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A few weeks ago, I was contacted by my new exploring partner, 94810 515045 (http://www.uer.ca/...d=1&posterid=64084). He told me that he recently discovered an easy way into a large, multistory building that had once served as a military barracks and administration center. He checked it out that moment, knowing as we all do that a site which is open today could very well be sealed up by tomorrow. A day later, I also went in alone, took a few shots, and snooped around.
We planned to return as soon as possible and fully explore the place together, but the next time we scouted it, our POE was locked up tight. After several days of checking the site for openings, we were elated to find it accessible once again. This time, we were quick and organized, and went in together at 7am on a weekday morning. Although there was a lot of activity in the neighborhood surrounding our destination, nobody noticed us as we walked up and slipped inside.
94810 515045 took most of the photos, and with his permission, I may include a few of his in this posting. If so, I will cite them appropriately. I am sure he will probably post more in the thread as well. We also have plans for a return trip soon, and will probably have more photos from that run.
We spent almost 5 hours inside the place, wearing respirators for almost all of that time. We explored more than half of the building, but there is still quite a bit for us to see. Many of the rooms were plain and empty, but we would come across occasional gems here and there, enough of them to inspire us to move slowly and search methodically for fear of missing something good.
Here are a few of my photos:
1. Light shining through the chapel doors:
2. I assume this is a band sticker, but the building floor plan it displayed really intrigued me. Is this some sort of message or code left by another explorer? I have tried to search for "deg5i" online, but can't find much. Just something about mathematical equations and an archived UER thread where another guy was asking if it was an explorer's tag:
3. I am really starting to be interested in graffiti, at least whenever I can understand it. I especially like stuff that tells a joke or a story:
4. I found this cover of a June 1978 issue of Swank magazine, but the rest of the mag was nowhere to be seen. On the reverse side was an ad for an electricity powered sex doll that included an optional cassette or record album of a woman moaning and talking dirty:
5. Hall and door shots:
6. Patches in the darkness:
Here are a few of 94810 515045's photos:
1.
2.
3. Just wanted to say that the Bic pen in my hand is for the notes and simple map I was making which is tucked under my arm in this shot. I don't write on wooden doors, especially those of Discipline Division Officers:
[last edit 7/17/2014 6:20 AM by TunnelRunner33 - edited 1 times]
If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire... Tunnelrunner33! | |
thats danvers as soon as digital sees this he will tell you about it
mmmm. mandias....... | |
"deg5i" is Mike Dijital's dead exploring forum, i believe. I've never checked it out myself. At least, i think he was in charge of it.
"When it rains, just find bigger drains." | |
Deggi5.com was indeed my old urban exploration forum, it ran from 2004 till I shut it down a few months ago. that was our second generation sticker from 2005
The floor plan is Danvers State Hospital , god how I miss that place... if you found that in Seattle my guess is former UER member Junix placed it, he was an admin for my site and lived out that way around the time of those stickers
Nice to see even though its gone deggi still makes an apperance here and there
Funfact deggi5.com now redirects to UER.... the apocalypse has happened
[last edit 7/17/2014 2:00 AM by Mike Dijital - edited 2 times]
www.deggi5.com / www.mikedijital.com | |
Was going to say, how the hell did deggi end up in seattle? 
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One of Junix's stickers.
never know until you go | |
I so dislike my user name now. What was I thinking? But I can't change it for some time yet.
Anyway, we went up to the second floor into room E202 to stash duffel bags full of stuff we didn't want to carry with us. The room was bare (all the dorm rooms were bare); so I suggested setting our bags on the flat roof outside the open window. As we headed out, TR33 pulled the door shut out of habit; there was a clicking noise.
We looked at each other. He tried the door; it had locked. I hadn't put anything valuable in my duffel bag, but I'd kind of counted on getting it back at the end of the day. TR led the way into room E204 and opened the window; our stuff on the roof was okay! We agreed not to close any more doors without giving the matter careful consideration.
1. Flying door
2. Plumbing sculpture
Altho the dorm rooms were bare, their walls were not; the messages left on them by those who disregard the Prime Directive were sometimes deep. The "If you're reading this..." bio is a puzzle; I think it's too well-composed to be spontaneous or to be written by a life-long drifter. It is moving, tho.
I noticed that rooms near the chapel held particularly spiritual writings.
3. A drink with the old man
The chapel itself seemed to have been honored; its stained glass windows were in perfect condition.
4. Key player
The ruined cafeteria was illuminated with golden light from three long skylights. The kitchen beyond was home to some pigeons that might have entered thru a broken skylight. TR found a dumbwaiter in the back; I talked him out of crawling into it.
5. Cafeteria
6. Kitchen
We took a breather at the windows of our upstairs base, donned respirators again and went into the basement. There we found the most interesting stuff; a second kitchen, with equipment still in place (great set for a horror flick), a bistro, a bar with an Easy Bar system for efficient dispensing, and a big low-ceilinged dance hall with a little stage.
7. Easy Bar; your tax dollars at work
We also found asbestos down there, and backed respectfully away. Any doors with plastic sheets taped over them we shunned; there was plenty to look at without going in there.
8.
We finally had to go; we were tired, our stomachs were empty and our eyeballs were full. Going back!
[last edit 7/17/2014 3:55 PM by Ganesha - edited 1 times]
"The beauty of mediocrity is that anything can make you better." -Jeff Mallett | |
Thanks for the quick replies, all! I must say, I am very pleased to have seen that sticker and recognized it as something to do with Urban Exploration. Clearly, it was well designed and well placed. It was truly an honor to have stumbled across this piece of UE history, and I regret that I didn't find it 5 or 6 years ago!
