A collection of photographs from the few (wish I had gone exploring more) times I went out and explored this summer, many of these locations were featured on my website www.queencitydisco.com.

 

First up is an abandoned rail depot near Interstate 75. Situated near the Crisco and flavoring plants, the smells around this building were nearly nauseating. It smelled like dog food the entire time. I would hate to be stuck in traffic on 75 with no A/C and having to keep my windows down in that area. I had seen this structure many, many times since I was a kid. Passing it on the way to Reds games with my dad and any other time we traveled down to the river front. I assume it at one time was there to operate a switch track as it was once a manned station. The lower part had room for bunks and a bathroom and the upper room also featured a bathroom and sink. Whatever it once was, it was nice exploring it after seeing it for years.

 

 

-Equipment found up top.

 

- "Ladies and Gentleman, we got him!" Found amongst other personal items, lots of evidence someone had once made this a home, maybe escaping the winter when there was nowhere else to go.

 

 

Afternoon traffic building up:

 

Later in the month I met up with Seicer and a few other friends to go hit up a few locations we had been looking at. One thing we had seen for awhile, we finally made a stop to; a large network of abandoned projects in the hills over looking the Queen City:

 

 

 

 

 

We hopped in Seicers kick ass Toyota to check out something I suggested. I originally saw it feature on www.cincinnati-transit.net, this abandoned on/off ramp to the Waldvogel Viaduct from State Ave.

 

 

 

 

 

I dared Seicer to prick himself with this, he was too much of a wimp  :-P

-Found on the ramp.

 

Later in that day we strolled across Our Lady of Perpetual Help:

 

You may have seen Seicer's wonderful historical write up on this building featured on his website www.abandonedonline.com, or in this recent UO thread: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,17276.new.html#new

 

We stopped in across the street to the United Way center and spoke to some of the workers there who clued us in about the church's history and eventually we went inside to have a look around. Having grown up going to Catholic school and Catholic church my entire life until I went to college, photographing this place meant a lot to me. It brought back many memories of when my entire family used to attend church together, and things I learned in all those theology classes I never thought I'd use came flashing back to me. I recognized certain symbols and how some things had been removed in a particular way in accordance with the Catholic Church's procedures for decommissioning a church.

 

-Front entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Our Church of Perpetual Help, closed in 1989, the same year I would be born and baptized into the Catholic faith as was a Bombay family tradition. Despite how my feelings about faith, religion, may be these days, I love and respect the architecure, decoration, and beauty found in places like Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

 

Oh yeah, and here is UO member Seicer with some cats he made friends with outside of the church:

Yep, Seicer and his cat friends.

 

Thanks for reading and viewing, if you'd like to see more Cincinnati urban and abandonment photography please visit my website: Queen City Disco(very)

 

 

 

 

Is Bin Laden the joker?

 

Nice pics!

Look at Seicer taking OU forumers photologgin' for UO!

Great stuff...btw, the abandoned projects you were in (overlooking Queen City Avenue) are/were called English Woods.  There are quite a few projects up in that area tucked away where nobody can see them.  I'm really surprised that you guys went into those.

Very nice.  You definitely know what your doing!

Great photography work, hopefully your photography of the Sedamsville Church isn't some of the last.  That icon needs to survive demolition.

You kids are too much.  Brave but nuts.

 

Have any of you had an unexpected situation arise, while trespassing?  Such as falling thru a roof?  Found people living in an abandoned building?  Cops showed up?  Able to enter but can't get out?

I've fallen through floors, had the cops try to search for me at Stearns and Foster (thats a funny story), found some totally-emo skateboarders at Glencoe photographing their stunts and eying us the entire time... (you missed that part Ronny!)

 

^ Did you HDR that? It's a fantastic shot. I'm thinking of going back and trying to get into the other church since its going to be demolished :(

 

I look like I'm choking the cat.

^No, no HDR, I just shot it in Raw, exposing for the chair, then used the recovery tool in Camera Raw then the Shadow/Highlight tool in PS to draw out the highlights and bring about the detail in the window.

 

Have any of you had an unexpected situation arise, while trespassing?  Such as falling thru a roof?  Found people living in an abandoned building?  Cops showed up?  Able to enter but can't get out?

 

Whenever we can, Seicer and I try to seek permission, it's not as "fun" but it allows you to relax and usually spend more time concentrating on photographs rather than looking over your shoulder, when permission fails or you stumble on something cool we go for it. The only time I ever encountered police, and they may have not been there because of us, was back in 06 a friend and I were exploring an abandoned amusement park. We got inside, realized there was a guard driving around, hid, saw his vehicle exit, we ran, hopped the fence, and as we made our way back to our car parked in a nearby neighborhood, we saw the security SUV parked next a police car in the former amusement park parking lot. Other times I've encountered homeless people, most of whom just talk and don't ask for hand outs.

My experiences with the police harassing me were in East St. Louis, IL and Charlotte, NC.  In East St. Louis, I was on the riverfront capturing the St. Louis skyline when a security guard jacked me up because I was on private property next to the Casino Queen.  In Charlotte, I was on top of a parking garage shooting photos of Bank of America's HQ when a security guard in a golf cart chased me off the garage.  After I returned to the bottom floor, I went across the street to another parking garage and was chased again.  I thought I was slick, but in the end I only got warned.