become an urban explorer

I want to search out those old abandoned buildings, pipes, drains, tunnels and such that are left to rot. When I was younger we’d always scout out old abandoned houses and even take the 1/2 mile trip through the city drains in our small town. It was an amazing experience of exploration and the thrill of seeing something that few others do. Only problem with this one is I really don’t feel like getting arrested.

This past summer I spent three full weeks in Manhattan, spending a day or so in each area. While I had a plan for where I’d travel, I made sure I had time and found ways of going off the beaten path, trying lots of different restaurants, and trying to really see Manhattan. I’ve done similar trips in San Francisco, St. Louis, and my own hometown, Atlanta. I also explore the rural areas of Georgia and post my thousands of photos to my website (www.ryan-gluesing.com/travel).

I forget the exact name of the building, but it’s next to Squires and sits on Henderson lawn across from Soulvaki’s in downtown Blacksburg.

Walk in the front door [the one with the ramp facing college ave.] and go inside, take the elevator to the second or third floor, it’s likely that one of these two doors will be unlocked. They lead to the section that is normally locked any other way (You could try getting in the door that faces N. Main first, though you have a bigger risk of being spotted.) Once you’re into this section, go to one of the stair case which will be on your right if you went throught the elevator (if you got in through N Main side, it’ll be the first hallway on your left.) Take the stair case down to the bottom floor and go to the last hallway on your right.

Once you go down the hallway take the first left you can. There will be a door straight ahead of you and one too your left, with a storage cabinet on your right. Unscrew the three screws holding the lock onto the door at your left.

Open the door and take the staircase down. You will reach a dirt floor and the entrance to the fallout shelter will be located in a little room some ways off too your left. If you take a right and go around the turn you’ll be led to a large room with windows at ground level looking towards the front entrance, College Ave, and N. Main.

When I was there we didn’t have much time to look around, but theres a hallway you can go down and some other rooms. As far as I know the entrance to the fallout shelter has been blocked by cement, but that’s nothing a little sledge hammer won’t fix.

Your best bet is to do this on a Sunday. Chances are theres less than two people in the building.

saw the re-opening of St George’s, Bloomsbury, a church designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor (a pupil of Christopher Wren) which opened in 1730. It’s been shut for the last 5 years while they restored it.

I went to have a look this afternoon. It’s very white, bright and calm inside. There are a lot of windows, and in some ways it doesn’t feel like a church, but more like a concert hall. Maybe this is because there aren’t any pews, just rows of benches.

Apparently a lot of the columns inside used to be painted red and gold, but a decision was made to paint everything white as part of the restoration. I think this is a shame, as in the photo of how it looked before, the gilded columns looked amazing. Oh well.

It’s great to have it open – I’ve lived in Bloomsbury for 4 years and it’s been closed the whole time, but now there is a programme of concerts on Sundays and other events that I am going to make an effort to attend occasionally!

I think i’ve done a good enough job without all the side trips or grappling hook honestly.
I think i’m going to give it a break until more fruitful places come about.

I already do all kinds exploring around the town regularly, and i’ve gotten to some very amazing places, from dazzleing views to damning tunnels. However, I don’t think i’ll mark this goal as complete until I get my grappling hook and we start out of town trips.

there’s plenty of places near me that I always wanted to explore, abandoned houses, factories, huge drain pipes. I need to get a big ol’ camera and a good flashlight and I’ll be ready to go. Want to come?

Well, a legal urban explorer at least. :) My friend and I wandered around the outside of the Peter’s Catridge Mill in Kings Mills, Ohio and took a lot of pictures. ^_

I’ve been inside a lot of abandoned buildings and places that I shouldn’t have been… but they were in the suburbs. Still quite picturesque, and a lot of fun!

I’ll consider this done… kind of. It’s the kind of goal that you can never truly prove to have reached, but lately, with my 1-picture-per-day project, I’ve been paying much more attention to my surroundings (urban or not) than before. And that was fun.