Mike - Do you still have any of those T-Shirts? I'd love to buy one off you if so!
This place was definitely an important step on my way to (hopefully) becoming an experienced explorer some day. It is the largest site I have explored yet, and between the building's history and my own past as a veteran, my favorite abandonment so far. Thanks a ton to 94810 515045 for sharing it with me!
PS... I will probably post a few more photos of the building after getting home from work this afternoon.
If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire... Tunnelrunner33! | |
Wow, those stickers have staying power, hu?
Place doesn't look like it used to. Still have the safe and the poetry vault of urine jars in the basement?
RUAUER?
"Security Measures: Creepy guy in trailer comes out at the slightest sound." -notwearingpants "And were off. N." -nobody | |
Posted by Junix
Still have the safe and the poetry vault of urine jars in the basement?
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Safe is providing secure storage for vintage baseball series soda bottles. The Navy wouldn't take it, and i doubt that anybody else can.
I missed the poetry vault. Maybe it's in a room that's taped over with plastic. We didn't want to see any more asbestos.
"The beauty of mediocrity is that anything can make you better." -Jeff Mallett | |
Junix, thanks for posting in the thread! Finding your sticker and discovering its connection to the UE community pretty much made my week.
There were a couple of rooms near the chapel that had quite a bit of religious and poetic graffiti, including what looked like someone's attempt to write new books of the Bible with a very normal-sounding name, like "The Book of Tim" or something. I wouldn't call it a vault, though. We haven't found any poetry in the basement yet, though about half of it remains unexplored to us as of now. Never thought I'd say this, but here's to hoping we find a room full of piss jars, LOL!
One other photo I wanted to share was taken by 94810 515045. I'm not too keen on the graffiti in this instance, but I guess that is a sign to the viewer that it was probably taken in an abandonment. I doubt the crew would tolerate that for very long in an active building:
[last edit 7/21/2014 3:48 AM by TunnelRunner33 - edited 1 times]
If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire... Tunnelrunner33! | |
I can't believe this place is still abandoned. I thought for sure by now it had been re-used. I haven't seen this place since around the time jux placed that sticker. It still seems to be in decent condition considering.. Though its definitely falling into disrepair.
-Tom
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TunnelRunner33 and I returned to the barracks this morning. We headed into new territory; and we did find the poetry vault. If only it safeguarded actual poetry instead of the usual; at least the spelling was creative.
We also found the courtroom (tho without furnishings it was hard to be sure); an "administrative holding area;" and church offices oddly remote from the chapel.
TR pointed out this powerful desktop calculator; it could be just the thing next April 14.
1.
I also noticed a training room where ADP is presenting a class entitled "DOS For Dummies."
"The beauty of mediocrity is that anything can make you better." -Jeff Mallett | |
Wow, great pictures everyone! I had no idea there was so much there to see that hadn't been re-purposed in some way.I haven't been down there in quite sometime, but have taken pictures of cars in front of those buildings many times. That place makes for a fantastic background.
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It seemed to Ganesha and I that we didn't find as much potential material for interesting photographs in our second expedition as we did in the first. Many of the rooms were featureless and uninteresting, and one decent-sized section was all taped off due to a "microbial hazard." Even though we were wearing respirators, we decided not to enter that area.
At the end of our visit, we decided to walk back into the previously explored half of the building in order to re-take a couple of photos that didn't turn out right the first time. Ganesha had just set up his tripod and was preparing to start shooting when we heard loud voices casually talking, obviously somewhere in the building. From the clarity of their speech, I could tell they were not wearing respirators, and it was obvious that they were not concerned with being overheard. We listened for a few minutes, and it sounded like they were gradually moving our way.
For a moment, I tried to decide whether it would be better to leave, or just to move off to one of the more remote rooms of the building and quietly wait for them to pass by. I decided that flight was the safest option. I suggested to Ganesha that we scoot down to the end of the building away from the voices and exit through one of the POE's we knew was over that way. He pointed out that in my haste to escape, I had forgotten our bag of gear which was stashed out on the roof of the building and was accessible through one of the upper-story rooms. As we quietly hurried back upstairs to retrieve our duffel bag and get out of there, I chuckled at my near-panicked response to what were probably maintenance workers checking out the building. Ganesha kindly let me off the hook, saying that he admired my "survival instinct." Thanks, buddy!
If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire... Tunnelrunner33! | |
Thanks for keeping me free to explore another day! 8)
"The beauty of mediocrity is that anything can make you better." -Jeff Mallett | |
TunnelRunner33 and I had been planning to return to this site after a good hard rain, in order to take pics of reflections in the flooded cafeteria. This was how I'd found it on my first trip; but I didn't have my big camera or tripod, so my pictures were lousy.
1. See?
After last week's rains we decided it was time. Our usual POE wasn't usable on this trip. Fortunately, TR had anticipated the need for an alternate POE, tho because it was difficult and risky we'd never tested it. Now we had to. It was exciting and not so bad, and we felt pleased with ourselves.
Approaching the cafeteria, our smiles faded; no flood. Either due to owner repairs or to shutting something that had been open, there was little water on the floor where it would have done some good. So we fell back on documenting some of the unusual graffiti we've found here.
2. 3rd floor, south wing
3. 2nd floor, over chapel
4. "Poetry vault," north wing basement
We moved on to the south wing basement to revisit the great stuff down there.
5. Freight elevator equipment
6. Roll-on scale. I noticed in Junix's UE DB gallery that this scale had a dial when he was down here.
At this point we heard noises and bailed. This also happened last time I photographed the scale. We've concluded that the scale is cursed, and advise all explorers not to attempt to photograph it.
"The beauty of mediocrity is that anything can make you better." -Jeff Mallett |
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