To 'urban explorers,' eyesores are art
Garrison Hilliard
To 'urban explorers,' eyesores are art
By Quan Truong � qtr...@enquirer.com � January 4, 2010
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CAMP WASHINGTON - To most people, they're simply eyesores: abandoned buildings
and cold, dark tunnels covered in graffiti and littered with trash and empty
beer bottles.
But through the lens of an "urban explorer," the forgotten gems of the city
become surprisingly photogenic.
The historic underbelly of the city, it seems, is drawing a whole new audience:
a group of locals who have latched onto a growing trend known as "urban
exploration."
On a cold day in late-December, Ronny Salerno and Zach Fein squeezed their way
past a fence on Central Parkway, through the dry, crunchy brushes and down a
dirt incline to the opening of the old Hopple Street tunnel, part of
Cincinnati's never-completed subway. Armed with the usual camera, tripod and
flashlight, they left the busy noise of Interstate 75 and entered the echo of
the dim passageway.
Water dripped quietly into small, muddy puddles surrounded by empty bags of
potato chips and broken bottles.
"We look for anything interesting you can capture in a photo," Fein said. He
aimed his flashlight down the tunnel as Salerno set up his tripod and started
snapping away.
Salerno admits it can be a little scary at the beginning - there's always a risk
of arrest or injury - but "once you're inside, you get a rush. You just want to
take pictures."
What may not seem appealing to most people is like gold for 20-year-old Salerno,
a Fairfield resident who studies photography at Northern Kentucky University.
Fein, 23, of Clifton, is working toward his master's degree in architecture at
the University of Cincinnati.
They have been scouting out local historic sites in Cincinnati for several years
now, documenting their finds on blogs. They've been to about 30 abandoned
buildings, old tunnels and subways. Some of their favorites include the old
Crosley Building and Hudepohl Brewery.
Cincinnati boasts a handful of other urban explorers. Online sites and news
clippings from as far back as the 1990s show these urban spelunkers are
attracted to older metropolitan cities such as Detroit, Baltimore and Chicago,
as well as in Europe.
The web site www.urbanexplorers.net has drawn over a million visitors. A search
for "urban explorers" on YouTube.com gives a good taste of what these modern day
Indiana Jones seek out.
Although there are no booby-trapped temples, safety is still a concern - the
dangers usually consisting of scrap-collectors, unstable infrastructure and
various rodents.
There's no clear count of how many people have latched onto the trend, although
more are coming together through social networking sites and blogs. Some web
sites offer safety tips and others have advice on how to follow the law.
Salerno and Fein said they usually scout out a place for a day or two, to make
sure it's safe. If a building seems unstable, they don't go in. If they see
shady characters, they move on.
As for trespassing, most law enforcement has bigger worries than two inquisitive
students, Salerno said. Their curiosity took them to Detroit once, where they
meandered into about a dozen or so buildings. When they were stopped once by
police at an abandoned site and explained why they were there, the officers just
gave them a small laugh before letting them go about their day.
"You're not there to vandalize or anything. Most people will be OK with it. A
lot of times, people don't even care about it," Salerno said.
Still, police say there are plenty of concerns.
"It's a pretty risky thing to do," said Cincinnati police Sgt. Steve Saunders.
"If they go into the tunnels and get into trouble, we wouldn't even know where
they are. And some of these buildings are boarded up because there are serious
structural problems."
If a property owner files a complaint, the charges could include criminal
trespass, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, which could amount up to 30 days in
prison or a $250 fine. So far, Salerno said, they haven't run into such
problems.
They try to get permission from owners before going into a building and are
always careful. There are unspoken ethics when entering these places, they said.
"Leave it the way you found it."
Aside from snapping a few photos, they leave little to no evidence that they
were there.
"Once people leave these buildings and everything there is left to rot, it's
kind of like a time capsule," Salerno said.
He stepped away from the camera propped on his tripod just outside the entrance.
"Take a look," he said.
Through the lens, the dark tunnel took on an eerie but stunning presence.
"I wish people realized how historically significant Cincinnati can be," Salerno
said.
Hugh Brodie
And to keep on-topic with these newsgroups:
http://uem.minimanga.com/miscellaneous/ville-marie/
http://uem.minimanga.com/miscellaneous/groulx/
"Garrison Hilliard" <garr...@efn.org> wrote in message
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> To 'urban explorers,' eyesores are art
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> By Quan Truong . qtr...@enquirer.com . January 4, 2010