Location #151: [REDACTED]

Posted by pireze on Dec 19, 2011 in Blog, Featured, Happenings | 0 comments

The house stands, shielded from the road by a thick growth of bushes and trees, protected by a fence. I hike down, around the fence, and there the old mansion stands, its colonnaded  facade streaked with age and neglect, in stark contrast to the near-new white house adjacent. Graffiti adorns the incongruous tin roof addition. And I start the arduous trek up, through thick brush, uneven ground, and plants whose smell made me nauseous. My tripod acted as my hiking stick, stabilising my climb and allowing me a degree of balance.

Reaching the house at last, I go around the side, and enter the first of four floors. This area is more akin to a basement and is totally barren, save for the supporting columns, brickwork, and a dirt floor.

Greater treasures await me above, so I wrap up my documentation and move on. Once again using my tripod, I hauled myself up another uneven slope, and peer in through a kitchen window. I see the prize at once, but the front door predictably does not open from the outside. It seemed unconceivable that I would have to climb in through a window, so I go around. Past a disintegrating wheelbarrow, a big glass bottle of undetermined fluid, and various beer bottles, until I emerge out on the balcony of the house. I make my way in through a shattered glass door, across a terrain of rotten floorboards, to the vantage point I have been seeking for the past two months.

More than anything, this shattered and collapsed grand piano is a memento mori, and a reminder of the past grandeur of this mansion. In this sunlit room, the inhabitants would have once ran their fingers over black and white ivory, the strings within the polished wooden chassis vibrating with practised notes.

Now, left to the elements and miscreants, the instrument has collapsed under its own weight, its once sleek profile tarnished by peeling wood and debris. No more shall it play the tunes of yesteryear.

Near the piano and above the ornamental fireplace is the mirror, surprisingly still intact. However, it is perhaps more a testimony of the relative low exposure that this place has had, or the courtesy of the visitors who have over the years, graced the walls with a reminder of their presence.

Strange shadows and light play on the walls of the bathroom, fittings hanging lose.

Above what was once a dining room hangs a chandelier, disjointed now with age and abuse, its crystals murky and stained red.

Water drips in through the alcove area near the kitchen, the floorboards under the leak rotting to nothingness. Strange garments hang by the side door.

I head back outside, as the floors above seem inaccessible – the stairs have collapsed.

Ornate columns coexist with signs of half-finished renovation works. A metal roof covers the atrium area, its sleek lines clashing with the brickwork. Here too, is another chance to access the upper levels: a wooden ladder extending up to the third storey balcony, itself of questionable stability.

As I was about to leave, I see a flight of stairs and a door leading up to the third floor. Here, the floorboards are even more unstable, and I took care to tread only in places with the reinforced bar.

And yet another, wooden flight of stairs leads to the topmost floor, under the roof.

Final Report

For an abandoned place, the house was in surprisingly good condition. While most furniture has long since been removed, and graffiti is strewn across a number of walls, it doesn’t look like anyone has really come in with the intention of ripping the place apart. Of course, mother nature has done her part in disintegrating the place, and the floors are downright hazardous for those who are heavy treaders.

Lighting is, as you can see from my photos, good. Of course, I was using a tripod for many of my shots. One would probably pump up the ISO a bit when shooting.

The temptation to go HDR is always present when documenting abandoned places, and this is especially strong in this house due to the high dynamic range present from the windows and the darker interiors. However, apart from some of the shots which I thought would be particularly striking from the texture boost introduced by HDR, I was happy to let the windows overexpose and give some of those pictures an airy view.

Location #151 is classified as “non-disclosure”. It is adjacent to two inhabited houses and considered highly sensitive and hazardous. Accessibility rated “difficult”.

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