oHIo

hey everyone! hope your week is going ok, only one more day til Friday. Which doesn’t mean shit to me since I work in the service industry haha. Anyways I am really trying to get better at posting even though I haven’t been exploring much lately. This post here is about a trip I went on over the summer for a few days. We started in Ohio and ended up in Indiana, which I am going to save for another post. Here is some pictures an info about my Ohio journey. Enjoy xo.

The Akron Zips are the University Of Akron’s football team. Their home was The Rubber Bowl from 1940 until 2008, which is when their new stadium opened. Fun fact: during my research I found out that the Akron team has the lowest turn out for football in the country, kinda sad. Makes sense why this place has been left to fall into shambles. The stadium can seat over 35,000 and has most recently been used for high school football games. During the 1970s, it was the host to many rock n roll concerts such as The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan,  The Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel, Alice Cooper, and Three Dog Night. That is the craziest part to me that such big names were drawn there, just like the old theaters of Detroit. Another fun fact: apparently it was named the Rubber Bowl as a tribute to all the tires Ohio produces (LOL).

The infamaous Rolling Acres mall! We did not get inside mostly because we didn’t even know where to start looking in regards to ways in. All of the obvious ways were boarded/bricked up. This one is easy to look up so if youre curious about what it looks like on the inside I would recommend looking here. There is also more on the history and old pictures. In July 2016, after the owner owed more than a million dollars in taxes, the city has gained control of it and has slated it for demolition.

Chippewa Lake Amusement park was a hard one to find! This was an amusement park that was open from 1878 to 1978, one hundred fucking years! That is crazy. The last owner of the park closed the doors in 1978 and left the rides there to rot for over 30 years. There were also many buildings and even a ballroom, which burned down in 2002. A man we met while exploring on the property said that a young girl was in there and started a fire causing it to be ruined. This also perpetuated some demolition of other buildings going into 2008. Only the Ferris Wheel, the Little Dipper, the Flying Cages, and the Tumble Bug rides are there still. The Tom Sawyer (Miss Chippewa?) steamboat, sections of old roller coaster tracks as well as train tracks and other remains such as the burned ballroom and miscellaneous structures are still there. This is a little more about the history of the place along with some old pictures that are pretty cool. I didn’t consider this place to even be exploring because it was very easy to access and it was so overgrown that the only way you were going to find anything is by walking through the woods. It is crazy to think that it was once a thriving attraction. It is one of my favorite displays of nature taking over that I have ever seen.

old roller coaster track.

old tiket booth.

Tom Sawyer steamboat

the dock on the back of the property. we were just in time to see the sun start to set.

what is left of the flying cages.

ferris wheel.

inside the ferris wheel. there is literally a tree growin straight through!!

one of the cars to the tumble bug.

burnt.

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well. I am currently hungover on my couch watching football and thought I would share something with you. This post is about one of the most pristine, and by pristine I mean relatively untouched, church that I was lucky enough to see only a few weeks before it was tragically burned in a fire on June 2, 2016. Everybody’s Universal Tabernacle Church of Holiness (say that three times fast) is a mystery to me because I cannot find out any history on the building or church. I need to take a trip around the corner to the library and see if I can dig anything up because all that I can find is this picture which says it is dated around the 1950s. I had no idea how beautiful it could have looked since when I saw it the outside looked nothing like this.

Here are some pictures of the fire crews battling the blazes, which took hours to put out. The story goes that firefighters were fighting a fire nearby and debris from that fire were carried by the wind onto the roof of the building. Such a sad thing to hear about. I hope you enjoy seeing the before and after. The organ was so beautiful.

Hoping to share more of all the pictures I have been stockpiling this week. I have been holding out on you all and it’s not fair to either one of us haha. Hope you all have a great week, until next time xo.

