I See Dead Buildings

I went to Gary Indiana this past Sunday with some folks from the Grand Rapids Flickr community. While Flickr is an online forum, the people frequently meet in person and someone proposed a trip to Gary for urban exploring.

He wanted to go to the old Methodist Church, Post Office and Train Station. I had already been to two of those, but I had been wanting to go back, so this was the perfect opportunity. Turns out there were thirteen people, eleven photographers and two models going with some more joining later in the day. We also knew of a group from a Chicago Urbex online forum going.

We got together in Holland to car pool. After a short stop for lunch near the Michigan border, we were driving through Gary. This city always depresses me. Block after block of boarded up houses, with a well maintained house with a well manicured yard stuck like a flower in a sewer pit in the middle of the block.

As we pulled up to out first stop, the Methodist Church, we saw a group of photographers walking out. Walking into the church, we saw a photographer with a women in a wedding dress, who I assume was a model, taking photos in the sanctuary. I figured then the church would be a busy place.

We spent pretty much all day at the church, with the five of us that drove together making a quick side trip to an old factory about a mile down the road. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, but I know I want to go back as well as get to the other two places we didn't get to.

If I can get by thinking about the city itself.

We did have some people not want to go because they were afraid of getting hassled. The only question we got was from a resident near the factory. He just wanted to know why everyone was going by his house with cameras. We were the second or third group that day that had gone into the old factory.

The photo above was taken at the church, against the east wall of the sanctuary. Taken with natural light streaming in from a window above. Jessica was great to work with also.