Abandoned Toy
Gary Methodist Church
Gary, Indiana

5 Image HDR

On our way home from our trip to South Dakota we decided to break up the drive and stop by the abandoned Gary Methodist Chruch to met our good friends Letty and Shanya who live in nearby Chicago. As always the church is a plethora of photography opportunities and it's always changing as people bring in odd items to shoot and remove the old ones. One of my favorite items I found on this trip was this old toy that was sitting on the floor of the auditorium that was as decayed as the surroundings.

Tags:   Gary Methodist Church Abandonment Abandoned Toys Decay

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City Methodist Church
Gary Indiana

5 Image HDR

It's been a while since I posted on Flickr, things have been busy, really busy. In fact this is the only one of two edits I've done for a shot outside of clients in about 3 weeks. Between getting ready for a show I'm displaying in at Arnold's Bar And Grill in Downtown Cincinnati Saturday the 13th, having some lunatic hate spam my photography club's page and my Capture Cincinnati page, editning shots for clients (rare wedding and engagement sessions) and life in general, I've had no time for much anything. When I get a chance I try to look at everyone's pictures throughout the weeks and I must say I'm loving them! Hopefully things will calm down soon and I can play on here again.

This here is just one of the many incredible scenes that you can find in the beautiful decaying church. If you're ever passing by Gary, this is a must stop on anyone's list. Have a great day everyone and thank you for stopping by!

Tags:   Gary Mehodist Church Gary Indiana Abandonment Decay

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City Methodist Church
Gary Indiana

5 Image HDR

On a trip to Chicago we decided to head out early from the big city as we had become aggravated over the amount of people who were in town, it was way more than usual, and took a trip up to Wisconsin that morning for breakfast. After driving into the state and driving right back out (Wisconsin is one of the last 11 states in the lower 48 that I've not been to) we decided to stop by the Gary Methodist Church on the way home. There were several folks already there when we arrived who were taking photos and urban exploring. While on my way to the balcony of the auditorium I noticed some folks who were urban exploring come from a different way to the auditorium. After they continued on I decided to go the way they came and I discovered a whole section of the church I didn't know about, the classrooms. Some classrooms had an item or two in them, and others had nothing. I almost didn't even bother with this refrigerator but since I had the time I thought I would give it a go. This was my last shot I took at the church, and one of my favorites, and had it not been for those folks coming through, I'd of never fount it.

Constructed at the cost of over 1 million dollars in 1926, the City Methodist Church is a massive nine story structure that sits in downtown Gary in a complete state of ruin and destabilization. Architecturally designed in a traditional English Gothic style, the church remained a place of worship until1975. Due to a major population shift in northeast Indiana in the late 60’s and early 70’s the churches congregation shrank and it was sold to Indiana University as a campus extension, but was never used. Over the following years the church was used for many purposes but eventually was abandoned. 1997 it was severely damaged in a massive fire which also included several nearby buildings. The fire was believed to be act of arson. It has been suggested that the building become a "ruins garden" like those found in Europe.

Tags:   Gary Methodist Church Gary Indiana City Methodist Church Abandonment Decay Urbex

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Hanging Rock Falls
Indiana 7
Madison, Indiana

For Mother's Day I decided to take Mom to Madison, Indiana as she's been bugging me to take her to one of the many city's outside the Cincinnati area who's business depends on antiquing. My mom who's 79, recently had a stress test and angeogram so I knew she was going to get worn out quickly which is one of the main reasons I chose Madison, as it's been boasted that there's over 50 waterfalls around the city and I knew Mom was going to need a rest. As luck would have it, rain would set in and continue throughout the day. After a couple hours Mom was ready for a rest, so back to the car we went and I drove up the hill to Hanging Rock Falls. I've drove past this falls several times but it was when there was no water flowing whatsoever. On the way up I discovered there were 3 more roadside falls all of which would need some more flow to be worth any attention. Hanging Rock is about 40 ft. tall, there is no splash pool as it has been concreted over and the water just hits concrete and then flows into a drain. I got several perspectives of the falls, and many of the shots I purposely included cars headlight trails and I may post one or two of those in the future (difficult sky in those shots). Afterward we drove over to nearby Hanover College and I did a little looking around for 3 waterfalls that are supposed to be roadside near on the campus. I did find them but they all were below the road and I saw some trails leading off along the cliff line, but I wasn't going to leave Mom in the car for any length of time to discover where they led, so looks like I'll have to save those for later. Then we went back to the city and Mom was ready to continue on checking out the shops. On our way out we stopped by a restaurant called The Key West Shrimp House for dinner and I'll tell you what, they have the best shrimp north of St. Augustine, Florida.

Tags:   Hanging Rock Falls Madison Waterfall Indiana Waterfall Roadside Waterfall Madison Indiana Waterfall

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Michael Jaskson's Boyhood Home
2300 Jackson St.
Gary, Indiana

5 Image HDR

Since we were in the neighborhood shooting abandonment in nearby downtown Gary, we thought we'd drive over to Michael Jackson's boyhood home which was only a 6 or 7 blocks away. Upon arrival you immediately know which house it is as it is the only house around completely surrounded with a thick black fence. As you can see here the home is in wonderful shape and the lawn and landscape is well cared for. Outside the fence are makeshift memorials, one on the corner of 23rd and Jackson St. and the others are on the side facing 23rd Street near the home. Just inside the fence stands a large granite plaque that memorialized his life and history.

On August 29th, 1958, the King Of Pop was born into this small 3 room house to Katherine Esther Scruse and Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson and would eventually include 5 brothers and 3 sisters. From what I can see, he lived here until 1969 after he and his brothers group, The Jackson 5 had achieved great commercial success. The home is apparently currently owned by Latoya Jackson and another private party, but I couldn't find anything concrete to reinforce this information.

Tags:   Michael Jackson's Boyhood Home

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