Ohio State Reformatory

The Ohio State Reformatory was staked out as a site around the time of 1861 and was being used as a training camp for the civil war. In 1867, the city of Mansfield, Ohio became a candidate for the new prison that was to be built. The city raised $10,000 to purchase 30 acres of land for the prison while the state contributed 150 acres of adjoining land. The prison was meant to be a middle point between two other institutions in Lancaster and Columbus. Construction finally started in 1886 but was not completed until 1910, due to funding problems of course. In September of 1896 the institution finally opened the doors to 150 prisoners, who were immediately put to work on the sewer system and building a wall around the place. The prison remained in full working use until December 1990 when Boyd v. Denton was ruled upon. This court case brought up by several class action lawsuits of prisoners had the institution closed due to overcrowding and inhumane conditions. The replacement prison is right behind this one. So if you’re every driving through the middle of nowhere Ohio, check it out. The Ohio State Reformatory is open for tours everyday and it was really cool. Best $11 I’ve ever spent.

old cell that was a double occupied room. apparently if three of the guys didn’t like the other one they were allowed to vote him out.

where lil wayne shot a music video

outside of the lil wayne cell. apparently a lot of artists have shot music videos here.

the chapel. many inmates tried to escape through this room.

Brooks’ room in shawshank.

the wardens office in shawshank redemption.

the parole room in shawshank redemption.

Ohio State Reformatory in Media:

-Tango & Cash (1989)

-The Shawshank Redemption (1994) IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS MOVIE DO IT NOW

-Lil’ Wayne “Go DJ” was shot here in the cells pictured above

-Godsmack “Awake”

-multiple haunted documentaries

-plus much more I was not familiar with so look for yourself

City Airport Inn

hello all! hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I am currently in Florida on vacation and this morning it is a little chilly so I thought I would do another update since I suck at doing these at home. This exploration I am about to share was hands down the weirdest one I have done to date. This abandoned motel is located by the Detroit City Airport which is less than ten miles to downtown. The airport was mainly used during the 1940s before the city outgrew it, which led to another airport being built in Ypsilanti then Romulus. The city airport is barely used today which is probably why this motel became useless. I wish I could have seen it back in the glory days because all that I experienced from this place was vibes of hookers and drug use. The rooms were like time warps filled with VHS tapes and untouched beds. As you can see from the signs hung on the front desk, this was definitely a hub for prostitution. I am going to guess that the place has been abandoned for around two or three years. I was very surprised that my partner and I didn’t run into any homeless people living in here because this seems like an obvious choice. However, maybe they all come at night to sleep there. Anyways, here are the pictures hope you enjoy. Safe and happy explorations xo.

DPS

Hello all, I hope you are having a fantastic week. TGIF right? Anyways, with all this stuff going on with regards to the Detroit Public School system, I thought it is about time that I share some of my experiences with them. If you aren’t familiar with what I am talking about, basically  Detroit fucked over their school system so bad that we are something like over a half million dollars in debt. There are very few actual DPS actually open these days and the ones that are have a very low enrollment rate. My uber driver the other morning informed me that his wife is a teacher and that they might have to close early due to lack of funds and enrollment. Shit is real. Also, these places are impossible to get into now so I’m very happy I stumbled across them this summer. Fun fact: DPS has their own police force. These places are now boarded up and may possibly be up for auction.

Here are pictures from Greenfield Park Elementary. I can’t find much history on it other than the fact that it was opened in 1916 and closed 91 years later in 2006 due to lack of funding (surprise!), steep decline in enrollment, and problems with heating/cooling system. I am also hearing it is slated for demolition in the near future. There was not much in this school that was still intact.

schools have become notorious dumping grounds

auxilary gym

auditorium

Next piece here is my absolute all time favorite exploration I have ever done. My partner and I spent two hours here the first day we discovered it and then came back the next day to spend even more time. This place was built in 1924 and was closed in 2012 after merging with two other nearby high schools. I visited it last summer which is when these pictures are from. This school had two gyms, a pool, a photo lab and more. It is absolutely huge. The amount of vandalism and decay that happened in those three years is outrageous. One of my sources informed me that this school is now boarded up and is shockingly not one of the schools that DPS is auctioning off. I wish I had more background on the building for you, but I cannot find more than the fact that it was previously a middle school before it became the technical high school. Enjoy the pictures because this is one that I absolutely loved to do and I wish I could go back for. Happy Exploring xo.

view from the side

one of the many science rooms

american history X (very creative)

rocket nation

the library

fireplace in the library

view from the balcony in the auditorium

one of the locker rooms

the cafeteria

a fricken swimming pool!

