The abandoned Robins Theatre in Warren, Ohio. This theater has since been restored and is in use today!
See more abandoned theaters on Abandoned America at https://www.abandonedamerica.us/abandoned-theaters
The abandoned Robins Theatre in Warren, Ohio. This theater has since been restored and is in use today!
See more abandoned theaters on Abandoned America at https://www.abandonedamerica.us/abandoned-theaters
A crumbling concession stand in an abandoned theater.
See more of the abandoned theaters I've visited at https://www.abandonedamerica.us/abandoned-theaters
Movie palaces had their own day of reckoning in the late 1970s and 1980s - but now, even our contemporary cinema chains are endangered. Find out why so many are being abandoned in my new Decay Theory article for Atlas Obscura!
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/abandoned-america-theaters
The conservatory at the abandoned Dunnington Mansion in Farmville, VA.
Check out the new gallery and write up on Abandoned America: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/dunnington-mansion
A pair of roller skates left behind in the abandoned Academy of the Sisters of Maria Assumpta in Petersham, MA
See the rest: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/nichewaug-inn
Twilight at an abandoned Six Flags
More at https://www.abandonedamerica.us/six-flags-new-orleans
A snow-covered stage in an abandoned tuberculosis sanatorium's theater.
See the rest: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/undercliff-sanatorium
The formerly abandoned Bell Labs building in Holmdel, NJ. At one point slated for demolition, the historic site has since been turned into Bell Works, a multi-use complex that was the filming location for the series Severance.
See the rest: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bell-labs
Originally a gold mining town with 8,000 residents, Bodie, California was essentially abandoned by the 1940s. In 1962, it was incorporated into California's Department of Parks and Recreation, which helps maintain the grounds and keeps them open so they can be enjoyed by 200,000 yearly visitors. The remaining buildings are kept in a state of arrested decay.
Check out my gallery here: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bodie
We place such a premium on adhering to social norms that many of us who can never meet them hate ourselves for it. Those norms revolve around production of goods, services, the mirage of profitability. We try so hard to meet that standard even though the reality is that it is sometimes impossible.
The love of ruins requires the acceptance that this is *not* always possible, and that is okay. Pain, loss, and failure are part of life. If you're hurting, you're not the only one.
The important thing about finding beauty in ruins isn't showing off where you've been or what a daredevil you are. It's not about being cool, to me at least.
It's the tacit acknowledgement that "functional" isn't the only normal state, that normalcy is in fact itself an illusion. Places are scarred by what they endure. So are people.
They are still worthy of love. Forgotten, silent, unacknowledged though they may be. Even with the scars, perhaps because of them. We still deserve understanding
There's a peace that comes in letting go of the internalized stigma of age, illness, and perceived weakness. I won't pretend I've completed that journey, but abandoned places are where I've always gone to attempt to make progress with it. Perhaps if they have value, I reason, so do I. And maybe someone else who can't get there in person can find hope there too.
Maybe in the loneliest places we can feel less alone. Because it's not just you. Your struggles are shared. We all ache in some way.
I'm very excited to announce the first column of my "Decay Theory" series for Atlas Obscura. This one's about the death of the suburban American shopping mall. It's easy to write off the closure of malls as the result of online shopping - but their fate was likely sealed years before Amazon became the brick and mortar shredding juggernaut it is today. Here's the link! https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-life-and-death-of-the-suburban-american-mall
Abandoned theater
Escalators in the abandoned Owings Mills Malls in Maryland
The lobby of the abandoned Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Philadelphia
Gallery: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/most-blessed-sacrament-church
The bathroom in an abandoned asylum
More at: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/abandoned-asylums
The basement of a newspaper's abandoned headquarters
More at https://www.abandonedamerica.us/the-pittsburgh-post-gazette
If you'd like to see higher quality photos than the ones on my website or Facebook and have early/exclusive access to write-ups, podcasts, and more, subscribe to my Patreon here 🥰: https://www.patreon.com/AbandonedAmerica
The abandoned Seagram's Distillery (originally Baltimore Pure Rye Co.) in Dundalk, MD
Gallery/info: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/seagrams-distillery
I'm Matthew Christopher, creator of the Abandoned America website, podcast, and book series about the beautiful and fascinating ruins in our midst. Photos are mine unless credited otherwise. Not a photo bot, so I post about other things from time to time.
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