Long post. Big Images. No severe photoshop except for the pano. You couldn't make this one up. These images were taken in a creepy old hotel in Texas. It must have been truly grand in it's day. I thought the graffiti here was odd, but it wasn't until I worked my way up to the roof and saw the sign that it all made sense. I had no idea what the place was named. You should try staying here Halloween night.

Mezzanine


Lobby


Stairwell


Main Staircase (3 piece pano)


Restaurant: Supposedly Bonny and Clyde ate here before they died.


Kitchen: I think there might have been a big fire here. My friend Hector in the picture.


Skylight


Elevator Room (and torture chamber no doubt)


Rooftop Sign

[vdubbin099]

I like them all and you can really get the mood of that place from your pics, but I really like the 4th pic (the pano) and how the stair case seems to pull you up towards the hole in the roof.

Jeff, those are wonderful, creepy shots. It's amazing how the ghostly shell of a place like that can evoke such emotion.
What on earth were you doing in there, were you trespassing or on an assignment? I hope you were wearing a hard hat and your Tetanus shots are up to date.

[daacon]

Very timely - creepy place indeed - but I love it

Jeff, those are wonderful, creepy shots. It's amazing how the ghostly shell of a place like that can evoke such emotion.
What on earth were you doing in there, were you trespassing or on an assignment? I hope you were wearing a hard hat and your Tetanus shots are up to date.

Yes Gary, I was trespassing, but I didn't know it at the time. There were no "Posted Keep Out" signs on the front of the building where I entered, but later I found some on the other side of the hotel. My bad. I was not on assignment. I was just photographing old buildings with a friend and we noticed a broken door. One thing led to another. There were definitely some dangerous areas, but I feel safer in a reinforced concrete building than I do in most old plantation homes and rickety barns. I am more afraid of being hit on the head by some crazy person in a dark hallway while I am changing lenses. (They always get you when your changing a really expensive lens, ha,ha!) It may not look like it from the images, but I am very,very cautious. Proper gear and a trusted, observant friend on hand. Stuff happens, I know.

Hi Jeff,

OH I would love to get to walk that place... thanks for sharing this great series. If those walls could talk! You were lucky to get to spend some time inside.

[timbo13]

Jeff, great series. What a subject!

[roentarre]

wow, this series is quite interesting. The colour and the mess are really something

[jmc7104]

Excellan series. I had the opportunity to go through an old foundry last year. An employee of the company who owns the old building is a friend of mine and he escorted me and my Grand Daughter through it. Have a few photo's of it posted here in Gallery.

[vievetrick]

Great series. Looks like fun to

[Peter Zack]

Cool series. Very well captured and it's a shame to see what looks like a grand place just falling to ruin. Well done!

[maxwell1295]

I like it. Definitely my kind of place. I'd love to do some shooting there.

A 4-star hotel if you ask me.

[ve2vfd]

I like it!!! It's suitably creepy

As for the kitchen shot, there was probably no explosion there... it looks to me like the squatters who use that building made a "campfire" in there. We see that often in vacant buildings.

If you want a trick for "urban exploring" (a nice word for tresspassing ), wear a white hard hat and walk around with a notepad on a clipboard and your camera and "look official"... 95% of the time people won't ask any questions when they see you.

Pat

I like it!!! It's suitably creepy

As for the kitchen shot, there was probably no explosion there... it looks to me like the squatters who use that building made a "campfire" in there. We see that often in vacant buildings.

If you want a trick for "urban exploring" (a nice word for tresspassing ), wear a white hard hat and walk around with a notepad on a clipboard and your camera and "look official"... 95% of the time people won't ask any questions when they see you.

Pat

Mucho thanks Pat, I'll try to pull that off some time. There was a hellish fire in that kitchen at some point, whether it was started by squatters or incompetent omelet-makers is a matter of some dispute.

[khardur]

that is indeed a creepy place - looks like it could be the setting of a saturday night Sci-Fi channel original movie..

I would love to get some shots of a place like that - very cool photographs and presentation too.. I really like the collage too.