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UER Forum > US: Great Lakes > Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today (Viewed 5167 times)
RedBush 


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Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< on 9/2/2015 12:31 AM >
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...oh.





relik 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 1 on 9/2/2015 1:10 AM >
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Yup. Been gone for a bit now. It was always a welcoming sight when rollin' into MSP.




"When it rains, just find bigger drains."
Dalmaticus 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 2 on 9/2/2015 3:44 AM >
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Did you get on the roof?




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Cosmic 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 3 on 9/2/2015 7:30 AM >
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Looks like a cool spot.




RedBush 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 4 on 9/2/2015 9:02 AM >
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Posted by Dalmaticus
Did you get on the roof?


Dude. Can't you see there's a fence in the way?




Dalmaticus 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 5 on 9/2/2015 10:04 PM >
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lol. Yea....another one bites the dust




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Peptic Ulcer 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 6 on 9/2/2015 10:25 PM >
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Post by Dalmaticus
lol. Yea....another one bites the dust


I gotta say I cringed when I saw this post. It seemed so flippant and callous. When I find an abandonment I feel a sense of responsibility to not only tread lightly so as not to damage the site, but to record everything I can about the site. Even a small house in the country or a bunch of trashed low income housing deserves respect. These are places where people spent part of their lives. Memories, triumphs and tragedies occurred on the ground we tread and I would rather see a site like this than what was happening in RedBush's post.

1.


Maybe I'm a bit sentimental, naive or old fashioned but "Yea...another one bites the dust" shows a complete disregard for the respect these sites deserve and reflects the exact same attitude that taggers and scrappers have. I am personally offended by what you said but given that you couldn't give a shit less about a place being leveled my feelings wont even register on what minuscule bit of empathy you possess.






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Dalmaticus 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 7 on 9/2/2015 11:29 PM >
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Posted by Peptic Ulcer


I gotta say I cringed when I saw this post. It seemed so flippant and callous. When I find an abandonment I feel a sense of responsibility to not only tread lightly so as not to damage the site, but to record everything I can about the site. Even a small house in the country or a bunch of trashed low income housing deserves respect. These are places where people spent part of their lives. Memories, triumphs and tragedies occurred on the ground we tread and I would rather see a site like this than what was happening in RedBush's post.

1.
371681.jpg (132 kb, 800x534)
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Maybe I'm a bit sentimental, naive or old fashioned but "Yea...another one bites the dust" shows a complete disregard for the respect these sites deserve and reflects the exact same attitude that taggers and scrappers have. I am personally offended by what you said but given that you couldn't give a shit less about a place being leveled my feelings wont even register on what minuscule bit of empathy you possess.







I even scrapped it myself! Took me like 50 trips with my Power Wheels Scrap-N-Go offroad trailer!

Pissed me off...Mattel stopped making my favorite Barbie cutting torch.
















All the treasure are belong to me. We got a slat, for that!
Lord Awesome 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 8 on 9/2/2015 11:40 PM >
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Have you ever heard of a thing called human suffering? Or capitalistic gains? Have to tear things down to make way for newer better things. I think you should tear down that empathy and unrealistic emotion that seems to guide your fingers across the keyboard in such a fashion to make you appear to be a menstruating woman. Perhaps you should learn to let things settle like the dust from this demolition.




Hey yeah you, fat ass. Not interested.
Peptic Ulcer 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 9 on 9/3/2015 12:32 AM >
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You're absolutely right - I have no idea what I was thinking. Today's architecture is incredibly inspired and well crafted - meant to withstand the test of centuries of anything mother nature can throw at it. I drive by strip malls and suburban sprawl every day and think to myself - thank god we tore down that old factory or the 150 year old hospital to make way for the new McDonalds.

Even a cursory glance at European UE sites puts most things we have in the US to complete shame. They remodel and reuse their real estate rather than rip it down and put up some aluminum framed box.

The fact of the matter is that the only reason any of us are even here is because we care about and enjoy these locations. We shouldn't rejoice in their destruction and revel in the glee that we're getting a new Best Buy with a Starbucks next door in the crated construction style infecting every city in the country.

Progress has to happen and trust me you wont find a bigger capitalist than me, but tearing down something just because its "Old" rather than rehabing the location is what takes away the character of a city. 20 years from now if you're still doing this you're going to regret all of that "tear it down for progress" as you're trudging through a crackerjack box with a crumbling Wal-Mart sign out front.





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Lord Awesome 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 10 on 9/3/2015 12:39 AM >
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Absolutely tear that motherfucker down and build a McDonald, or a Walmart. create some jobs and help the economy! Empty buildings do little to stimulate much else than you sense of wanderlust and ideals of better days. Fact is we live in the now, and if it's of no use now and it's too expensive to reuse, then it gets the backhoe!




