Over a year ago I was afforded another opportunity to enter The Belly of the Beast (aka the former Bethlehem Steel Plant). I am breaking this into 3 parts. The first one consists of images of the inside journey.
Posts Tagged ‘Urban Decay
26
Mar
15
Belly of the Beast (post 1 of 3)
20
Jan
15
Eastern State Penitentiary 2015
I haven’t been to ESP in several years. So when a couple friends (Christian Baki & Joe DeFloio) asked me to join them on Saturday, I hesitated. Thinking to myself “been there – done that”. Thankfully I changed my way of thinking and had a Great time. It was fun seeing ESP with a renewed vision. If you haven’t been there in a while – Do It! You won’t regret it…
This is a follow up to yesterday’s blog post. The following images are only from the Administrative building (which is more difficult to access).
In keeping with the Halloween theme for this time of the year, I thought now would be a good time to post this. During the summer, I had the opportunity to visit Pennhurst State School & Hospital, originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania State Institution for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic positioned on the border between Chester County and Montgomery County in Pennsylvania. In 1903, the Pennsylvania Legislature authorized the creation of the institution and a commission was organized to take into consideration the number and status of the feeble-minded and epileptic persons in the state and determine a placement for construction to care for these residents. From 1903 to 1908 the first buildings were constructed. On November 23, 1908, “Patient number 1” was admitted to the hospital. Within four years of operation, Pennhurst was already overcrowded. I can only imagine what it must have been like to arrive at this place. I was able to gain access through the efforts of Denise Ippolito, a very talented photographer. Here is a link to her website.
This blog will consist of two posts. The first one is of the general campus and the next one will be the Administrative building.
19
Feb
13
Main St. Bridge
I went to Northampton, PA with the intent of photographing some ice flows in the Lehigh River. However, there was little to no ice flow to be seen. But I was treated to some nice reflections and a sunset. The shots were taken on the east side of the river looking northwest from Canal Street.
27
Aug
12
The Sleeping Giant
My friend and fellow photographer, Dave Rehrig obtained an image, while visiting Penn State which, we believe, was taken by Walker Evans. The scene was taken in South Bethlehem, PA. However, it wasn’t signed or noted anywhere. We both went online and couldn’t verify the photographer. In any event, we attempted to duplicate the scene and the first of the following images is my attempt at a modern day view of this place. While we were snooping around, I found a few other perspectives I enjoyed.
23
May
12
Lonanconing Silk Mill
A week and a half ago I traveled to the Lonaconing Silk Mill in Lonaconing, Maryland (this is about as far west as you can go in Maryland). I traveled with a photography group led by a very talented photographer, Denise Ippolito. I had seen some images in the past and my hopes were that the mill would still have some equipment in place. Well, I can tell you my expectations were more than met. The 4+ hour drive was more than worth it. Nature’s elements are starting to penetrate the building. The gentleman who owns the facility, Herb, is trying to figure out a way to save the structure. The last time it was in operation was 1957.
For almost a full year, I was afforded the opportunity to catalog the interior and exterior of the Allentown State Hospital. I did this with fellow photographer Dave Rehrig. We just completed a joint exhibit that ran from November 2011 to February 2012 at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, PA. Several people from outside of the area that were not able to come to the exhibit, have asked me to post some of my images. The following are some of my images that were in the exhibit. For those of you who are not familiar, the Allentown State Hospital was a psychiatric facility located at 1600 Hanover Ave. in Allentown PA. It served the counties of Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe and Pike. It was one of seven remaining psychiatric hospitals in Pennsylvania. The Allentown State Hospital was planned as early as 1901 but the opening was delayed until October 3, 1912. The hospital cost $1,931,270 to build. The population hit its peak in 1950 with 2,012 patients. Now 100 years later, the facility is closed. If you would like to see additional images click HERE.
30
Dec
11
Lehigh Valley Dairy
Earlier this week we were looking for some structures near the proposed hockey arena in downtown Allentown to photograph. Our thinking was we should try to capture some images before the demolition starts. Well it looks like we might have been about a week or two to late. Many of the areas have already been fenced off. So we decided to leave and started heading up (north) on 7th Street. As we were heading towards Route 22 we noticed some construction equipment at the former Lehigh Valley Dairy. I didn’t want to also be to late for this location. So the decision was made to stop and capture some images. This building was the old processing headquarters for the dairy. This place brings back memories when my dad would take my brother and me for ice cream (if we promised we would not fight with each other in the car on the way over). The facade is made up of some beautiful art deco tiles.
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