As with so many things in life... it depends. I won't delve into any argument about it, though, as it always & predictably ends up in endless semantics/scenarios debates and/or hardcore binary blind stubbornness.

I've done it 3 times; all places that were a part of my childhood. Items I saved were: 1 brick, 1 skeleton key, and 1 wine bottle cork. Nothing illegal, nothing unethical. Even got my pic in the local paper (in a positive light) for the brick demo.

Posted by Ansion Nothing illegal, nothing unethical.

Did you take something that didn't belong to you? If so, it's actually both of those things. Whether anyone cares if you took those things is entirely different.

Posted by blackhawk Ethics are simple, treat the site as if we're a museum.

I guess people have sex in museums too?

Oh yuck... I may appear as a classic American white trash dirtball but I wouldn't fuck in an abandonment.

Gross.

Posted by Skye_Ann I have no clue who stole all the hospital keys though... But I know of a few people who have stolen wheelchairs, morgue drawers, medical restraints, old school glass needles, other medical implements from old hospitals and then turned around to sell them on facebook or instagram. If you do this, you suck. You suck even more when you charge exorbitant amounts because it's a "rare" item, or an 'antique'.

That's messed up. I wish I could say I'm surprised.

Posted by Radical_Ed Oh yuck... I may appear as a classic American white trash dirtball but I wouldn't fuck in an abandonment. Gross.

Haha. You're missing out ;)

Depends really, like you said, if it is getting demolished soon then I'd probably end up taking one or two really interesting kind of things. Nothing too big or anything.

I haven't taken anything from one of the places I explored - but I stumbled across plenty of stuff that I would have liked and is now underground or on a landfill. There was this cool panoramic photo of moscow (no idea why that was in an austrian bus depot).

The problem, at least for me, it is a slippery slope. You take one piece, because they are demolishing it right now. Next time, you know they demolish it next week and you take one piece. Then you just take them because they will demolish it eventually. I usually have no problems to bend rules a little, but when it comes to rules I set myself I'm usually strict about them - and one of them is not to take stuff from an urbex trip.

I do have however a lot of cool train stuff - but those I got from people who actually did the demolition an thought I would like them. With those things I'm ok.

Posted by siper Did you take something that didn't belong to you?

Nice try.

Posted by Astro Haha. You're missing out ;)

I'm madly in love with you ma'am! ......and this thread amuses the shit out of me.

Posted by Ansion Nice try.

I know. Facts are frustrating.

Posted by siper I know. Facts are frustrating.

Especially when you don't have them.

Posted by Ansion Especially when you don't have them.

Hahaha OK.

I usually leave everything as I found it...but once returned to an abandonment that was under demo and dug up some lilies and stuff to replant in my garden, the excavators were just driving over it all and it seemed such a waste.

Took a birdfeeder from a porch that was under demo too. A souvenier of sorts but I do use it still.

Sometimes I wish I had not left stuff, seen a lot of stained glass fall to the wrecking ball...made me sad, what a waste of craftsmanship. Have left a lot of stuff I wanted to take, but did not.

Another time I was at a site where people had been using it as a dumping ground. The owner caught me there and was pleasantly surprised I was not dumping stuff, but picking through it. He gave me permission to take whatever I wanted and I got a cool table to refinish. The stuff was not part of the original site, just people throwing it out there.

Posted by Eagle_Crow I usually leave everything as I found it...but once returned to an abandonment that was under demo and dug up some lilies and stuff to replant in my garden, the excavators were just driving over it all and it seemed such a waste. Took a birdfeeder from a porch that was under demo too. A souvenier of sorts but I do use it still. Sometimes I wish I had not left stuff, seen a lot of stained glass fall to the wrecking ball...made me sad, what a waste of craftsmanship. Have left a lot of stuff I wanted to take, but did not. Another time I was at a site where people had been using it as a dumping ground. The owner caught me there and was pleasantly surprised I was not dumping stuff, but picking through it. He gave me permission to take whatever I wanted and I got a cool table to refinish. The stuff was not part of the original site, just people throwing it out there.

Talk with the demo super, they may allow you to take it especially if you have formed a working relationship with them in the past. A lot of the blue collars are riders (hint) and one hand washes the other. May not be a custom paint job, just a killer image of them of their machine. It's worth the effort to do this as they will invite you to shoot future demos if you impress them right. Safety is their number one concern, follow their rules and directions to the letter. After a bit if do you may have free rein to shoot as you please at the sites.
Good as it gets.

