8 Ways to Sunday

Photographer Phillip Buehler dedicates himself to documenting modern ruins — buildings of the modern era that have been abandoned and left to decay. Old amusement parks, airplane graveyards, and abandoned hospitals are among his subjects.

The photos prompted Mark Brady of Fouroboros to write a thought-provoking post on our nation’s obsession with newness and how it warps out perceptions of reality, history, and time. I highly recommend you read it for yourself. I will only point out the sad fact that it’s very hard to find a building over about 125 years old in this country outside of a few cities, while in many European cities you can hardly spit without hitting a structure 500 to 1,000 years old or more. I know we’re a young country, but our lack of concern with preserving the past is worrisome.

I’ve always found modern ruins and urban exploration fascinating. I’ve explored some of the few derelict structures that haunt the countryside around my small town, but I haven’t yet gotten up the nerve to try for any of the in-town targets. I have a hunch this kind of thing is easier to get away with in an urban area.

For the curious, a few more urban exploration links:

• Urban Exploration Resource — Features a UE location database for registered members.
• Modern Ruins and Urban Exploration — Check the sidebar for a bunch of great books.
• Dark Passage — Features excellent photo essays, including a chilling series of explorations into abandoned insane asylums.
• Ars Subterra: The Society for Creative Preservation — A collective of artists, historians, and urban explorers who seek to raise public awareness of the value to be found in beautifully decrepit buildings. Some vague hints are made on Dark Passage about Ars Subterra hosting group events.

(Props: Fouroboros, for pointing me toward Buehler’s site)

Update: I have to get a copy of this book. Any team of urban explorers who wade through sewers in the middle of the night wearing suits and cocktail dresses sounds like they’d make for interesting reading to me.