Today i felt like we had to redeem ourselves since the past two weeks have been, well, weak, in terms of finding abandoned locations. I found a place on Google maps that looked abandoned. It was quite a far drive and all the way up to basically in New York. As we drive through the Allegheny Forest, we came upon the road to our final destination. It was right up our alley, dirty, muddy, wet and frozen. Using the four wheel drive in the Blue Sasquatch, we bumped all the way down the road to McKinley, PA> Once a small town developed in the 1890's and was bustling until the mid century, the town was dotted with homes and small businesses. All that remains is the industrial structures. They were part of a gas plant. And, they are wonderful. The three buildings were in various stages of decay. We trudged through mud and weeds and explored going in and out of rooms and buildings.
The first building was the main building. The center roof was lined with a pulley system and the back rooms displayed signs of valves and lines and offices. A hole in the back of the building exposed an entire basement, which we did not explore. My favorite parts are the lights, some still containing bulbs and the electrical units on the walls. I love the colors of the wires and knobs and fuses. Little girl found these amazing circular metal things (very professional name) on the back window. They were obviously part of the lines since the outside displayed the turn valves and there was faint painted documentation painted that read Gas Lines.
The next building was some type of loading dock. Weed covered steps led you up to a now bowed concrete slab. We all took turns being a rock star on the top of the landing. There was also a great view of the babbling brook that ran behind the complex. There was also a great view of some foundations near the largest building and another small station house in the back corner of the property.
We walked a small hike to the last structure on this property. This small space was littered with rusted cans and buckets and was riddled with holes in the roof, ceiling and walls. windows were broken out and it was in the worst structural state out of the three.
After touring all the buildings, we hiked back out of the complex and got in the car to drive on to more. The homes were no longer visible, although I have heard that in spring you can see where they were by where the daffodils and tulips spring up from the ground. we bumped out of McKinley, looked at the time and realized we better start heading home.
However, the ride home, using a different route than the one we traveled to McKinley, was littered with amazing sites. We found an abandoned garage with the coolest furnace in the back room. Several rooms were not tour-able as the roof had caved in far too much. Wood hung from the roof, littered the ground. Cans, tools, goggles, disc brakes, and various other car parts littered the area and really made the place quite unique. The built in shelves were incredible. I would have loved them in my own home. Trees grew from the ground, vines snaked in from windows and the roof, and the place had a stale chill within the holey walls.
At that point, we really thought, we better get going. But not 300 feet down the road I found two abandoned train cars. One was open, so little girl had to climb inside. I, on the other hand, had to climb up o top of one. I got almost to the top, but the rusty hand rails were literally cutting my hands. It was cold, the rails were cold, so I got to the top, saw the top and turned around, only to get poked in the eye, arm, butt and face with branches. What is a few scratches when you are having so much fun?
Tired and a little hungry, we just rolled ourselves int the car and cranked up the radio and headed home. The sky was ablaze with color the whole way home, and even as we entered the Allegheny County region, the sky was alive with color. This week was way better than I had imagined it to be and was a great way to begin the month. The streak of unsuccessful adventures is over and this trip was a great way to break it. It is amazing what you can find when you look. More adventure awaits us! Hope you will come along for the ride.
The first building was the main building. The center roof was lined with a pulley system and the back rooms displayed signs of valves and lines and offices. A hole in the back of the building exposed an entire basement, which we did not explore. My favorite parts are the lights, some still containing bulbs and the electrical units on the walls. I love the colors of the wires and knobs and fuses. Little girl found these amazing circular metal things (very professional name) on the back window. They were obviously part of the lines since the outside displayed the turn valves and there was faint painted documentation painted that read Gas Lines.
The next building was some type of loading dock. Weed covered steps led you up to a now bowed concrete slab. We all took turns being a rock star on the top of the landing. There was also a great view of the babbling brook that ran behind the complex. There was also a great view of some foundations near the largest building and another small station house in the back corner of the property.
We walked a small hike to the last structure on this property. This small space was littered with rusted cans and buckets and was riddled with holes in the roof, ceiling and walls. windows were broken out and it was in the worst structural state out of the three.
After touring all the buildings, we hiked back out of the complex and got in the car to drive on to more. The homes were no longer visible, although I have heard that in spring you can see where they were by where the daffodils and tulips spring up from the ground. we bumped out of McKinley, looked at the time and realized we better start heading home.
However, the ride home, using a different route than the one we traveled to McKinley, was littered with amazing sites. We found an abandoned garage with the coolest furnace in the back room. Several rooms were not tour-able as the roof had caved in far too much. Wood hung from the roof, littered the ground. Cans, tools, goggles, disc brakes, and various other car parts littered the area and really made the place quite unique. The built in shelves were incredible. I would have loved them in my own home. Trees grew from the ground, vines snaked in from windows and the roof, and the place had a stale chill within the holey walls.
At that point, we really thought, we better get going. But not 300 feet down the road I found two abandoned train cars. One was open, so little girl had to climb inside. I, on the other hand, had to climb up o top of one. I got almost to the top, but the rusty hand rails were literally cutting my hands. It was cold, the rails were cold, so I got to the top, saw the top and turned around, only to get poked in the eye, arm, butt and face with branches. What is a few scratches when you are having so much fun?
Tired and a little hungry, we just rolled ourselves int the car and cranked up the radio and headed home. The sky was ablaze with color the whole way home, and even as we entered the Allegheny County region, the sky was alive with color. This week was way better than I had imagined it to be and was a great way to begin the month. The streak of unsuccessful adventures is over and this trip was a great way to break it. It is amazing what you can find when you look. More adventure awaits us! Hope you will come along for the ride.