Abandoned structure photographs

[MetroMax]

not mine but still coo....

[christos-greece]

Interesting pics

Trikala town, Greece:

[MetroMax]

coo pic

[seicer]

Kanawha Hotel, Ice House, Russell Railyards YMCA, Ro-Na Theater
Expanded blog post
Authored by Sherman Cahal at Abandoned on December 24, 2008

It's always enjoyable to be able to sit around a computer during the evenings, enjoy hot chocolate and listen to classical music while typing out updates to Abandoned. Neglecting my holiday shopping as usual, I have completed major site upgrades and updates to Abandoned. The first is in regards to the now-demolished Kanawha Hotel. Constructed in 1903, the hotel served as Charleston's premier hotel until 1965. It once housed three sitting presidents, and was the headquarters of John F. Kennedy's 1960 primary campaign, later being used from the 1960s to 1997 as the site of West Virginia's Job Corps. Post-closure, the hotel was slated to be restored into a boutique hotel, however, after five years, funding for the plan failed and the former Kanawha Hotel was demolished. An extensive history of the hotel, along with some postcard images, have been added.

Heading westward, the Russell Railyards YMCA once stood as a symbol of the Chesapeake and Ohio's once illustrious history in Russell, Kentucky. Adjacent to the then-largest railyard in the United States, the YMCA was once an important overnight stop for many railroad workers that included a restaurant and lounges, along with clean and affordable rooms. It was later shuttered as a result of modernization and the downsizing of the railroad industry, and was reopened for other uses before being abandoned in 1992. A brief history has been added to this location, which also contains numerous photographs of the interior.

Across the river, in Ironton, Ohio, was the former art-deco Ro-Na Theater. Opened in 1949, the theater lasted only a few brief seasons before it was closed and converted into storefronts. Abandoned for over a decade, the theater is the focus of renewed attention and redevelopment efforts.

Going even further west along the Ohio River is the former Portsmouth Brewing and Ice Company in Portsmouth, Ohio. I first stumbled upon this site when I was much younger, and was fascinated by a large, abandoned brick structure. It was seemingly impossible to get inside, and it appeared that it had no roof or much of an interior that remained, yet it was intriguing. I assumed that it was an ice house, and after a little research, my assumptions were proven to be true. This rather unusual structure is a remnant of the pre-refrigerator era, when ice blocks were carved from the Ohio River and stored in a structure.

It just happens that this ice house served Portsmouth's first commercial brewery. In 1892, the brewery merged with a local ice company, and it was incorporated as The Portsmouth Brewing and Ice Company. During Prohibition, however, the company failed and it was reorganized into the Portsmouth Ice and Fuel Company, which also failed. Further attempts to revive the brewery in the decades ensued were also met with dismal results, and eventually, the ice house was abandoned. Some historical images and an expanded history has been added to the article.

Lastly, I have completed major site upgrades to Abandoned, cumulating with the revamping of the photograph galleries. Sub-categories have been migrated to the left-hand navigation of the site within a dynamic, scroll box for less clutter, which lays on top of the thumbnails for the photographs that now load much quicker.

Enjoy the holiday season!

--

Check out the respective URL's above for more photographs and histories.

Kanawha Hotel

1 Kanawha Hotel, photograph taken by Cornerstone Architects.


2 Being demolished...


3 It was once a very grand hotel.


Russell Railyards YMCA

4 These are OLD photos...


5


6 Finally, some newer ones!


7 Contrast I: Same floor...


8 Contrast II: ...different hallways.


9


The Portsmouth Brewing and Ice Company

10 A very early view prior to the ice house.


11 The ice house, which so captured my imagination back when I was a young lad! I had no idea there was so much history behind this rather bland building.


Enjoy these updates and have a safe and warm holiday season everyone!

[MDguy]

How has Michigan Central Station not been Mentioned??

image hosted on flickr

http://flickr.com/photos/mushrie/3017457614/

[seicer]

I plan on visiting that in a few weeks, myself. It was sad to see the building go literally to hell in only a matter of years after Amtrak left

[seicer]

Hudepohl Brewing Company

The Hudepohl Brewing Company was founded in 1885 by Ludwig Hudepohl II and George Kotte in Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati, Ohio during a time when a heavy influx of German immigrants fueled the development of a brewing industry that at one time, included more than 40 breweries in nearly every city neighborhood.

1

Just ten years later, Cincinnati had become known as the beer capital of the world, and residents at the time drank more beer per capita than residents of any other U.S. city, an average of 40 gallons a year. Nearly 95% of that beer was brewed in Cincinnati.

It's original location in Over-the-Rhine soon gave way to a larger facility in on 5th Street in Queensgate, which was originally operated by the Herman Leckman Brewing Company. The Queensgate site dated to 1860.

2

In 1946, Hudepohl constructed a new brewery along Sixth Street to replace its aging facilities. It was designed by Felsberg & Gillepsie Architects. Several decades later, in 1982, Hudepohl purchased the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company, one of the nation's largest. Four years later, Hudepohl merged with the Schoenling Brewing Company to form Hudepohl-Schoenling.