the office

here you can see the seperation of teachers and students chairs

detroit magic trick

heidelberg project

Hello everyone! This post idea is one that just sorta happened due to a chance encounter I had this past weekend. I thought that pretty much everyone that is from the metro Detroit area, if not the entire state of Michigan, knew about the Heidelberg Project. It was not until a very late night group conversation with beautiful new souls I met did I realize that not everyone knew about the Heidelberg Project. So basically this post is one that I am posting just because I want everyone to know the story behind it and experience it for themselves. Sorry if you are familiar with the story already but check back soon for another adventure post! Also the pictures I am about to share with you are a couple years old when some of the destroyed houses were still standing so that’s pretty cool. I was just thinking how long it has been since I’ve been there. Probably haven’t been since I took these because I didn’t want to see the destruction that has happened. Anyways, I encourage you to do some research yourself so you can see the old days!!

The Heidelberg Project is an art project in Detroit that was created in 1986 by artist Tyree Guyton and his grandfather Sam Mackey. It was meant to be an outdoor art space in the McDougall-Hunt neighborhood, which was by the city’s historically African-American Black Bottom area. The Heidelberg Project is meant as a political protest of Tyree Guyton’s childhood neighborhood beginning to deteriorate after the 1967 riots (which I told you to look up in the last post so I hope you did!). Guyton came back to the area after being in the army and described the area as “looking like a bomb went off.”
In the beginning, the project consisted of him painting the houses on the Heidelberg Street with crazy colors and dots while also attaching objects to the house. This began to help the entire neighborhood turn from somewhere that people don’t walk the streets, to somewhere people took pride in their homes and wanted to be outside. Guyton worked on the project daily with the local children. He and director Jenenne Whitfield gave lectures about the project around the world. They wanted to develop the project into the city’s first indoor and outdoor museum, including a community garden and amphitheater etc. In 2005 the Heidelberg Project was awarded the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence silver medal.
However, like all nice things in Detroit, they don’t tend to last and the project fell to the same fate. It started with two mayors who thought the project was an eyesore and ordered demolition. In November 1991, under Mayor Coleman Young, the Heidelberg Project’s “The Baby Doll House,” “Fun House” and “Truck Stop” were completely demolished. Under Mayor Dennis Archer, a second demolition of the Heidelberg Project was ordered on February 4, 1999 that ended in the destruction of the houses Guyton termed “Your World,” “Happy Feet” and “The Canfield House.” Fuck those men honestly. Who would order for art to be destroyed ever? But that actually leads into another problem with Detroit. And that would be arson. There were two destructive years of arson in Detroit in regards to the Heidelberg Project and that would be 2013 & 2014. In 2013 we lost: “Obstruction of Justice,” “House of Soul,” “Penny House,” “War House,” and the “Clock House.” In 2014 we lost: “The Doll House,” large amounts of the Detroit Industrial Gallery, “Birthday Cake House,” and the “Taxi Cab House.”

 

 

st. agnes

Hi guys so I totally thought I posted this and it looks like it didn’t go through when I thought it had. So anyways, this is a place that I hold near and dear to my heart. It had a very important role in the history of Detroit that I am going to share with you. Also, I have recently gotten in touch with a Detroit Urbex god (at least in my book) so I will be updating much more with so many locations. And now here is the story of St. Agnes:

St. Agnes consists of a church, a school, a covenant, and a priest’s house. The pictures I am sharing with you are only that of the school and church. I tend to have rules about houses and don’t particularly like to go in them. Anyways, the site was picked out for this compound and construction on the school started in 1916 with construction on the covenant beginning a year later. The original church that was used in 1914 was too small and was outgrown very quickly. The church shown here started construction in 1922 and was completed in 1924. The church and school thrived for the next fifty years until 1967 which is when the historic Detroit race riots began only blocks away from the church (if you don’t know what I am talking about please inform yourself and look up the riots). Although the compound was spared physical damage, it would not be able to bounce back from the emotional damage. After the riots many people began to move out of Detroit and into the suburbs. The area around the church went into decline which forced the church to combine with another local church in 1989. This did little to help and the school was closed in 2000. The church met the same fate in 2006. In 2007, the Detroit Archdiocese removed the pews and stained glass windows. The church was sold to a congregation that did nothing with it. Vandals and scrappers had gotten in by 2009 and completely stripped the place of anything they deemed valuable. In 2012, the church was bought by a developer who tried to secure it to no avail. There are currently no plans for redevelopment that I am aware of at this time.

