (and you WILL plant flowers) you want to put in the yard. Impatiens, for instance, are too generic and might not be approved.
I figured it was someone who is thumbing his nose by leaving a just-barely-legal eyesore that the town gets infuriated over having to look at.
I may be completely wrong on this.
Sorry, I know which building but I realize other people don’t.
If you enter the longitude and latitude (42.382264,-71.284846) the green arrow should be right on the roof of the mystery building. 117/North Ave goes SE to NW at that point. The building is just North of where Sperry Lane intersects 117/North Ave, on the opposite (SW) side of the road. It’s generally rectanguar, and there is no driveway visible.
Are you serious? :eek:
Wow. And I thought *Homeowners’ Associations * were dictatorial and autocratic.
(FTR, I think Impatiens are pretty. So are pansies.)
My office building has a similar background. A funeral director bought the vacant lot to build a funeral home. The City vetoed the idea, he fought back and won. But he didn’t want to do business in the City anymore, so he built the building and never used it.
We had been eyeing it for decades, and finally got it after the guy died and his son sold the building to us. And the City, who had been smarting under the whole standoff for decades, made us bring the entire building totally up to code before we could even move a piece of furniture into the place.
We are currently renovating a building we own (it use to be a rooming house that ended up a crackhouse), and yes, the City had to approve the landscaping.
How does this work our financially? Is it profitable? Why not sell the property and invest the cash in something that pays interest?
Why pay the property taxes for decades, if you have no intention of using the land? Plus the costs of maintainence (fencing, roof leaks, liability insurance)?
Or are taxes and costs so low that it is worth keeping the property for 30 years as an investment/speculation to be sold later?
I ask because I see a similar situation: there is an entire building near me that was abandoned after the owners went bankrupt. It was a 4 story office building with a shopping center on the ground floor, and has been empty for 10 years now. The owner was an incorporated holding company specially set up by a larger real estate investment company which I once worked with. I wonder who owns it now, and why.