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[Nov. 25th, 2009|11:38 pm] |
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| The Bennett School for Girls |
[Nov. 24th, 2009|10:51 pm] |
| [ | limbic::| |
| | awake | ] | The Bennett School For Girls

Built in 1890 as a resort, this building was quickly changed to the "Bennett Finishing School For Young Women" in 1900. Constructed primarily in wood and stone, the structure has an elegant Victorian style. Ornate wood still adorns the corners and peaks, reminding passers by that it once stood with dignity upon it's hilltop.

The Bennett School specialized in the teachings of fine arts and language for young women, most of which were the daughters of industrialists, bank presidents, and other "well-to-do" people of the time. The kind of school that had afternoon tea...


In the 1950's the school expanded from a 2-year, to a 4-year university. These additions and expanded curriculum only delayed the inevitable, and Bennett closed it's doors for good in 1977. A victim of the times perhaps, and thus a victim of itself.

*The following photos were taken during both summer and autumn*

( Still much to learn... ) |
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| Looking for some pointers |
[Nov. 24th, 2009|04:41 pm] |
| [ | limbic::| |
| | contemplative | ] | Hello,
I have been following this community for awhile and finally made a LiveJournal account today, I am looking to finding more places to explore. I have found some remains of multiple ghost towns up by Big Bear and Lytle Creek area. Following local legends, mining claims, treasure legends really helps me. If anyone knows of any places in the High Desert (Victor Valley) Area I'd love to hear about them.
I enjoy exploring abandoned places for three reasons, one is history. Going to a place where people once were, where memories happened, where there are stories to be told.
The second is treasure hunting, I metal detect around the properties I find (with permission, if applicable) digging up history is something I thoroughly enjoy, holding something someone else held 50-100 years ago, wondering how it came to be buried in the ground and why its there is something I like. it could be anything from a cash box with the name Miss Minnie Blessie engraved on it with a can of Prince Alberts Tobacco with pennies and arrowheads in it, old bottles, silverware I love finding all of it.
The 3rd and final is research, mapping out what was where, finding the little bits of information, legends, historical figures, compiling stories from people that lived there. All the research to me is just as much fun as the hunt its self. Every place has a story to tell, and I enjoy the hunt. >:)
Here are some of my nicer finds over the years:

Starting at the upper left, California Gold Rush era miners gold scale with tin and weights. Found about 6 inches down in the right corner of a foundation of a miners shack in Lytle Creek. Post WWII Belt Mounted Money Changer found in a drive in theater in outer LA county. One of a about 50 something skeleton keys. One of the nicer WWII enbloc clips for an M1 Garand rifle found out in the desert at site of where Camp Young used to be. An FDR Campaign pin made with enamel and brass (one of my favorites) found in the back yard of a house built in 1941. Green Glass bottle found in a out house dump in Big Bear. Coins ranging from 1843 to 1935. Seated Liberty Half Dime (lower left hand corner) the 1849 large cent ( the large copper coin nearest to the green bottle) were found wrapped in wax paper in the foundation of what research says was a bawdy house in Mariposa, CA. These are my favorite most memorable coins, I have a a something like 450 more in albums. All modern money I find I roll and take to the bank. And the 2 disks in the lower right corner are WWI and WWII Uniform Collar insignia.

Miss Minnie Blessies Cash box, dug up in my Aunts back yard. Found by me by accident when I was 8-9.


Rather large and heavy penny collection in a candy, found in 2007 under a tree about 9 inches deep in the back yard of an abandoned house in Orange, CA. Full of wheat pennies of all years over 200 coins in all! |
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| The Twitwit post. |
[Nov. 24th, 2009|11:48 am] |
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So for any of my windows using friends out there who use Twitter, I have a question. Do you use a twitter client instead of the website, and if so which one? |
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| The Foundries |
[Nov. 24th, 2009|08:04 am] |
I was browsing though my old UE folder on my hard drive, and came across this old set from 2007. This was from the March Toronto UE meet, at the time I was still fairly new with the dSLR (D70s), and just had a kit lens (Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 DX) and a couple primes available to me. So I sat down and re-editing some of them with new skills I've picked up.
This former foundry building was in the process of being converted into Condos when a small group of us managed to find a way into the construction site. By this point they're probably completed and lived in. I'll have to go back next time I'm in the city and find out.

