![]() Olson was able to find the history of this particular property by backtracking names through tax documents, gravestones and census information. A painting of Jesus Christ still hangs on the far wall, beneficently watching over the chairs, hand-carved pocket doors and debris that are strewn about him. Plaster crunches under our feet as we walk into the front parlor. ![]() Lucky for Nate and I, we were able to experience this pastime first-hand. “They enjoy the history and seeing these things,” he says. “But they just seem to be the most beautiful buildings that are being destroyed.”īryant also mentors people with disabilities and young offenders, taking them on road trips to explore various abandoned places. ![]() “It’s my favorite because they just try to cover up the history because of how they treated people with disabilities back then,” Bryant says. It’s recognized as a Kirkbride – mental health facilities designed to provide sunlight exposure and airflow – and was abandoned in 2005, when many of the Kirkbride asylums were closing their doors. Ironically, Bryant’s favorite structure is actually in Minnesota – Fergus Falls insane asylum. “I just love that kind of stuff: where history appears” In addition to finding places on his own, Bryant discovered a community of urban explorers near his home - Abandoned Wisconsin - an underground urbex group focusing on documenting Wisconsin heritage that was left to rot. I just go on these road trips and adventures and explore.” “I kept looking up roadside attractions, abandoned and historic places. “From there, it just kind of kept going,” he says. His love for exploring stems from when he was a kid and would explore spooky places near his home. “I just love that kind of stuff: where history appears,” Bryant says.īryant started for fun, but he now does it to preserve the crumbling beauty and history of long forgotten buildings. Joshua Bryant, an urban explorer based in Wisconsin, ascribes to the same philosophy. ![]() Most explorers don’t want to disturb what has been left alone for so long and are disappointed when they find a site that has been vandalized or broken into. Most urban explorers follow the same code - look, but don’t touch. It kind of takes away from the authenticity if you move things.” “My philosophy is pretty much to just leave everything where it lies. “I know a lot of photographers like to pose things,” Olson says. “finding beauty in something that most people think is useless, something different.” The goal is to document the buildings that might’ve been forgotten to history. Some urban explorers have reached internet fame through uploading their videos on YouTube. But sometimes they find hints on online forums. Explorers usually stumble across abandoned places. Urban Exploration is something that has recently come out of the shadows thanks to explorers like Olson who share their experiences on the web. “I came across a house and just instantly fell in love - the idea of finding beauty in something that most people think is useless, something different.” “I was just driving around, trying to find something to take pictures of, because I was really excited,” Olson says. Olson started “urbexing” after her grandfather gave her a camera when she was in high school. My photographer, Nate, and I found this obscure house with the help of Jessica Mae Olson, an urban explorer who photographs and shares her finds on her blog, Abandoned Midwest. Getting inside is as simple as mounting the porch and opening the front door. The walls and roof sag from two decades of neglect. White paint dulling with age is peeling off of its sides. UrbExers explored.Ī crumbling Victorian house sits tucked back from the country road in Northeast Iowa. Cover photo courtesy of Jessica May Olson, 360 photos by Nate Sohn They came, they settled, they left.
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