The remains of a South Jersey Farm Abandoned Farm House by Richard Lewis 2016 I noticed this old abandoned farm house by accident while driving. I just happened to glance at the side of the road and saw it at the end of a long and very overgrown driveway. The house is a typical early to mid 19th century South Jersey [...]
The Old Mills and Landscape of Southern Missouri When I signed up for Craig McCord's photography workshop in the Ozark Mountains, he probably thought I made a mistake. Why would a guy from New Jersey go to southern Missouri to take pictures? Shouldn't I be going to the Grand Canyon, the Grand Tetons or some other place with grand in its name for great photography? Well, I [...]
A Remnant of Personal History 2018 Update: When I posted these photographs in 2016 I had no idea what would happen. These photographs have inspired former campers at Cejwin to share their experiences in the comments. This post has gone from being about photography to being a community. If you are here to see my work, also read the comments so you [...]
I'm not sure why I went back to the old Pennhurst Hospital which is often referred to as the "Shame of Pennsylvania." The hospital for "feeble-minded children" (from its original name) was built in 1908 and had a long history of being overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed which lead to abuse and neglect of the young residents until it was closed in the 1980's. [...]
If this post doesn't make you cry I'm not doing my job Yellow Dog Village is an odd name for a town, but it is sort of an odd town. In the early 20th century when miners and mine owners battled each other over wages and working conditions, this town was a place of harmony between workers and management. Yellow Dog Village [...]
Batsto Village is a preserved historic iron works in the middle of the New Jersey Pinelands. In the 18th and early 19th centuries it was a major industry and even played an important roll in the American Revolution. I wanted to photograph a moonrise at Batsto Village, but right after arriving it became obvious that it wasn't going to work out. There were just too [...]
Abandoned homes are always the saddest of all because they were places where people and families lived. Every square inch of this place has a memory created by occupants of a home that is over 100 years old.
Visually Preserving an Un-preservable Local Treasure I had posted photographs from this mansion earlier and was going to make it a series with several parts, Instead, I'm creating a new post with more information and photography. The McNeal mansion was built around 1894 in Burlington, New Jersey as the dream house of a local industrialist named Andrew McNeal. It sits along the Delaware [...]
Three out of four isn't bad, right? We all have our favorite places and this is one of mine. I pass this old barn almost every day and its elegant, simple utilitarian architecture calls to me. Recently, I photographed the barn in the early Spring and realized that I now have images of it in three of the four seasons. Summer is absent because the barn [...]
Neighborhood Nukes in South Jersey In the rural Southern New Jersey community of Woolwich Township are the remains of another cold war relic, Nike Missile Battery PH-58. Unlike the Lumberton site, PH-23/25 from my previous post, when this site was decommissioned in 1974, it remained abandoned and was never repurposed. Now it stands as a dilapidated, overgrown memory of a time when [...]
A Sad History That Goes From Glory To Gory. I have revised this blog post to provide more detail and photography, please click here to see it. All of the photographs that were in this post are now on the new one. Doorway to Devastation by Richard Lewis 2016
Nike missiles go viral (sort of) My blog post about the former Nike missile site in Lumberton New Jersey received an overwhelming response. Not only did this post receive as much traffic in a few days as my blog gets in an entire year, the people who are contacting me about it are different than my usual blog followers. In addition to the [...]
Through the overgrown property I saw the remains of a stylish 1960’s building with a repeating decorative concrete arched roofline. It’s a bit strange to see a relatively new building in such terrible shape.
Honoring and Preserving a Cold War Legacy When passing through the idyllic and peaceful countryside around Lumberton, New Jersey, one would never expect to come across a fearsome relic of the Cold War. Yet, until recently, just outside of town, were the remains of a Nike missile battery built in 1956 and designated with the catchy name PH-23/25. In the 1950's and 60's the army built [...]
Creepiness in a Not-So-Old and Abandoned Home Old and abandoned buildings are usually a ruin that results from age and abuse. Damage from water, mold, deterioration, and vandalism is commonplace and expected when entering one. I recently photographed an old bungalow that was a bit different. Parts of the home were in pretty good shape. A little time with a broom and mop would make the place [...]
More photographs from Pennhurst, the "Shame of Pennsylvania" Pennhurst Deteriorated Exterior by Richard Lewis 2015 Pennhurst Asylum by Richard Lewis 2015 Pennhurst Wheelchair by Richard Lewis 2015 Pennhurst Day Room Couch by Richard Lewis 2015 Rags and Deterioration by Richard Lewis 2015 Pennhurst Medication Dispensary by Richard Lewis 2015 [...]