I recently explored an old house near a baseball stadium, in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. I found it through a newspaper article, with more POEs than swiss cheese. We're talking every window removed due to asbestos, and nothing covering the holes. I would almost be insult that they posted the address in the paper and never bothered to seal it.
Almost.
1. The house, taken from the front. I entered through the back window, being forced to dodge the view of the old lady next door gardening and the guy mowing his lawn across the street.
2. A shot of the kitchen shelves
3. Another, wider shot of the kitchen from a different angle. My back was to the bathroom, which was completely destroyed. Nothing left but wood and ceramic shards. It didn't even resemble a bathroom anymore.
4. The couch in the front room. To my left were two mattresses, but there were missing floorboards, so I had to tread carefully.
5. Making my way upstairs, I found two identical bedrooms. Here is one of them. Not much to see, but it's there.
6. This is the tiny basement. I found a TV jack, a "Lord of the Rings" Xbox game, and a minifridge down there. A bit dark, but not too much. I spent some time messing around with dim light photography, but the results needed work.
7. I found this on my way up the basement stairs, right next to the back door. I was extremely tempted to pose with it like a sword, but right then I heard the voices. Two men were talking less than twenty feet away from me, so I decided it was time to go.
However, I tripped over a broken door on the way out the POE, causing a bit of a racket. For whatever reason, neither men looked up as they were talking about buying the house next door.
8. As I ran quietly to my bike, I snuck around the back of this shed to take a shot of the inside. Chicken wire, nails, and boards kept me out, but I was able to poke my camera inside for a look around.
Nice place, too bad it's slated for demolition due to asbestos hazard. Glad I got some shots while I did. And, as a bonus, I spotted two more potential railside locations on my way home.
One of the most interesting parts of urbex are the stories the buildings tell. I learned a few things about the owners just from this exploration:
-They went grocery shopping fairly often (small pantry.)
-They were a family of four (four mattresses.)
-One of them played video games in the basement (TV jack and LOTR game.)
-They often watched baseball games (proximity to the stadium- right next door.)
-The kids shared a bedroom (only two bedrooms.)
-They were somewhat lower middle class (house, neighborhood.)
-They often did home improvement (supplies in the basement and shed.)
Looking at the clues, I can piece together a rough outline of what the owner's life was probably like. It's pretty interesting, and sacred. The stories are often the most interesting part- after all, aren't we all peering into the past in one way or another?