3

Schoenling Brewing had opened on Central Avenue in 1933. The brewery at 1625 Central Parkway was constructed by the Schoenling and Lichtendahl families for their respective breweries.

In 1987, Hudepohl-Schoenling closed Hudepohl's brewery at Sixth Street in favor of expanding the Central Parkway location. The iconic plant, located in the Queensgate district, featured a 170-foot smokestack bearing Hudepohl's name.

4

Since then, Hudepohl-Schoenling sold their Central Parkway location to Samuel Adams. I know that some in Cincinnati sincerely regret this, and will disavow any Samuel Adams products, but there is a bit of local ties in with this. Heading the purchase of the Central Parkway brewery was Boston Beer President Jim Koch, a Cincinnati native whose father in 1946 was a brewing apprentice for Hudepohl, and whose recipe for Samuel Adams Boston Lager came from Cincinnati. The recipe for the Boston Lager belonged originally to Koch's great great grandfather, who made it in a brewery in St. Louis and called it Louis Koch Lager. The recipe was discovered in 1983 in an attic at the Indian Hill residence of Koch's father when the younger Koch came home for Christmas.

5

Hudepohl later exited the beer industry and focused on the Tradewinds Beverage Company, selling iced teas and juices.

In 2002, the original home of Hudepohl along 6th Street, was sold at a sheriff's sale to Pete Bigelow, part of a group of investors known as the Keene Group. They began looking for a developer for possible conversion into offices and loft apartments. After not being able to obtain financing for the project, the property was sold in October 2004 to Hudepohl Square.

6

Hudepohl Square announced intentions to restore the site into a mixed-use office, light industrial and residential complex, and selective demolition began on the property soon after. To generate buzz for the project, Hudepohl Square listed the building's 17-story smokestack up for auction on eBay, but it drew no offers.

Plans for the redevelopment were put on hold by the proposed rerouting of Interstate 75 in conjunction with the replacement of the Brent Spence Bridge.

In January 2007, the deteriorated condition of the Hudepohl brewery drew the ire of the Buildings and Inspections Department, who condemned the complex, stating that it was in "a partial state of demolition and excessive deterioration." It has sat in this condition since.

7


Goodbye!

You can find more history and photographs at my article on Abandoned.

[seicer]

Michigan Central Station
Michigan Central Station, located in the Corktown district of Detroit, Michigan, was constructed in mid-1913 for the Michigan Central Railroad at a cost of $15 million. It replaced an earlier passenger rail depot that had burned.

1

At the time of its construction, it was the tallest railroad structure in the world at eighteen floors, and was began earlier as part of a much larger project that involved the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel under the Detroit River. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts Classical style, and was designed by the same firm who had designed New York City's Grand Central Terminal. The depot opened before the building was even completed, due to a fire at the older depot.

2 Waiting room

The eighteen-story tower was rumored to have been designed for a hotel, although it was only used as offices for the Michigan Central. It was underused, for the most part, and the uppermost floor was not even fitted for occupancy.

3 Uppermost floor

The main waiting room was modeled after an ancient Roman bathhouse, and contained walls of marble that was adorned with Guastavino archies and Corinthian columns. The concourse featured brick walls and a large copper skylight. From the concourse, passengers would walk down a ramp to the departing train platforms, which contained eleven tracks.

4 Waiting room

It's location, two miles southwest of downtown, was important because it was hoped that the station would serve as a catalyst for major development. An edge city, if you will. Had it been successful, it would have beaten New Center by a decade. The boom never came.

The majority of the passengers would leave or arrive from the station via interurban or streetcar service, and not as pedestrians, when the station was in its early years. However, in 1938, interurban and streetcar service was discontinued in Detroit. The station was effectively isolated.

5

During World War II, the station saw heavy military usage. Like most railroad depots, however, passenger declined post-war as automobile ownership increased. Lines to Chicago were reduced, and other routes were eliminated as cars were more frequently used for shorter trips to outlying cities and communities. The station was put up for sale in 1956 for a third of the original building cost, and again in 1963.

6 Waiting room in 1921

In 1967, the restaurant, arcade shops and the main entrance were closed. Passengers now entered through the rear, and huddled in the concourse; the central waiting room had also been marked off-limits.

Four years later, Amtrak took over the United State's passenger rail service. The main waiting room and entrance were reopened in 1975, which was followed by inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The depot was given a $1.25 million renovation three years later that added a bus terminal. In 1984, Michigan Central Station was sold for a transportation center project that never materialized. Finally, on January 6, 1988, the last train departed from the station. In 2000, the passenger platforms were demolished for an intermodal freight yard.

6


7

Check out my article at Abandoned for more history and trivia, and of course, photographs. Thanks to Ian for the tour of the station and to ColDayMan for the drive! It was well worth the trip to see this in person.

[im_from_zw038]

Great Thread!

A few of mine Old ABN AMRO office building (now demolished).

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr