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The night before, a family friend informed us of a school being torn down. Having taught at the school previously, he visited the demolition site a few days prior to take some bricks as mementos. He walked away with a few words exchanged between him and some of the workers, so we figured we'd have a pretty good chance of getting in as well.

We walked around the perimeter, noting the demolition workers on rooftops and the lack of movement from bulldozers, as well as something we had never seen whilst exploring: an auditorium.

A large metal fence surrounded the property to deter people from entering, but a single gate in the front had not been closed- creating a perfect opportunity for us to explore.

Trying to stay as far away from the crane as possible, we journeyed to the back of the school. While I'm usually the more adventurous one, this time my stomach jumped from thoughts of the dangers we might encounter: floors collapsing under our feet; having to run from bulldozers eating away at the building; getting trapped under rubble. But The Unknown Cameraman pressed on, so I figured if he was up for it, then I should be, too.

We climbed the debris up into what remained of a girls' bathroom and through a hallway stripped of its wire. With landscapers and a demolition crew scattered around the property, staying invisible wasn't a possibility, so we hurried to find the auditorium before the inevitable happened.

Despite the demolition that had already taken place, along with a fire that had occurred in this room just a few months prior, the site before our eyes was incredibly beautiful. A small flag shoved in a door behind us waved in the wind, eerily casting life on a desolate room once filled with the voices of children.

Another hallway appeared just as battered as the first. Many rooms were missing walls, making our presence obvious to those below.
Every once in awhile, we could hear men shouting. Looking back, their anger was more than likely directed at us but we didn't stop long enough to confirm it.
Further exploration lead us to a brightly colored library decorated with letters, fictional characters, and signs that gave this area quite an ironic tone. At one point, a few construction workers walked down the hallway while we ducked behind a wall. We stood silent and somewhat hidden. Surprisingly, they left without seeing us.

After descending the stairs next to the library, we discovered a safe entrance to the bottom of the auditorium. The stage was covered in broken pieces of cement, brick, and wood, but beside the chaos lay tickets from past performances. From here, I could envision what the young actors once witnessed from their platform, but now stood in a state of disrepair.
  

A few toys that were probably from the school's store stood out against the monotone hallway we traveled through. Obviously, we had not been the first to find them.

As I took a few final pictures of this part of the building, I noticed one of the landscapers holler, "There they are!" and point directly at us. 

"He saw us," I said to The Unknown Cameraman who had been facing the other direction.
"Do you think we should leave?" he asked calmly.
"Yeah, probably a good idea."
Right as we began walking out, a new, commanding voice yelled up to us, "What do you think you're doing?! Get out of there!"  My partner and I turned around to reveal ourselves to a police officer standing outside. So much having a clean record.
"Go that way!" he yelled, pointing to his right. We popped the memory cards out of our cameras, stuffed them in our pockets, and tried to find an exit in the direction he had pointed. The Unknown Cameraman found a door at the bottom of a flight of stairs and pushed it hard, forcing it to open while rubble rained down on our heads. Ironically, this was much more dangerous than the way we had entered.


"What were you doing in there?!" the officer demanded as we stepped over small piles of brick. "Get over that fence!" He gestured to another officer standing on the opposite side. The Unknown Cameraman handed him his camera and bag in good faith; I held on tightly to mine.
Luckily, the other cop was much more friendly. "We thought you were scrappers," he said. After explaining to him that our interest was in taking pictures and video for historical preservation, he seemed intrigued.  As we walked over to the car to get our IDs, the officer looked at the gate surrounding the school, "Well, there aren't any 'No Trespassing' signs, so if we did fine you, you would probably win in court." 

While writing down our information, both of the officers named several other vacant buildings and asked if we had been to any of them. Believe it or not, they even told us what streets some of them were on. "But get permission first," one noted.
We drove home laughing at the strangeness of the situation we had put ourselves in. Lucky for us, our adventure left us unharmed with no fines to pay and our records unscathed. Next time, though, I'm trusting my gut.

The Unknown Cameraman

Undercover Fox

For close to six years, I had my eyes set on this specific factory. I watched as nature slowly consumed it, as well as fire, and cursed the bulldozers every time I drove past. Despite the temptation, I'm a firm believer of never exploring alone, (there are too many chances of getting hurt or running into scrappers, drug addicts, and the like,) so when I found company in The Unknown Cameraman, I knew this would finally be my chance.

The first time we tried to get into the building didn't turn out so well. The Unknown Cameraman's efforts proved successful, but several fisherman next to the factory insisted on watching me closely.





A few weeks later, we returned with a friend who had never been exploring before. Having made up our minds that we would get in no matter what, we walked right passed everyone at the dock and entered the factory.

The room we found ourselves in was massive. Destroyed by fire and the elements,  it appeared to be only a shell; however, upon further examination, we found quite a few interesting items giving us insight as to the work that went on there.

Continuing on to the next level, we entered a room that had obviously taken quite a beating from the fire. Wooden planks used for the flooring of an upper level seemed to have bubbled from the inferno and the stairs had lost everything but their framing. 





The next part of the building we discovered had not been touched by the blaze, making it appear much newer than what we had seen so far.

Windows and doors were sealed with boards except for one room, which had an odd tilt to it.

We exited out into the courtyard and entered through another door. To the right, large, open windows illuminated a hallway of peeling paint, creating a perfect photo op.

To the left was a large room held up by massive columns painted various colors. I warned my fellow explorers to watch their step, pointing to random holes in the floor, then we parted ways to explore this level by ourselves.

Surrounding walls were dotted with several doors-perhaps my favorite thing to see while exploring. The freight elevator and men's room door especially showed the age of this building.

  
The next level revealed the same large columns as the first and contained old pipes and wiring not yet taken by scrappers.



We climbed the next flight of stairs, ducking down to avoid being seen through the windows. Paint chips from the columns littered the floor resembling millions of snowflakes and cracked beneath our feet. 

Busted windows gave us a view across the courtyard, showing just how much the buildings we had first entered were damaged.

Another large roll up door held the promise of leading us into a catwalk, gaining access into the newer portion of the factory. Unfortunately, a padlock prevented us from entering. Hopefully this will change in the future.






Sticking our heads through an opening, we found what could have been a fire escape ladder. However, after The Unknown Cameraman shook it, we decided it wasn't sturdy enough to climb.

 

The final floor had another dilapidated hallway, similar to the one we had seen on the first floor.





Getting tired of seeing a primarily empty building, I tested out a panoramic and followed my comrades down the stairs.

We exited the main building into an open area where other parts of the factory once stood. Again trying to stay out of the fishermen's view, we bent down and hurried to the next building.

Before my eyes were bright blue tanks, pipes, and brick walls stained with rust; I let out a sigh of relief, thankful to finally see a room that showed more signs of human life.

Other areas of this structure seemed to have been remodeled at one point. In the basement, stairs had been cut off and a random portion of a dividing wall remained with a window frame in it. On the upper floor, there was the framing of what resembled a bar.



Exhausted after the hours we had spent here, our friend and I stood outside and watched as The Unknown Cameraman crossed the property to another rectangular building. Unfortunately, this was another letdown: no opening could be found. After a few quick pictures, we retraced our steps back to our original point of entry and, with cameras in hand, climbed out with another successful explore under our belts. 

Undercover Fox in the main building

The UC in the demolition

Our friend in the 2nd hallway

The full video by The Unknown Cameraman