Monday, February 27, 2012

Abandoned Factories Finding a New Purpose

We went on a little road trip yesterday to find a great coffee shop and hopefully see a few abandoned factories. It was getting dark when we got there (and the wind was brutual), but we still had a few short moments to take in the factories.



The windows and doors are always a favorite of mine.


These factories were especially exciting to see because they are in the process of being repurposed. We saw one that we visited last year, transformed from forgotten to beautiful. I'm excited to see what becomes of these on our next visit.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Bennett College



Many years ago, a few friends and I were going up to Millbrook to visit someone. We passed this gorgeous abandoned building, and I remember thinking "I need to come back and see that again someday." Years passed, but I didn't forget how beautiful that building was despite the fact that it was falling apart.

Recently, I started researching it, because I was curious how something so beautiful could be forgotten I discovered the main building, Halcyon Hall was built in 1893 as a hotel. It was an amazing 5 story, 200 room building. The hotel wasn't very successful, and became the home to Bennett College around 1907. Now that I knew a little bit about the building, it was time to find it.

We set off on our road trip knowing only a nearby intersection. We arrived at that point, and caught a glimpse of the building. It was more amazing than I remembered.




The magnitude of the building is almost overwhelming. I wanted to take it all in, and tried to slowly appreciate all of the amazing details.




We made our way around the outside of the property (we never crossed the "keep out" fence), and each view was more interesting than the last.



I love this window.


Nearby, we found a newer dorm. It too was forgotten, and although not structurally as beautiful as the main building, it was still interesting. Notice the lonely yellow chair on the second floor.



There is such a captivating beauty in this building, that I can't wait to go back and photograph it again.