Urban ExplorationFollow

The board seems a little sleepy this Monday, so I thought I might do something unusual and create a topic.

Ever heard of urban exploration? Basically it involves getting into or on parts of the city that are abandoned or otherwise closed to the public. It rings a chord with adventurous folk, particularly those who don't mind (or enjoy) the risks of getting caught trespassing, or climbing around in places that aren't exactly prepped for safe public use.

A lot of folks that do this are amateur photographers, so there are a bunch of really cool images to be found if you do some googling about urban exploration. One site in particular had some amazing skyline photos, but I haven't been able to track it down as of the time of posting. I'll see if I can dig it up again.

A few sites:

http://www.undercity.org/

http://sleepycity.net/

Working in architecture, it's come up once in a while, but it was always pretty fringe. A lot of arch students and interns do stuff like this...they've got the combination of interest in designed spaces and reckless excitement. The movement seems to be gaining steam lately; I know that Discovery Channel and its like have been debuting a lot of urban exploration-themed shows of late, where they check out old prisons, hospitals, etc. I suppose that those "Ghost Hunter" shows are tangentially related, too.

They seem to do a lot of crawling around in drains, which isn't super interesting. But there's also a lot who sneak into new construction sites, particularly for skyscrapers. The buildings typically have night security which the exploring folk have to dodge. I wonder if those security personnel often lose their jobs when the explorers inevitably post photos of their excursion online? I also wonder how often these people get killed falling from buildings, or into pitfalls underground.

Back in undergrad, security personnel were always chasing students out of the old Bethlehem Steel factory. We took a tour of it in class...it's a creepy old hyper-industrial complex, mostly rusted over. The most interesting thing to me was a big turbine room that had partially caved into its foundation below. I hopped off the tour and climbed down a disused concrete stair that was just floating in the middle of the rubble. It led to what basically looked like the Batcave from Batman Begins...there was a big cavern, and big sewer pipes were pouring water into an underground stream that ran below the building. It was pretty surreal.*

*On a side note: the locker rooms were really creepy. Space was a premium, so instead of lockers, the workers all had individual perforated metal baskets that could be lowered to and from the ceiling on pulleys. But the baskets all had these giant meat hooks that were supposed to be used for hanging clothes and jewelry from. The baskets and hooks were just floating at all these different heights when we entered...it looked like a scene out of Saw. Very creepy.

So, ever explored a building or structure that you weren't supposed to be in? Are you morally opposed to it, or think that urban explorers ought to grow up a bit?

Myself, I do believe that it's wrong to trespass as they do. But I'm still glad that there are folks out there who're willing to do this, so I can see the awesome photographs. I think I'd be down for some of it, but I'd have to weigh the risks versus the potential benefits quite a bit. I'm not super claustrophobic, so I think I'd be totally fine exploring drains and the like, but heights do get my heart racing quite a bit (which is ironic, because in my line of work, I often have to use suspended scaffolds).

Edited, May 21st 2012 2:48pm by Eske

In a similar vein, there were some guys who snuck onto the Mothball Fleet of the US navy a few years ago. This blog is an amazing read if you have the time, and the pictures are haunting.

http://scotthaefner.com/beyond/mothball-fleet-ghost-ships/

Just realized I didn't answer the question. The answer is yes, I did, but it was nothing too special or difficult. In Florida new houses go up all the time. I've snuck into the half-made houses, which usually have no security until the doors and electricity go in. I made some very fond memories in several of them with a girlfriend who also had a taste for forbidden exploration

... wow, that sounded dirtier than I thought it would. Er, me and an ex used to go to houses that were under construction to have fun together. There we go, that sounds better.

I guess I also explored a half-finished lecture hall at my university. Didn't go too far in, as it was dark and there was precarious footing everywhere.

Edited, May 21st 2012 3:35pm by LockeColeMA

Those ship pics are pretty awesome.

Can't say I ever spent much time breaking into buildings or construction sites or anything. Trespassing was more along the lines of hopping fences to go to someplace along the river you wanted to swim or explore, or going through someone's field because it was a shortcut, or something. More of the rural "is cow-tipping really a thing?" kind of questions that needed to be answered.

Overall I'll just write it off as a 'kids will be kids' thing as long as no damage is done. Some kids never grow up I suppose, for better or for worse.



Giggidy.

Edited, May 21st 2012 12:36pm by someproteinguy

See, but the first way was such a great double entendre...

Hey, this forum isn't for shameless self-promotion. It's for serious discussion about important news. Important news like my Starhawk review, which can be found in my sig.

Also, follow me on twitter.

I'm an Urban Explorer. I live in a city that's been slowly dying as the paper mills have closed down, so plenty of abandoned buildings and properties to explore. I also make a point of exploring non-abandoned areas, mainly just because I like to walk, but also because there are cool things everywhere.

So..



Many times, no, and no.

Here's some pictures of random city sights, and an abandoned grain elevator/shipping facility.

I'm travelling to the west coast this summer, and am hoping to find some cool places like that to explore along the way.

Sounds like a good way to limit your potential future career possibilities over something not really worth it.

There was a tunnel system at Eastern Illinois (well, still is I bet) which was constantly locked up. But they were doing work in a building I had a job in and I was often the only person around very late at night. They had demo'd an interior brick wall and there was a small gap leading into the fabled tunnels so I went looking. I didn't explore too far because I was worried about getting lost (given that it was 1am and I had no map or clue) but it was nifty to know I'd been in them.

I've been in various abandoned barns and houses over the years but mainly when I was much younger. I don't blame anyone for the curiosity; there's a definite vibe to abandoned structures that's compelling. Can't blame any building owners for not wanting the liability either or the risk of vandalism, illegal activities and the like.

You'd be surprised how many places require you to be bondable to gain employment. We require all of our employees at hotels to be. So would a Casino, or to work in an airport.

You were thinking of things like lawyers, cops, etc... yes? It can go well beyond that. You're not necessarily eliminating yourself from a career, just from certain employment opportunities within a given field.

So, nothing within the career I've chosen then. Woohoo!

Oh, I am.

The question actually came up when I was still in school. The answer the person got(he was in his 30s, had been arrested when he was in his early 20s on a drug charge(cocaine if I remember correctly) was that he might not be able to work in some hotels or casinos, but it shouldn't hinder him if he planned to work in the industry. Somehow, I figure if I was to get dumb in the way I go about exploring these places, a single trespassing charge(which would then be the only thing on my criminal record if that were to happen) won't kill my career.

True, I'll admit that. However, I prefer working at non-casino/hotel restaurants. Don't get me wrong, I've kept a few places where hotels and casinos are the places to be working on my list of places I might go that aren't Thunder Bay to move ahead in my career because of that creativity thing, but I probably wouldn't shed a tear if I couldn't work at those.