I have some one of a kind relics gotten just like that. The supers have first dibs, but there are countless items that have little or no resell value as scrap or are resellable and they have no interest in. I didn't do that too often though as access was my first priority. They have a lot on their plate and it's best not to make them think too much. Honesty and integrity with them is crucial; they have to trust you. You probably hit it off just fine

Posted by blackhawk Stuff

Blackhawk, you touched on a subject I have been thinking about recently. When one of our old banks downtown was torn down over a weekend I have considered contacting the demo contractor to see if they would allow me to go in and document some of these site before they tear them down.


I'd been curious if anyone had ever had luck with building a relationship like that.

I'm going to go ahead and pop in on this discussion and add my two cents despite this being the type of conversation that can go in circles forever.

I don't work in construction, but I've had the unique opportunity to go to a home site on the day of a demolition (without knowing it was coming down that day) and ended up chatting with the crew. The demo contractor and I talked about about the house and how it was a shame it was coming down. They were taking some iron porch trellises and some other various pieces of metal, i assume mostly for scraping or reselling. He said: "See anything you like?" I said that there were some cool things in the place and he told me that I could have them if i could get them out without using their tools and without getting hurt. Since this is Texas, we shook on it and he left me to play around in the place. Since I lived close, I went back home and got my tools. Since it was a Friday afternoon, I had all weekend with the place to myself, though I only spent a few hours there that night and a few hours that next day. I never got hurt and got some pretty cool things that have ended up being used in my house. Everybody was cool with the outcome. That next Monday evening, all that was left of that place was a pile of dirt.

Now....that was an obviously one-off situation. I have never had that happen since or before then. All of the ethical questions got removed for me when I was given permission. I didn't sell anything, I learned tat it's not easy to remove some stuff, and I had some good projects to work on from the results of my efforts.

Would I do it again, given the exact same circumstances? Absolutely.

But, would I do it under shady circumstances? Nope.

The way I look at it is that I am already somewhere I'm most likely not supposed to be, and I'm not going to endanger myself by not taking something I'm not supposed to. That being said, I don't think I have an issue with people "rescuing" artifacts and passing them on to historic societies, museums, libraries, etc.
I would probably have an issue with people rescuing things and passing them on to ebay buyers, however.

And to another point brought up about permission:
I've asked a few times and rarely gotten it. Most people don't want the liability of a non-employee possibly getting hurt. I do have a safety-vest, hard hat, gloves, safety glasses, respirator, and such for exploring (should i feel the need to use any of them)...but that still doesn't convince some people. I've even gone so far as to offer a Waiver of Liability, signed by me, and releasing them of any legal repercussions...and still gotten a no. But, I live by the thought that it never hurts to ask.

Most times I didn't wear a hard hat, steel toes or none of that shit (depends on the job) with the 2 demo contractors that let me shoot hog wild.
-That's not what they were looking for- Having it won't hurt but...
They want to know you can handle yourself and they can trust you. Another shooter had hit them up early that day, they blew him and were laughing about it.
They let me shoot for about 20 minutes with the super taking me around to areas he felt comfortable with. They let me come back the next day and told me where not to go. After a few days of that they pretty much turned me loose. They watched me closely at first...
Remember they are doing you a favor, it's their site and they can do as they please. I always offer to share images and took some custom shots for the super and shared some with the company's owner.
If they don't like you that's it...

If you never worked construction or high steel it will be a lot harder to do. Demo sites are dangerous; you need to know how to handle yourself and not get hurt. They aren't going to hold your hand or tell you more than once.
You have to win them over... pansies need not try.

Posted by blackhawk If you never worked construction or high steel it will be a lot harder to do. Demo sites are dangerous; you need to know how to handle yourself and not get hurt. They aren't going to hold your hand or tell you more than once. You have to win them over... pansies need not try.

I'm hoping that my job helps me here. While I am not hands on construction I have been on the engineering/design side for 20 years and have spent many hours in plants (all types) performing my job tasks, including construction support, and structural evaluations of structures. I feel pretty at home in these environments, but can also talk the talk and I know how much that helps. I've had enough showdowns with construction workers that look down on us office types.

Now I am rambling, and not sure if I am on topic...

Don't steal shit!

Posted by NeuroticMatt I'm hoping that my job helps me here. While I am not hands on construction I have been on the engineering/design side for 20 years and have spent many hours in plants (all types) performing my job tasks, including construction support, and structural evaluations of structures. I feel pretty at home in these environments, but can also talk the talk and I know how much that helps. I've had enough showdowns with construction workers that look down on us office types. Now I am rambling, and not sure if I am on topic... Don't steal shit!

You don't want show down... remember they own that site while under demo.
Most of these guys are blue collar... what bikers do to make ends meet. Most supers have a decade or more in construction or demo, they have real world tested expertise in dealing with people, all kinds. They will size you up; give it your best shot and don't talk shit.
You need to sell yourself.

This is not a normal plant or construction environment. You need to have common sense and be able to think on your feet... it's the game that moves as you play it