20 years ago today, UER was born. What started as just a way to help various websites connect their members through a common forum grew into the largest Urban Exploration website on the internet! Over 92,000 people have registered to be members on UER.

What are your favourite UER memories?

Here's to the next 20 years!

What an amazing community you have created here at UER. Having a track record of 20 years is pretty amazing on the internet. Not many sites with that much history. Well done! And THANK YOU!!

Abby Normal

This was the website that got me into urbex 8 years ago, and it'll always be special to me for that. Here's to another 20.

In all seriousness Av I must thank you deeply for the work you've done and for the community you helped us create. I stumbled across UER at that exact time in my life when I needed it most and it made all the difference. I had always explored those off limits and liminal spaces but never even thought of others who might as well. I've built friendships lasting years now, seen and done things I wouldn't have thought possible and even found a place to share it.


Thank you Av, and cheers to another 20 years!


~the Once-ler






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Thank You For keeping this site alive!

I can't believe that I'm still farting around this site 18 years and 7,000+ posts on.

Av's not really involved with the site anymore, but I'm still proud of those years when I was suggesting features like mad and he was pretty much coding them up on demand. And I like how this weird little community has continued to thrive despite our founder having stepped back from the forefront.

Props to the UEM guys for dragging me down into this bizarre little rabbit hole in the first place. I love this site. And I love all of you weirdos who like to check out the nooks and crannies of our wonderful built environment.

I never would have known urbex was a "thing" had I not discovered this site years ago after I explored my first abandonment, and I owe it for saving me a lot of trouble with its wealth of information, and for setting my expectations straight. I came for the pictures, and stayed for the people and their shenanigans. It really is a one-of-a-kind community, especially as both the hobby and the internet have changed. It's like a slice of the pre-2010 internet (it even looks the same as when I joined!) and I love it for that.

i found this place while working an overnight shift at a school in Vermont. I've been here for a very long time as well and no one has made more posts than i. Not sure if that is something to be happy about or ashamed of. I am very glad that this place is still around.

i log in daily. The only sad part of this retrospective are the people we lost track of or just plain lost.

that happens in 20 years.

i guess, here's a toast to 20 more years?
thanks for this place, Av. Thank you very much for the chance to interact with some of the most interesting people I have ever come across.

Many things are just legendary from this website.

Nothing will ever be better than this website for the true OG exploration feel and sharing style.

Ive met so many cool people here, some of my best friends still.

And im glad i met you, AV.


To another 20 years.

And to think I stumbled across this page by accident. I've met some of my best friends in the world on here.

Stumbled upon this site nearly 20 years ago while searching info about Whitby Psych Hospital.

Once I found it, I lurked for a couple of years before I requested to become a full member.

I have a multitude of memories and shared quite a few laughs and tears over the years.

Thanks for this site AV, it really has become a part of my daily routine.

Cheers to another 20 !!

Wow, we are all really old.

The coding on this site is so old I can still access the site from behind my companies firewall!

To all the great people that have contributed anything to this place, thank you.

Here's to 20 more!

Thanks for all of your good work over the years.

Plenty of memories here both good and bad.

same to be said of the people I've met from the forum, some very good folk whom I went on many adventures with and some very very bad people whom I'd never associate with.

This forum unlocked a whole different world for me, allowing for a place to share with like-minded people.

I remember well over 20 years ago it started with a web page about a tour of an abandoned underground missile base. Then, WeirdNJ. Followed by UER dot CA where I lurked and read many, many forums. Became a basic member a few years later. Oh, how I wish I had a camera in the 1960's and 70's when I went exploring back then. Only thing left from the good old days is a little bit of Stotesbury Mansion/Whitemarsh Hall in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania...

Making me feel like a fetus compared to some of yall lol, ive only been seriously urbexing since 2019 /2020 , heres to many more years to come for all of us! Stay safe out there yall!

Whats up old heads?
Happy birthday to UER.
Hope everyone is doing well.

Posted by Hawkwind I remember well over 20 years ago it started with a web page about a tour of an abandoned underground missile base. Then, WeirdNJ. Followed by UER dot CA where I lurked and read many, many forums. Became a basic member a few years later. Oh, how I wish I had a camera in the 1960's and 70's when I went exploring back then. Only thing left from the good old days is a little bit of Stotesbury Mansion/Whitemarsh Hall in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania...

First of all, hell yes to Weird NJ. Thats what got me hooked.

More importantly though.... you did Whitemarsh prior to demo? That's amazing! When I look at what's left there I want to smash my head against a column. That building was incredible.

Happy B-Day UER.CA

This website gave me the definition and a community behind the thing I loved doing. While I'm not on here as much as I used to, I'm so glad to see it still going. Looking at my 15 year badge makes me think, "Man, I'm getting old."

Thanks AV for all you've done and thanks to the rest of the Mods for keeping this site going.

Here's to more years of UE


(Me on the right, back in 2009. Everything in the background is gone now.)