The Dayton Executive Hotel
I don't know if you could call these lobby stairs grand, but just like the "Grand Staircase" on Titanic, this one is also covered in water. It's hardly a welcoming site for guests at the lobby check-in, but any guests the Dayton Executive Hotel sees these days aren't of the "normal" variety.
How an Abandoned Zoo Made it to the Silver Screen
On October 7, "Real Steel" will hit theaters. Set in the "near future," the film stars that guy who played "Wolverine" in X-Men as a former boxer who now plays major league Rock'em Sock'em Robots in Detroit. That's what I gathered from the trailer and Wikipedia anyways.
The Mighty Motor City - Part 3: The National Theatre
In the 1960's, being able to communicate with others via a hand held device was the fantasy of Star Trek episodes.
The Mighty Motor City - Part 1: Ferris Elementary
"Hide your 'whiteness,'" was a piece of advice uttered to me just before we crept through an open field that was once filled with kids enjoying their recess from school. "What? Really?" I replied to our guide.
Fortune Cookie Prophecy Part 2: The Surf Cincinnati Abandoned Miniature Golf Classic
The prophecy of a "delightful journey" laid out by the fortune cookie in Part 1 had so far come true when Gozer and I explored the remains of forgotten Lancaster Street earlier in the day.
Fortune Cookie Prophecy Part 1: Lancaster St.
I didn't have much around my apartment for breakfast. Some Grippo's BBQ chips, frozen corn dogs, lemonade and two fortune cookies was about all there was. A small cookie made of flour, sugar, vanilla and oil with a message inside it seemed like a good thing to eat. I don't usually put any faith in the "fortunes" found within these takeout accompanying deserts, but since Gozer and I were about to go exploring, this one seemed like a good sign.
Stearns and Foster
A massive abandoned mattress factory in the Cincinnati suburb of Lockland as seen in the summer of 2008.
Surf Cincinnati.
Once an iconic Cincinnati amusement park, the wave pool's been shut off and the lazy river is dried up.
Fun Spot (Former) Amusement Park and Zoo
An abandoned amusement park in northern Indiana brings back childhood memories.
Ruins, Revitalization and Rust on the Riverfront.
A collection of photographs from an afternoon on the Cincinnati Riverfront with references to 1988 and 1993.
An Afternoon in the Rust Belt
Unlike upriver sister city, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati wasn't a center of America's steel production and doesn't really fit into the geographical region known as the "Rust Belt." However, the Queen City certainly has its share of shuttered and forgotten factories, former centers of industry and manufacturing. One of the most historical, and often documented, of these locations is the former Crosley Radio Factory.
How Things Came to Be - Part 1: Valentines Day 2006, Surf Cincinnati
Part 1 in QC/D's urban exploration origin story.
The Schmidt Brothers/Crown Brewery
Not many people realize the proud beer brewing tradition that once dominated Cincinnati. Over The Rhine not only received its name from its large German population, but those same immigrants brought along their taste for good beer.
Holy Day of Obligation and Exploration
Venkman and I had just finished up an interview in the abandoned Hopple St. Subway tunnels for a Cincinnati Enquirer article. The sky was bright blue and the sun was shining on a cold, yet beautiful afternoon. "I kind of feel obligated to shoot photos today." I said to Venkman. The weather was too nice and with the holiday break from our respective schools, we had plenty of time on our hands. We agreed to set out in hopes of finding something new. Ironically, on the eve of a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation, we came across an abandoned church.
The "Research Division."
It was the holiday break of 2008 when Venkman and I struggled through a maze of dead plant life and stoic tree branches covering the asphalt path that had once been a driveway. Walking right past the empty, crumbling guard shack and into the complex's courtyard, the rare Midwest winter sunlight glimmered off the eerie, metallic lettering on the front of the building which read: Research Division.
"Always Coca Cola"
Standing at the base of a pile of ruble that had once been 1/4 of the Ault & Wiborg Building, one couldn't help but remember the slogan that had been used from 1993-2000 by the soft drink giant who used this building as a billboard for so many years.
The Forgotten Rail Station at Torrence Rd.
The sun was slowly setting on a summer evening as we drove the #1 Corolla Rager eastbound on Riverside Dr. Jeffrey and I already had a close encounter with a snake earlier that day whilst exploring in Lockland and we weren't having much luck finding anything else that evening.
From the Roof of an Abandoned Brewery, Summer Ends in a Blaze of Disappointing Explosions Above a Midwestern Skyline
The smoke began to clear over the river and was blowing north towards downtown engulfing the skyscrapers and skyline in a haze. "That was it?" I muttered to Venkman and Seicer. We had been waiting all summer since we had discovered our super secret fireworks viewing spot and all we had to say was: "That was it?”
Hudepohl Brewing Company: Tour 3
Years ago the Busch Gardens theme parks in Williamsburg, VA and Pasadena, CA offered tours of their respective nearby Anheuser-Busch brewery's via a monorail. The tours took you through the brewery process and ended in a sample of free beer. Those attractions have long since closed (The Pasadena, CA park is gone entirely), but here in Cincinnati brewery tours still exist...kind of.