Realizing a Childhood Dream
Sat, Jan 16th, 2010
posted by Stang5_0

I grew up in Long Beach and remember this place well from passing by on the way to see my uncle who lives in Glendale.

In the 70's and 80's we used to take spur of the moment trips to either Phoenix or Vegas and as a kid I was always curios about the Trotting Park. I used to dream of the day when we'd pass by and I'd actually see something. Then the day finally came. A swap meet. Yep, right there in the parking lot, but nothing to show any life had returned to this mysterious building.

Fast forward to August of 2006.

By now, I had lived here for a while and had seen countless mines. The internet had also come a long way to since the days of calling a BBS with my 300 baud modem. I digress.

I dove deep into research and stumbled upon other folks that were curious as well, only they made it inside.
After talking my wife into this adventure, we set out very early one morning so we could walk the distance in the dark so as not to be seen. We made it from top to bottom and I believe caught a pretty good view of what the place is like. We were met in the end by Goodyear's finest, but not until we covered every square inch of this incredible building. I want to share the pictures with the group, and I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed taking them.

We're not exactly allowed back at this point, but I'd love to see it again someday.

DSC02351