Hey yeah you, fat ass. Not interested.
Dalmaticus 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 11 on 9/3/2015 12:45 AM >
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Posted by Lord Awesome
Absolutely tear that motherfucker down and build a McDonald, or a Walmart. create some jobs and help the economy! Empty buildings do little to stimulate much else than you sense of wanderlust and ideals of better days. Fact is we live in the now, and if it's of no use now and it's too expensive to reuse, then it gets the backhoe!


I agree. We absolutely should tear these buildings down. They're old and ugly and lack the charm of modern big-box stores and fast-food chains.

There's nothing I love more than getting a few buddies together and painting large pentagrams on the wall while searching for the beautiful, dim, shine of antique copper!




All the treasure are belong to me. We got a slat, for that!
Derpyfingers 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 12 on 9/3/2015 2:30 AM >
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Kind of sad I never got to explore inside there, but I can't complain as there will be a building built there to teach people about the cool history of that little area




With a smile and a hint of sarcasm he said "I beg your pardon, but this is my secret garden!"
RedBush 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 13 on 9/3/2015 4:48 AM >
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Honestly, that's how I feel about what happened to the Rock Island Swing Bridge in Inver Grove where I grew up. (Vid here https://www.youtub...atch?v=hL0hKchLEm0)

It used to be so cool, just going out in this forgotten corner where I could hang out alone with my thoughts, admiring the 100-year old trusswork, and at night you could just hang out halfway out in the middle of the river, with the refinery on the other side giving the wakes this yellow/orange sparkle.

Best part was the railroad section on top where if you made it across the questionable or altogether missing ties (it was always windy as hell up there, too), you could sit unhindered at the edge and just hang out with your thoughts (which, being the headcase hermit I tend to be, I did pretty frequently)

When the city council made plans to convert the thing into a "recreational pier," I was actually part of the group that lobbied to save the thing, and we were promised that it would be constructed exactly like the original, but, yeah. That didn't happen.



In regards to "another one bites the dust," what else can you really say about it that doesn't make you sound like some flowery hippy? It's a disappointment, but it's done. Nothing anybody can do about it now, except find other places.




shotgun mario 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 14 on 9/3/2015 10:12 AM >
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Posted by Dalmaticus


I agree. We absolutely should tear these buildings down. They're old and ugly and lack the charm of modern big-box stores and fast-food chains.

There's nothing I love more than getting a few buddies together and painting large pentagrams on the wall while searching for the beautiful, dim, shine of antique copper!



you are a big internet meanie and I don't like you.




If you want to protect the locations you love to explore, don't talk about them online in public!
If you want to make exploring friends, send people private messages! Meet up in real life! Get off the internet!
Don't try to have a UER e-penis! You won't impress anyone! This especially means you, Minneapolis MN newbies!
Clockwork 


Location: Minneapolis, MN
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I WILL KILL THIS MONKEY! I'M CRAZY!

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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 15 on 9/3/2015 12:09 PM >
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Oh my god, MEGA LULZ.


Posted by Peptic Ulcer
You're absolutely right - I have no idea what I was thinking. Today's architecture is incredibly inspired and well crafted - meant to withstand the test of centuries of anything mother nature can throw at it. I drive by strip malls and suburban sprawl every day and think to myself - thank god we tore down that old factory or the 150 year old hospital to make way for the new McDonalds.


Your comment highly offends me! Your flippant love for tearing down 150 year old hospitals is everything that's wrong with this country! People lived, loved, and died in that hospital! They watched their kids grow up in that hospital! They planted flowers and wrote poetry and lived the American dream in that hospital! How dare you value that new McDonalds over our lost architectural heritage!

Oh wait, you were being sarcastic. Ah... Nice. I didn't realize you understood sarcasm.



Posted by Peptic Ulcer
Even a cursory glance at European UE sites puts most things we have in the US to complete shame. They remodel and reuse their real estate rather than rip it down and put up some aluminum framed box.


First off, this aint Europe. The economic, historical, and cultural factors that created and maintained the historical abandonments you see in Europe do not exist or largely apply to the Upper Mississippi River Valley.

Also, some of our best abandonment playgrounds have recently been remodeled and reused, diminishing our number of available urbex locations while successfully preserving historic architecture.


Posted by Peptic Ulcer
The fact of the matter is that the only reason any of us are even here is because we care about and enjoy these locations. We shouldn't rejoice in their destruction and revel in the glee that we're getting a new Best Buy with a Starbucks next door in the crated construction style infecting every city in the country.


Dude, NOBODY is rejoicing at the destruction of Lowertown Depot. NOONE. Especially not Dalmaticus, who pours his blood, sweat, and tear into more UE projects in a week than you've participated in during the course of your life.

His comment was sarcasm (which you've already demonstrated a working knowledge of) and perhaps a bit exasperated, as we Twin Cities explorers have watched 90% of our best abandonments (Lowertown Depot wasn't one of them) get torn down or repurposed over the past few years alone.


