Completed in 1920, this YMCA provided a place to stay for the workers on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railway. After being used in this capacity for much of its existence, the property became a junkyard. It was surrounded by a tall metal fence and junk was stored inside and outside of the building, including a couple of cars. Recently, the property was taken over by the city of Canton and is now being prepped for demolition. Unfortunately, the cars have been removed and the building is fairly empty.

In the past month or so, the first-floor windows were covered in plastic sheets and an orange construction fence was placed around the building. Work has apparently started fairly recently although they haven't done much except clean out the building. However, construction was currently ongoing at the building across the street so there were plenty of people around, making this a bit of dodgy explore. They were close enough that we could hear them talking in certain places. In any case, this building will not be standing much longer, so now is the time to explore it.

1. Exterior. It was cold.
DSC08821 by KMD1720, on Flickr

2.
DSC08834 by KMD1720, on Flickr

3. Might be my favorite shot from this explore.
DSC08837 by KMD1720, on Flickr

4.
DSC08843 by KMD1720, on Flickr

5.
DSC08847 by KMD1720, on Flickr

6. Clearly there has been a fire here.
DSC08852 by KMD1720, on Flickr

7. This was the "sketchy" staircase. Meaning we couldn't climb it without construction workers seeing us in the windows. Had to use the other one which provided a bit more cover.
DSC08855 by KMD1720, on Flickr

8. Redrum
DSC08856 by KMD1720, on Flickr

9. In the background of this shot is the rail yard that once used this building.
DSC08862 by KMD1720, on Flickr

10.
DSC08861 by KMD1720, on Flickr

11.
DSC08864 by KMD1720, on Flickr

12. I think this was a dumbwaiter. There was a pulley at the top.
DSC08866 by KMD1720, on Flickr

13.
DSC08867 by KMD1720, on Flickr

14. The basement was a little more cluttered than the upper floors.
DSC08870 by KMD1720, on Flickr

15.
DSC08880 by KMD1720, on Flickr

16. No idea what happened with this shot but I kind of like the effect.
DSC08873 by KMD1720, on Flickr

17. This door is real!
DSC08881 by KMD1720, on Flickr

Full Flickr album for those who are interested: https://www.flickr.../with/23693031733/

It's always nice to know the history of a building. The place looks huge, I'm kind of jealous.

Glad to see that the door is real. As opposed to being fake.

Posted by nyctophilia It's always nice to know the history of a building. The place looks huge, I'm kind of jealous. Glad to see that the door is real. As opposed to being fake.

It's pretty decent-sized. It's not very wide (single hallway per floor with rooms on both sides) but it's very long. What made it really enjoyable was the architecture. Don't know why but I've always liked arches and there are plenty of them on the interior and exterior here.

Glad you were able to go in before its demolished! I love those arched windows. And knowing a bit of the history makes it more interesting too. Really like #3 and #4 and all the long shots down hallways.

Posted by Long-Tailed Cat Glad you were able to go in before its demolished! I love those arched windows. And knowing a bit of the history makes it more interesting too. Really like #3 and #4 and all the long shots down hallways.

Thanks! This place was awesome for hallway shots. I had a lot of trouble deciding which one to use on this thread. I think I took more hallway pics here than any other building except one.