Chicago Exploration 08-07-08
by Kyle on Sep.09, 2008, under Abandonments, Art, Industrial, Other, Photography
Went out to Chicago again this weekend. Took a few photos of some new places.
First destination - An abandoned shopping mall. Once in an area of great promise, now the area has descended into high crime and depression. The mall, used for the chase scene in the Blues Brothers movie, closed in 1978 and since then had been the site of a murder, multiple rapes, and a few other very nasty things until the police station moved nearby.
Fire damage is apparent in the building and the once sturdy concrete upper floor has caved in at multiple sites within. Although it has been the site of multiple attempted demolitions and renovations, to this day the mall stands decrepit and open to any who want to visit.
I’m also trying something new with the pictures this week - bigger sizes. Lets see what happens. Hopefully this won’t screw up my blog.
A sign hangs from the position where it once stood. Vandalism has removed much of what was once in the mall, but sometimes you’ll stumble upon signs of what used to be:
Walls are torn down - only flaps of wallpaper and wood grid remains in some areas:
This room was particularly interesting to me. I’m not sure if I’m right, but I think that the blue tint in my photo is due to the holes in the ceiling becoming a giant pinhole camera type device. The blue and white is actually a projection of the sky above:
An escalator, once part of a bustling JC Penny, now stands silent. Water collecting at the bottom makes for a tricky climb as well as corroding metal steps:
Two escalators cross in a large department store area:
Colorful murals and wallpaper adorn the dreary halls of the old mall:
My second destination was, as far as I could tell, an abandoned chemical research factory. I’m told that it was once an oil company, but I can’t for the life of me tell exactly what they did in there because I found all sorts of obscure chemicals not related at all to petroleum.
A piano is in the hallway across from a lab. I have no idea why it’s there:
Some insane machinery fills up one of the rooms in the building:
Various equipment, bottles, and papers create shadows in this room. It smelled of sulfur, so I didn’t stay in there for long:
Notice the “asb 9″ in this photo. I’m pretty sure that means that there was asbestos present and needed to be removed. Still, the least of our worries:
As always, you know where to find more and larger.
