Growing up, this wasn't just any factory. This was "The Factory." It loomed over my friend's neighborhood since he was a kid. He was the one who showed us how to get in. This was one of those places I thought would be around forever. Waves of demolition came, but it was so big, they always seemed to leave something behind. A few months ago, I found out the last few buildings were coming down including the one I've always thought of as the heart of the complex. Its where the "Train Room" is.
1. The complex.
2. Every building you see is abandoned and this was taken long after the first wave of demolition.
3. "The Train Room." An indoor freight station right off its very own spur line.
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5. You have to be careful not to fall off the trestle. Down here, its hard to get back up.
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8. This is the old part. The place we all used to hang out the most. When the bulldozers came in, I thought it was over. Two thirds of a half a million square feet came down. But it wasn't nearly all.
9. Did I mention this place was haunted? Well maybe not haunted, but I've been to lot places that were supposed to have their ghosts, but there was this one gallery on the first floor. Boarded up for years. I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Years before there was a serial killer who left a woman's body on the tracks nearby. Someone who used to squat up stairs left some very disturbing paintings. A Polaroid photo that felt all wrong.
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13. These tracks.
14. When I found out the last few buildings were coming down. I had to get back, but the neighborhood's changed. Luxury apartments overlook the lot. I had to go at night.
15. See the "Train Room" one last time. Even if its in the dark.
16. They've got the corrugated metal pulled off. She's open.
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19. Good Bye.