( The Foundries ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 24th, 2009|09:50 am] |

Update!
Yesterday while coming home I noticed a handyman's van parked in the grounds of the building so being the new local busybody I went looking for him to get some more info.
I told him what happened with the police and the council and the police must have got onto it.The handyman said he wasn't the owner but had just landed the contract to completely renovate and restore the entire building!! It was happening soon but in the meantime he had to just maintain the security of the building, and move the fireplaces which had been dragged about the building back to the rooms they had been pulled out of! I got his number to alert him in future to any break-ins or vandalism.
However, the building being restored "Soon" could be anyime considering it's been boarded up for three years. With the local paper coming to do a story on it today that might shed some more light. |
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| Solitary Confinement... |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|05:55 pm] |
There is an abandoned prison outside of Atlanta that I visit pretty regularly and the last time I went I brought along one of my best friends who also models for me. This is one of my favorite shots we took in one of the solitary confinement cells.
( Placing behind a cut due to nudity ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 24th, 2009|08:19 am] |
Thanks to everyone who responded so positively to my post!This is a NICE lj community!

I called the police about the damage to the mansion and they said they cannot make a report of it unless I'm the owner of the property and therefore the victim.
WHAT!
I called the council and they said the building is privately owned but they cannot notify the owner unless I put it in writing to the council that there has been damage to the property.
WHAT!
So I called the local newspaper and they are sending a photographer round to my place to interview me and to take some pictures and to find out just who is letting this magnificent property rot.
Stay tuned!
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|08:29 pm] |
| [ | auditory::| |
| | Nuf Luf - Nonplace Urban Field | ] |
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| Lucky Strikes Factory |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|02:59 am] |
A long time ago I used to explore old abandoned houses. I eventually found out about the Lucky Strikes Factory in Richmond, VA and was able to make my way in.
The factory has now been renovated into luxury condos. It used to be full of asbestos and was a fairly creepy place to be in.
This photo set is from November 25, 2005. I was recently going through an old external hard drive and stumbled across them and thought I would share.

( +38 photos behind the cut ) |
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| Can I be done now? |
[Nov. 22nd, 2009|11:49 pm] |
With laundry I mean. I've been doing the laundry today since the basket was fairly full and I didn't want to worry about it when my parents arrive tomorrow. As I was changing the towels out in Gavin's bathroom, I noticed the clean towels had a musty smell. I decided to check the sheets for the spare bed as well. They were musty too. Rather than have my parents use musty towels and sheets, I tossed them in to be washed...adding two loads to the routine. Needless to say I'm tired of folding things. Right now the dining room table is covered in folded whites, most of which will be put up in a few minutes.
I also cleaned the master bathroom and vacuumed the computer room and the dining living room. I plan on cleaning Gavin's bathroom in the morning and possibly vacuuming his room as well. There's still some things that could stand to be put away, but I'm not bothering with it now. I got most of the house picked up and that's the important thing.
The Christmas presents for Mom, Dad, Piet, Shannon, Lorren and Breana are all wrapped and waiting to be taken back "home" when Mom and Dad leave. At one point Piet had said they would try to send a birthday present for Gavin with Mom and Dad, but from what Mom said earlier tonight I think they forgot about it. I'm not surprised.
I need to sit down with Gavin soon and get him signing the Christmas cards. I just don't want to overwhelm him. There's 15 cards to be signed so I may try to get him to do three at a time. That doesn't seem too bad does it? I don't plan on mailing the cards until Dec. 1 at the earliest so there's plenty of time still.
Well if I'm going to get any rest before my parents get here tomorrow I need to be getting my tired self in the bed. Night! |
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| Semi Abandoned |
[Nov. 22nd, 2009|11:19 pm] |
Although this house is lived in, the third floor has been abandoned for years.
The man in this photo is blind. He's my neighbor and is about to move from this house that he has lived in since 1958. He knows every inch by touch and I often forget that he can't see, as he moves about without difficulty. He's semi-famous for doing caning work on antique chairs...all by touch....weaving a beautiful pattern.

