City Eyes Blog

Tag: decay

  • Indiana Exploration

    Indiana Exploration

    Exploration Catch-Up first post:
    First off, an abandoned hotel.



    Second, we hit a schoolhouse in the area. Built in 1922, it has been shut down since somewhere around 1960.

    This hallway is actually in the basement. Originally, it was made of poured concrete and could withstand the blast of an atomic bomb.

    Some of the cool paintings we found in the building:


    For some reason, a single chair and desk were all that was left in this room. The floor was drooping pretty badly, so I didn’t spend too much time tromping around up there. There was a hole in the ground that led to a classroom below:

    There were a lot of weird things painted around the building:

    One last photo before we left the school – Jordan taking a shot in the stairwell:

  • Abandoned Church Exploration pt.2

    I loved the place so much that I went back again. Unfortunately, it took me forever to write about it, so I might be a bit fuzzy on the details. More exploration to come! Here are some photos of the abandoned church, as well as explanation.

    The rooms in the church show so much decay, it’s incredible. This particular room was part of the “school” section of the building. The ceiling had fallen in and there was a single chair left. Further in, evidence of looters. The ceilings were torn out and stripped of all valuable materials.

    I climbed to the top of the church as high as I could go and came upon a pile of cinderblocks against the wall. Luckily, they had been securely placed (or frozen), so they held my weight without collapsing. I lifted myself up through a hole in the roof onto a rusty old catwalk and found myself at the top of the steeple in the main sanctuary area (more photos of that on the post before this one). It was pretty high up and I was nervous, so I got down there pretty quickly.

    Some of the rooms had some pretty interesting graffiti in them.

    The floors in some of the rooms were completely covered in a layer of ice. Others were covered ankle deep with clothes and toys.

    Finally, we ventured down into the basement. We hadn’t thought of bringing flashlights, so we were navigating using the light of our cell phones. It was an ominous place. I found a piano from the 1800’s, but couldn’t get a shot of it due to the poor lighting. I was able to get a quick shot of a hole in the ceiling.

    The last place we visited seemed to be where the fire started – an abandoned bookstore in the storefront area  of the church. There were so many neat things there. We found a poster announcing the original release of Stephen King’s “Carrie” as well as a giant poster of “The Fonz” and a Mork and Mindy book. I also found a stack of resumes from the 70’s. I might post them – important information blanked out – in the future.

    More exploration to come.

  • Ruins of an abandoned church – Gary, Indiana

    CMC was shut down in the 70’s due to a lack of attendance and suffered a fire in ’97 (thanks to Corby for the correction!). To this day,  stands in the streets of Gary, Indiana as a relic of the past – the vast sanctuary, shadowy hallways, and decaying innards a testament to the ravages of time.

    After about three minutes of driving around a bit aimlessly, I saw a spire above a few old looking buildings about a street away from me. I navigated my way over and found myself at the base of one of the biggest and most beautiful abandoned buildings that I’d ever seen. The second I ducked into a side door, I knew that I’d found it. To the left, a stage littered with all sorts of clothing and wreckage. To the right, a small room leading into a huge sanctuary.

    I left after snapping a few photos and returned later with Elise. Here are the results:

    First, we hit the sanctuary. It was beautiful, cold, and quiet. Snow drifted in through holes in the   roof and settled on the brick floors.

    Following that, we made our way to other areas of the building. The theater, long destroyed, showed no sign of snow, but the upstairs auditorium was completely coated with a thin dusting.

    On our way down, we saw a makeshift living room set up. I assume someone moved this stuff for a photo or something, but I’d like to think a crazy man lives here in the summer.

    Even long abandoned and freezing cold, animals make this beautiful building their home.

    I plan on getting back there as soon as possible to take more photos – we had to give up eventually because the sun was quickly fading and our fingers were completely numb from the cold. I plan on exploring more of Gary with my camera soon in the future, as well as the surrounding areas.

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