You are right, we are all here because of the feelings we get and the enjoyment we take from these places.


Posted by Peptic Ulcer
Progress has to happen and trust me you wont find a bigger capitalist than me,


Well, you are from Texas, where everything is bigger. But come on! Are you seriously telling me you are the biggest capitalist in Texas? You'd have to be a war-crimes-level capitalist to brandish that dubious honor.


Posted by Peptic Ulcer
but tearing down something just because its "Old" rather than rehabing the location is what takes away the character of a city. 20 years from now if you're still doing this you're going to regret all of that "tear it down for progress" as you're trudging through a crackerjack box with a crumbling Wal-Mart sign out front.


You speak as if we are the ones responsible for Lowertown Depot's destruction.





Clockwork 


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I WILL KILL THIS MONKEY! I'M CRAZY!

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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 16 on 9/3/2015 12:47 PM >
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Posted by Peptic Ulcer

Maybe I'm a bit sentimental, naive or old fashioned but "Yea...another one bites the dust" shows a complete disregard for the respect these sites deserve and reflects the exact same attitude that taggers and scrappers have. I am personally offended by what you said but given that you couldn't give a shit less about a place being leveled my feelings wont even register on what minuscule bit of empathy you possess.



Look, maybe my above post was a bit disrespectful. I think we're all on the same side here, and we all share the same love and respect for these locations.

But I feel like you really went off on a tangent without understanding some broader context of Lowertown Depot's destruction and Dalmaticus's sarcastic "rejoicing" in its destruction.

For the better part of two decades, the Twin Cities held some of the greatest jewels of Midwestern urban exploration, both above and below ground. The urban exploration community blossomed and grew, and visitors from all over the PLANET came to visit us and enjoy our bounty of explorable sites.

For a long time, you could enter a tunnel by the river, go through some more tunnels, climb up some ladders, explore a basement, explore a towering building complex, and reach the tip top roof and climb the giant neon sign to look out over the city. And right across the river was another towering building with a neon sign where you could repeat the same steps and do it all over again.

And it was like this all across the city.

History - real local history - some of the biggest and best breweries, flour mills, and hospitals (and a slew of other historical structures) responsible for the creation, growth, and character of Minneapolis/St.Paul had become vacant playgrounds for urban adventurers. Ditto for caves and tunnels.

For two decades these things were available to us. You didn't have to settle for reading about history in a book. You could go and touch history, revel in it, and experience in-situ historical architecture in ways difficult to replicate anywhere else.

Then, a few years ago, this all started to change dramatically. One by one, mainstays of exploration - places people thought would last forever - suddenly vanished from the landscape.

In some cases this was good for historical preservation, as newly-condofied Schmidt Brewery and Abbott Hospital won't be demolished any time soon.

But too too many other places met a wrecking ball or explosive demolition fate.

Even our caves and tunnels aren't safe. In addition to the regular backfilling and sealing typical with caves, some have actually been physically destroyed by new construction projects.

Lowertown Depot sat empty for a million years, and was tucked away in a place that made its destruction seem unlikely. It was not particularly interesting architecturally, and the scrappers/vandals/party kids had long ago destroyed anything visually interesting about it. But in a world of rapidly dwindling abandonments, Lowertown Depot felt safe and solid.

Lowertown Depot is a place where a lot of people cut their teeth on urban exploring. For many kids, Lowertown Depot was the first abandonment they ever saw. Hell, members of Action Squad learned and practiced skateboarding in Lowertown Depot's halls and rooms (the floor was perfect and smooth). Lowertown Depot was a place for urban camping. It was a curiousity to nature hikers. It's where ghost hunters would make amature films. It's where hobos found rest. It's where Max Action finally found his abandoned pirate ship.

In the broader scheme of things, Lowertown Depot was a very minor abandonment. But we are all sad to see it go.



[last edit 9/3/2015 12:49 PM by Clockwork - edited 1 times]

relik 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 17 on 9/3/2015 7:47 PM >
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Posted by Clockwork
Church.


I love you, Clocky.




"When it rains, just find bigger drains."
ToXiC 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 18 on 9/5/2015 6:25 PM >
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Posted by Dalmaticus
Did you get on the roof?


You can only do that with a grappling hook




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Perdador 


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Re: Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today
< Reply # 19 on 9/27/2015 3:04 AM >
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It is with some deep regret that I didn't know about all of these sites 10 years ago. I am totally new to "looking around" and like most minneapolitans, learned from the Action Squad website. Seems like literally everything on that website that isn't a drain is condo city, or has perimeter security.

So, I bought some knee high rubber boots, and anticipate being into "draining".





UER Forum > US: Great Lakes > Went out to Lowertown Depot for old times' sake today (Viewed 5167 times)
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