He and his family told me the house has spirits and they plan to have a seance before he moves out. Naturally, I asked to be invited.

The original shutters from the 1890s still hang on the third floor window. The house will most likely be boarded up and then torn down by the university that bought it.
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| Whew! |
[Nov. 22nd, 2009|11:10 am] |
Back on April Fools Day I mentioned the fact that Anita Blake was going to be turned into a "telefilm". According to the author's blog this morning, the tv show is no longer happening. I was always wary about it...morbidly curious to see what sort of a train wreck might happen, but I don't have to worry about that anymore.
On a semi-related note, added the latest book I've read to the list. I've slacked on my reading for this month, no real reason...although adding books on the Christmas list has slowed the purchase of new ones to be read. Now I have to actually look through things that are on the shelf and decide what I want to read. It's not a bad thing, since there are several books that I still haven't read since I bought them, I just haven't been in the mood for any of those.
It's almost lunch time and Gavin said he's hungry so I'm going to see about fixing something for us to eat after I pick a new book to read. Later! |
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| And Betty when you call me you can call me Al |
[Nov. 22nd, 2009|02:26 am] |
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So the biggest complaint I have received about my panels is that I do not use the AV equipment in the rooms. So I am going to remedy that by recording gameplay from some of the more rare/obscure games I talk about. If anyone knows a decent capture card I am all ears - Ill use my fx5700 for now, but it is getting near the end of its life. |
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| Birthday, birthday |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|02:31 pm] |
So a certain little someone turned five on Thursday. Still hard to believe that it's been that long. We had the family celebration on Sunday.

Caught him blowing out the candles! Or I should say attempting to since I was evil and bought trick candles that re-light after a being blown out.
Then on Thursday we took cupcakes into his VPK class. We have lots of leftovers since I got two dozen. When the class started at the beginning of the year there were 18 kids. By the time of Gavin's birthday the class is down to 15 (and after Thanksgiving break will be 14). Got the kids sugared up just before going home for the day. *LOL*
He might not have gotten lots of presents for his birthday, but Gavin doesn't want for anything. I didn't want to have to deal with the headache (or expense) of doing a party that invited his entire class. Smaller is always better in my book.
I'm working on getting the house ready for when my parents arrive Monday. I went grocery shopping yesterday and laughed at the fact that most of what I bought wasn't going to get eaten until Thanksgiving. Mom requested game hens so I picked up four to cook either in the oven or on the grill. I've been wanting a cobbler for a while so I picked up a berry one (along with vanilla ice cream).
We'll be doing a late lunch/early dinner due to hubby's work schedule. Just means we have an excuse for a late brunch.
I might see about pulling out the Christmas tree and decorations while the folks are in. I just hope we don't have as many lights out on the tree as we did last year (I'm probably jinxing myself by even mentioning it). We don't know quite what our Christmas plans are yet, though hubby does have the entire week off so we could travel if we wanted to. |
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| Пустота № 13 (сердечная) |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|11:14 pm] |
| [ | limbic::| |
| | Foto - Grafik | ] | Пахнет здесь смертью призраками намёком на кровь и гуще всего пахнет болью

Под катом больше размером.
( Read more... ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|11:26 am] |
| [ | auditory::| |
| | Love Secret Domain - This Immortal Coil | ] |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 20th, 2009|10:09 pm] |
Hello! My name is Hannah, I'm 20, located in suburban Philadelphia. I know we've all seen hundreds of pictures from Eastern State Penitentiary, but I enjoy seeing a place photographed through different eyes. I've been a frequent ESP visitor for years, going 14 times in 2004. For my 16th birthday, my dad got me a private tour, where I went into the hospital and various other "off-limits" places. Unfortunately, most of those pictures are on actual film as opposed to digital. There is one from the recovery room, though.
I hope you enjoy. And I'm always looking for photography partners, if anyone is in the area. =)
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