You know, it's funny. 20 years ago I started photographing abandoned buildings, as I believed they were a warning sign that America was sliding off the face of a cliff. Years later, that's pretty obvious to just about everyone that we're in freefall. Not really sure what the point of a warning is any more but I still have photos so what the hell, why not post them.
Decaying buildings are quite a bit more visually interesting than the politicians pushing us off the cliff.
@alienghic that is true
@AbandonedAmerica Maybe my take on abandoned spaces will resonate, maybe not. But it's one view.
Every one of these places was special to someone at some point. And then that was lost. Sometimes because it was really not viable, sometimes because tastes simply changed, sometimes what made is special was shameful, but none of that changes the fact that at *some* point, a place was special.
The question of whether things should be preserved is separate. Let's enjoy the specialness.
@W6KME that's what I've always felt - beautifully summarized, btw - and I still believe it. I guess I had just hoped that it might have, you know, averted more disaster than it did.
@AbandonedAmerica Why is it that some places disappear completely and others somehow linger on as ruins? If there's a "specialness index", I think it influences that. Failed places that weren't special just get built over. No one notices; no one cares. It's the weird stuff that lives on in decay. It's harder to erase. It's life force still has influence.
I don't know how to put that into words any more effectively, but you probably understand what I'm trying to say.
@W6KME I do! Although special places get erased every day and boring ones can linger for years unnoticed. I think the determining factor is money. If money can be made paving over a great place, it will happen instantaneously. If a less significant one is in an unprofitable spot it will sit there forever.
@AbandonedAmerica @W6KME
See Henry George's land value tax. There are lots of bad incentives that cause property owners to:
- let structures decay,
- tear structures down and never rebuild,
- tear down great old structures and replace with rent generating dreck.
https://youtu.be/2595abcvh2M
@RunRichRun @AbandonedAmerica @W6KME There’s also the problem that ”property owners” feel they can unilaterally control our culture, and that they have the threat of deadly violence to back that up.
If they decide to do something, no one is allowed to object, and if they decide to do nothing, everyone else is also prohibited from doing anything.
Sometimes people do things anyway, like squatting or guerrilla gardening, but that threat of deadly violence is always present.
@ahltorp @RunRichRun @W6KME I agree, and I wish there were more ways to strip ownership from people neglecting properties although then that would be abused too. People find a way to abuse any system, I think.
@W6KME @AbandonedAmerica That is what I feel about Todd Hido's House Hunting photographs. Its just pictures of peoples homes and some of the photos show the lights on in their house. It shows behind the walls its people who you don't know but you know they are happy living in that home. As well as the homes looking cozy like you would also like to live there.
Oct 15, 2026, 4:18 AM@AbandonedAmerica At some point it will go from documenting the warning signs, to documenting the downfall its self. If we’re not there already.
That said, someone has to do it. To be the eyes and ears for the future generations that come behind us and ask, “What the hell happened?” I’d be out there doing it too if I had the means. The will and the cameras I’m good for, but that’s not enough.
@xoagray we're there. And I don't know if I have the means either any more, but I do have the archive, so at least there's that.
Oct 15, 2026, 4:41 AM@AbandonedAmerica Here’s hoping things look better soon. Until then all we can do is the best we can with what we have.
Oct 15, 2026, 12:21 PM@AbandonedAmerica @xoagray To represent the downfall visually, it would better to show infrastructure that's still actively used without being adequately maintained (like every road and bridge), rather than abandoned structures.
There's a major road in my neighborhood that used to be paved in asphalt. The city recently recoated it in chipseal. I’m guessing that's all they could afford.
@AbandonedAmerica Abandoned places and their stories are interesting!
@Jason844 I agree, I just wish telling them did something
@AbandonedAmerica @Jason844 Oh, they do things! Nothing is wasted - even ruin.
They’re a record of old glory or horror or folly. They’re a reminder of decay. They’re a trigger for imagined stories and endless forking what-ifs, maybes, or “thank god that’s over” cautions and histories.