*In 1981, Mother Theresa came and spoke here to a full house. After she spoke, there was a reception of coffee and donuts that she insisted be donated to the homeless instead. Gotta love random history of Detroit facts. Enjoy xo.

outside of the school

hallway of the school

I assume this used to be the auditorium

abandoned reading nook

ladies room

outside of the church

scrappers really fucking suck.

views from the balcony

rapidly deteriorating ceiling

alter

the no name churches

hi guys so I have been slacking on updating this with new posts and I am sorry. I broke my phone and the transition of pictures have been a little rough. I recently made friends with a Detroit Urbex god (well in my book at least) so these two churches are from my adventure with him. I can’t wait to share them with you. Enjoy xo.

breathtaking stained glass

!!!INSANE!!!

literally the most pristine abandonment I have ever seen

beautiful detail in the pews

view from the front entrance

 

view from the alter

up close one of the mind blowing stained glass

!!!!!

confession booths

Since I’m doing a church themed post I might as well throw in one of personal favorites. This one is named St. Margaret Mary and consists of a school as well. It was built in 1930 and was closed in 2012 due to the decline of the neighborhood and a terrible vandalism incident. My camera died in the middle of this one, not that there is much to see, but my lack of pictures has me very disappointed. I plan on going back soon.

detail on the ceiling over the alter

view of the alter

bible open on the alter

clever graffiti in the church

view from above

I get so excited when I find this tag haha

clearly has seen better days

classroom in the school

Calvary Presbyterian Church

Calvary Presbyterian Church was built in 1916 on the corner of Grand River. It continued to grow over the years and eventually expanded the church to include a kitchen, Sunday school and offices in 1932. During the 1940s the church reached its peak of parishioners at 1,700. The population remained steady from 1950s and 1960s at about 1,500 parishioners. The church is located near the site of the famous 1967 race riots which caused the area around the church to change dramatically. After the riots, the population started leaving and moving to the suburbs, which the church decided it needed to do too. The church moved its ministry off of 8 Mile in 1991.

Calvary Presbyterian Church then became The Abundant Life Christian Center.  The Abundant Life Christian Center operated the building for a about a decade before moving to a new home in Redford.  After Abundant Life Christian Center moved out,  Greater Faith for Deliverance Church moved in.

Greater Faith for Deliverance Church occupied the location until 2009, when a fire broke out and caused heavy smoke and water damage.  While the congregation waited for insurance money to come through to fix the building, scrappers took over and cleared the building of pipes and anything else they deemed something with a monetary value. The Greater Faith for Deliverance Church has been abandoned since 2009.

outside view

fire damage

where people were baptized

view from the balcony

 

United Community Hospital

Okay so my friend from out of town has been here the past week which means there was a lot of exploring happening and I cannot wait to share the pictures with you. This exploration is one that I have done many times because of how interesting I think it is. This hospital was designed and built because of a need to merge four other minority hospitals together. Yes, this hospital was a segregated hospital built in the early 1970s. It was built so that African Americans, Hispanics, and Arabic people could go to people of their race to get treatment. Now part of the reason the hospital had so many money problems is because they agreed to see any patient, no matter if they could pay and were insured or not.

The hospital started in trouble and ended in trouble. Within years of opening, the hospital was already in debt and having difficulty attracting new patients. This caused a filing for bankruptcy in 1991. In 1997, the hospital reopened and changed names from the Southwest Detroit Hospital to the United Community Hospital. It was reopened by Harley Brown, who was an owner of a health care company. He and other investors spent more than $8 million dollars trying to fix the hospital. However, money problems got the best of it again and the hospital was shut down in 2006 with Brown being investigated for fraud. I just read that apparently he and the city are working together to fix it up and again and re purpose it, but who knows. The guy is notorious for being a crook, just google his name and see what pops up. Supposedly plans will be released in March. I will keep you guys posted. Until then, here is what I have to show you. Some of these pictures date back a few years.

The outside. This is the main entrance.

This is where the ambulances used to arrive.

The main entrance.

Waiting room.

Another shot of the ambulance entrance.

The other side of the building where the offices were.

One of the lesser destroyed hallways.

Another view of the waiting room.

View from the roof.

Creepy examination chair that still has the foot holders in it.

The famous circular windows.

Just so you have an idea how much paperwork is still here.