The Long Downturn: How American Blast Furnace Steelmaking Came Apart
Sherman Cahal
Weirton's 2024 shutdown was the final blow in a slow 60-year decline: how "mini" mills, legacy costs, and lost marketshare undid American blast furnace steel.
abandoned
Exploring Kenova: Where Steel, Mine Cars, and Insulators Once Stood
Sherman Cahal
A century ago, a stretch of riverfront in Kenova, West Virginia was home to a revolving door of industry, a steel company that collapsed within two years, a mine car manufacturer born from merger, and a spark plug maker turned insulator giant that survived two bankruptcies and a devastating fire....
Forest Playground
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
One of my favorite explorations ever - rare, unique, natural decay, great company, outdoors. Perfect!
Where the Forest Took Over: A Hidden Volkswagen Graveyard in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania
Sherman Cahal
A quiet, undetected walk through a hidden Volkswagen graveyard in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, where decades-old Beetles and Buses sit reclaimed by the forest.
Upside Down House
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
An abandoned upside down house in Japan.
Ghibli Ryokan
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
The perfect place for Sen and Chihiro to get spirited away...
Kinugawa Onsen
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
Kinugawa Onsen is not abandoned! Well, it's not a ghost town... There are quite a few abandoned hotels and restaurants, but there are also more than 2 million visitors per year... Pretty lively for a ghost town, right?
Minami Royal Country Club
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
A short one this time... "Late" is the topic.
Discovering Earnshaw: A Forgotten Community in Wetzel County
Sherman Cahal
While traveling late at night to a campsite in rural northern West Virginia, I did a double-take when I passed what looked like an abandoned general store and hotel.
Exploring the Forgotten Adena Branch
Sherman Cahal
The abandoned Adena Branch of the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway follows a former coal-hauling route through the hills of eastern Ohio.
Konami Sports Club Kansai
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
A large abandoned fitness club in Kansai - vandalized and mouldy, but super interesting to look at!
Black Mirror Hotel
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
This was one of the worst locations I’ve ever explored – but it gave me of the best photos I’ve ever taken!
Nara Dreamland By AI Is Exactly As Bad As It Sounds!
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
AI slop of Nara Dreamland by a FB page with 175k followers is atrocious!
The Steel Mills of the Wheeling District
Sherman Cahal
Explore the history of the Wheeling, West Virginia, iron and steel district, from its early nail mills to its long decline.
Sakura Sports Park
Florian / Abandoned Kansai
About bears, cherry blossoms and yet another abandoned place I found by chance.
Tracing Wheeling’s Lost Railroad: the Wheeling Terminal Railway
Sherman Cahal
In 2016, I spent a day tracing the remnants of the former Wheeling Terminal Railway across the hills surrounding downtown Wheeling, West Virginia.
Wrecked and Weathered: Remnants Along Michigan’s Lake Huron Shore
Sherman Cahal
A road trip through Michigan nearly a decade ago centered on its Lake Huron lighthouses, but the journey extended beyond...
Closed for the Season: Cheboygan Vacation Cottages
Sherman Cahal
About a decade ago, while traveling north along US 23 toward Cheboygan, I came across these cottages.
Backroads and Bygone Places in Washington County
Sherman Cahal
On a snow-covered winter afternoon in Washington County, Pennsylvania, I followed rural backroads to document a handful of historic landmarks.
Tracing Northern West Virginia’s Early Iron Industry
Sherman Cahal
Travel into the snowy hills of northern West Virginia to document early three charcoal iron furnaces.
Saving the Barnes House: Why Preservation Still Matters
Sherman Cahal
The Barnes House, once a prominent residence in the Scioto River Valley, now stands in a state of severe neglect.
The Last Remnant of the Ravenswood, Spencer & Glenville Railway
Abandoned
The Ravenswood, Spencer & Glenville Railway, incorporated in 1886, once linked Ravenswood and Spencer, West Virginia.
Picher, Oklahoma: Aerials from America’s most toxic ghost town
Sherman Cahal
Once a booming lead and zinc mining town, Picher, Oklahoma, is now known as one of America’s most toxic ghost towns.
The Rise and Fall of the Tucumcari & Memphis Line
Sherman Cahal
Rock Island’s Tucumcari–Amarillo line once linked the Midwest to the Southwest before its decline and dismantling in 1984.