Ghostly Ruins
January 11, 2013
The Danvers State Hospital – Danvers, Massachusetts from Ghostly Ruins by Harry Skrdla
Ruins. Empty hollow shells of what once was. Disarray, deshabille, the beautiful poetry of decay. Buildings that once stood, fully functional, making themselves useful to the people that created them to serve a greater purpose. But time passes and use falls away, and buildings that once were designed to serve us are no longer necessary. And, if the land is not wanted, there is no need to tear them down. Instead they are abandoned, left behind, reclaimed by nature ever so slowly.
As Harry Skrdla writes in the introduction to his book, Ghostly Ruins: America’s Forgotten Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press), “We construct buildings not just as shelter, but as frameworks of life—templates within which to conduct the business of living. Each one is designed for a purpose: a place to reside, a place to bank, a place to make things. They are occupied by, and surrounded with, living breathing human beings…as long as they serve a purpose. But when their reason for existence is gone and the people drift away, only memories remain.”
Skrdla traveled around the country in search of buildings that are but remnants of their former splendor. Collected here are thirty such locations including homes and hotels, power plants and prisons, whole neighborhoods and even entire towns—what once was now becomes an eerie reminder of lives lived and long gone, haunting and poignant reminders of an earlier world. Skrdla explains, “An abandoned building is dead—as dead as any corpse left decaying in a field. But it too once lived, was animate, and in a sense, had a soul. Except that soul was us. We gave it life and meaning, motion and warmth. We put the spark of light behind the shade-lidded windows and the circulation in its corridors. It consumed supplies and excreted waste. The thing was alive and the life force was us.” The building, as we know it, is an extension of our lives themselves.
Read the Full Review at
Le Journal de la Photographie
The Danvers State Hospital – Danvers, Massachusetts from Ghostly Ruins by Harry Skrdla
The photos have me recalling similar large structures in Waltham, Massachusetts, and Baltimore (an old brewery, especially), as well as the former Navy prison in Portsmouth Harbor here in New Hampshire. Old Quaker meetinghouses are another major category of abandoned buildings that touch me emotionally.
Somehow, we overlook our own ruins here in America but accept the English and European fascination with the remains of abbeys and monasteries. Very interesting.
Very good description and amazing photos. Thank you.
Greetings,
I stumbled across your blog and was flattered to read your review of my book. When it was written I hoped that it would bring the awful beauty of these places/things to the attention those who might not otherwise know they existed, while wagging a scolding finger at our society in general for such profligate waste. The fact that people still discuss it almost 7 years after its publication warms my heart and makes me think it just may have accomplished its goal.
P.S.- The Book Cadillac Hotel has, against all odds, been restored and is now a first-class establishment again (google it!) while the City Hall IRT station was restored for its hundredth anniversary in 2004 (the intention being that it remain open for tours) but shortly after was closed again due to post 9/11 security concerns.
P.P.S.- Have you ever met Amanda Palmer? Your site makes me think of her for some reason (Art Rocks! – that’s the reason.). Also her now-husband, Neil Gaiman, liked the book too. -HS