Or just opportunities for appreciation of uncanny beauty we overlooked until someone framed the shot just so.
@PrinceOfDenmark @Jason844 thank you. I'm glad you feel that way and that is what keeps me going when I lose my own faith, which is an unfortunately regular occurrence
@AbandonedAmerica @Jason844 Well, I won’t subject you to them, but in response to that now I have a medley of Billy Joel songs in my head.
Anyway, thanks for helping us appreciate things we might otherwise never have seen.
Oct 15, 2026, 4:30 AM@AbandonedAmerica Could I ask you to add alt text to your picture posts? Despite being a sighted user I still appreciate it, and my less-sighted friends rely on it. Really like your photography and would love to be able to share it with _everybody_
@AbandonedAmerica One of my favourite abandoned buildings was only a few hundred metres from the KL towers. The towers themselves could be seen in the background and it presented a really surreal image. I wish I'd gone in and got a closer look. Or even had a camera...
@AbandonedAmerica
I think it was @petergleick who posted about the upcoming sinking of the SS United States as the perfect metaphor for the moment, just the other day. You're talking about starting to notice the visible decay twenty years ago. I took this photo on a cold, damp morning a couple of years ago. It's all data points across time — it's not quantitative data. This is even easier to read. It's screaming at us.
But yeah, this is fine. 🔥 🔥 🔥
@RunRichRun @petergleick funny, I just updated my SS United States gallery today to include info about the sinking. The point I made years ago was similar. As a metaphor for our current state, it's pretty on the nose.
@RunRichRun @petergleick also, very nice photo of her. I will miss seeing her when I'm in Philly.
@AbandonedAmerica @petergleick
Same. It was a sin that they couldn't save her in Philly. I don't know the details, but a "rusty old boat" just did not seem to light any wealthy benefactor's — nor the general public's — fires.
Re. your SS United States album as well as the rest of your photos — it's all great! Thanks for continuing to post.
@RunRichRun @petergleick the website write up goes into it in greater detail but the Conservancy had massive docking fees and while they raised a ton of money, I don't think they really made the case for how they were beneficial to the public since they didn't really have any tours or other events where the public could connect. I have a lot of feelings about it but that's the abbreviated version. Along the lines of what you said. And, thank you ❤️
@AbandonedAmerica @petergleick
Yes, I read your writeup. I had some (pretty minimal) contact with the Conservancy.
I have lots of thoughts about the Phila — and Camden — waterfronts — in fact, almost all of the tidal Delaware R. Being associated with with either (but esp. Philly) is almost like an updated version of the Curse of the Bambino — things bog down in politics and never achieve the success they could. Highest, best public use never gets selected — but at least we have casinos. 🙃
@RunRichRun @petergleick too true. I love Philly but it is frustrating as hell for preservationists in part because despite the whole World Heritage City thing, there seems to be very little care given to saving significant landmarks
@AbandonedAmerica just found your profile, quality content 🔥💯
@OlofKnight thank you!
Well, you know what?
@AbandonedAmerica warning turns into just resigned documentation
@patrick_h_lauke yes, that is my life now
@AbandonedAmerica I love your photos. It's a real look at life after people.
@SueDiOh thank you very much ❤️
@AbandonedAmerica kinda feel like it might be humanity sliding off the cliff, not just America
@pkprotoplasm fair. I am with you on that one
@AbandonedAmerica
You create art
@GarretSidzaka thanks 😊
Oct 15, 2026, 2:46 PM@AbandonedAmerica Wandering through the ghosts of dead places does indeed prepare one for existence within the ghost of a dead nation. While most of us are less adventurous with respect to lost structures, I think it's pretty common to be able to witness the gulf in build quality between pre-1980 and post-1980 residential buildings. Newer construction seems precomputed to be demolished, without even the prospect of standing empty for decades. That's one reason I enjoy your work.
@log yep. We don't even have a pretense of longevity any more. I guess there were plenty of ramshackle builds throughout time but there was a period in our history where many larger buildings had a lot more artistry at least