Wrong Side of the Tracks - Thread - Urban Exploration Resource

I know that the South is not the most progressive place in the world (hell I live in Texas...) but there are some places you go and you probably shouldnt - this was one of them. While looking for something downtown, I noticed a large brick building about 3 blocks away and in the opposite direction. I turned around and hit paydirt! - an old hotel.

I could tell right away that "my kind wasnt welcome here" by the looks of the people driving by and walking on the streets. Evidently it's not every day that a white face in an expensive car comes over to this side of town.

Undaunted, I grabbed my gear and began looking for a POE which wasnt too hard to find. As I entered, I almost puked - the smell was horrible! Piss and shit as well as general rot mixed with that smell I love; old building. I dug in my bag and grabbed a bandana I keep because I'm too lazy to buy a proper filtered mask but the help it provided was temporary.

This place was not just a bum nest, it was a bum hotel! One strange thing I noticed however was that there was a path through the filth swept clean right to the stairs leading up.

This was not a place to set up a tripod and take your time on so I snapped pics as fast as I could with my camera around my neck, the flashlight under my left arm and pepper spray in my left hand at the ready.

The first few floors were a complete mess (see below). You have to walk through 6" of trash down the halls (which begs the question, why couldnt they bring that broom upstairs...). Oddly enough the top floor, while still messy, was kept pretty clean and there were sheets up on some of the doors for privacy.

This place is sketchy as hell and I did not feel comfortable in there at all. It's sometimes a bit nerve wracking walking into some of these places but my spidey senses were going off like crazy. I found out later that its been the location of several murders of and by homeless people which I'm glad I found out AFTER the fact or I probably wouldnt have gone in!

As far as the history of this place, I found very little. The original building was named something else as is evidenced by the sign (I partially blurred out the name it was under last). From what I could find out it was built sometime in the 1940's or 1950' depending on which site you believe. All agree that it used to be the hotel that famous black performers stayed in when they were in town (James Brown, B.B. King, Nat King Cole and Aretha Franklin) as they weren't allowed to stay in the "white only" hotels.

I tried to speak with the owner who is a lawyer and his office was just around the corner but he was taking a long 2 hour + lunch (must be nice...). The next time I'm in town I'm going to see if I can meet with him and get more detail. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the set!

1. Blurred for YOUR protection!