This One Goes Out to “Santa’s Little Helper”
“If that ‘one phone call’ thing was true, I didn’t want to use mine for explaining to my cousin that her officiant was going to miss her beachside wedding because he was in some ‘Circus City’ lockup.”
“Bach in the (Cincinnati) Subway”
“Bach in the Subways” is an annual occurrence intended to bring awareness to not just the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, but classical music in general. Cincinnati doesn’t technically have a subway, so we used the closest thing: the abandoned tunnels of the never-completed subway system.
Things Left Behind
“It was one of those nights where I drank too much gin and started talking to the dog…”
…I then went looking for a man I only knew in my mind.
A follow-up to a 2009 story.
The “World’s Largest Basket” and the Languishing Legacy of Longaberger
Longaberger wasn’t just a thing in the 1990s, it was the name in home decor for awhile. A company so successful that it modeled its headquarters after one of its signature baskets. That building is now abandoned, however. So, what happened?
The Argonne Forest Amusement Park
In the woods of Dayton, Ohio—a man returned from the battlefields of France to honor his fallen friends.
“Keep It in the Mall!” -or- The “Sterilized Abandonment” of Tri-County
A song by Springsteen, a shout-out to “sandwich artists,” and the toddler who rejected a dog, but grew up to become a decorated Hot Topic employee.
Two Malls and The U̶n̶s̶o̶l̶v̶e̶d̶ SOLVED “Ball Sculpture” Mystery
As I finished a piece for a magazine about two “dead malls” that I’d previously covered in years prior, news broke about both locations. Also: trying to track down a piece of nostalgic art.
Six Gun City
You have to know where to look in the Kentucky woods, but it’s up there in the hills—an abandoned town looking like the set of a John Wayne film. Was the place the forgotten theme park that the internet had touted it to be, though?
Flight and Former Front Yards
As Delta Airlines established a full-fledged hub at Cincinnati’s CVG airport, the facility eyed a runway extension. Ethan’s Glen wasn’t physically in the way, but life for residents was about to get even louder.
Dayton, Ohio’s Downtown Heliport (and Former Music Venue)
A unique piece of history and a relic of “urban renewal” in the heart of the Gem City.
Coming to Grips in a Ghost Town
There comes a point when your past begins to be seen solely as experience. The emotional weight isn’t entirely gone, but the punch it packs becomes weaker—the memories starting to carry new significance whether they were painful or proud.
Middletown, Ohio’s Towne Mall
I’ve written about several “dead malls” before, but I didn’t personally know Middletown’s.
Tyler and Jordan did, though.
The Salton Sea
The 104 degree temperature heightened the smell—salty water and rotting fish with a breeze of wildfire forming a haze over the horizon. Even as we fought off constant swarms of flies and left footprints in the sludge-ridden shore, this was somehow one of the most beautiful places I’d ever been.
Late in Life Skateboarding and The Legend of Rock-A-Hoola
A story about aging, an abandoned waterpark, and a broken hand.
The House I Grew Up In
There have been a lot of abandoned places over the years. For awhile, the subject of "urban exploration" was the main focus of my photographic and written work. Since I was 17, I’ve had the opportunity to document many captivating subjects in both the historic and visual sense. Sometimes I was with a guide or showing up with an invitation—other times it was more of an “adventure,” if you will. From “ghost ships” to subway tunnels to stadiums and amusement parks—the types of places have varied, but there are two distinct categories in which I’ve viewed these derelict locales: the ones I knew and the ones I didn’t.
Return to the "Ghost Ship"
Seven years ago, the notion of kayaking across the Ohio seemed crazy, especially for someone who had no knowledge or experience of paddling. I’d tell you I’m an expert now, but that’d be a lie…
From the Archives: The Pool at Pomerene Hall
Did you ever see that episode of “Are You Afraid of The Dark?”
![[35mm Ohio] Warner And Swasey Observatory](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f4d8a25db85a54c4d64fe76/1605578561041-0VB7QU8L347QZU3Q399K/image.jpeg)
[35mm Ohio] Warner And Swasey Observatory
I don’t quite remember how I first heard about this place or when I first added it to my map of potential locales to photograph for this project. Although the history and photography of abandoned places were the genesis behind this website, it had been awhile since I’d done any substantial urban exploration work…