Streetphotography – Madame Monster

abandoned power plant- richmond generating station

I may finally have a new top favorite urbanex adventure to beat out Devil’s Tower! Last weekend we took a walk out to the river and made our way back to the Richmond Generating Station. We had originally made a quick stop there right before the quarantine but we had a very cranky baby and weren’t able to snap more than a few quick photos. This time I only had my phone on me so these photos aren’t the highest quality but honestly I don’t even care- this place was amazing!

Its construction was completed in 1925 to meet the growing demands for electricity in Philadelphia. The neo-classical design, popular of the time, was chosen to symbolize the power and legacy of the building. I personally can’t get over the vaulted glass ceilings- even being mostly broken are still breathtaking.

Here’s a photo from of inside I took from workshopoftheworld.com that shows a better view of the windows and what the main turbine room looked like.

The building was designed to look like a classical Roman bath house. I get such a kick out of the design and detail put into much of the industrial architecture throughout the early 1900s. It’s as though the form of the buildings were just as important as their function and I kind of wish we could bring that back.

The building was functional up until the early 1980s. Aside from being reopened occastionally as a movie set(12 Monkeys, Transformers 2, and The Last Airbender), it sits idle overlooking the river. When you look through the windows you can even see equipment just lying around like someone just walked off and left it there- very eery!

Unfortunately over the years, much of the beautiful copper has been stolen by looters.

I’m just beyond happy I finally got to see this place up close, it’s been on my bucket list for a minute now and it definitely did not disappoint. I do wish we could have gotten inside a little more, but there was so much water all around it would have been very messy and difficult with what we had on us.

I took these next two photos with my fisheye lense the first day we stopped by

I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed being able to take them. This place definitely boosted my urbanex spirits. I had been feeling a little bored lately, but now I am re-inspired- so stayed tuned for more abandoned explorations 🙂 Until next time- happy wandering!

Abandoned Strip club-philly

We’ve been doing a lot of walking lately, just to get some sunshine and not go entirely bat shit crazy in the apartment. Michael stumbled across this place the other day and brought me back with my camera to get a few shots. From what little research I could gather, it only shut down in 2018 after several scandalous and expensive legal issues. So it’s still pretty fresh and unfortunately we couldn’t find any way inside. It’s unclear whether the owner has intentions to reopen someday. We did find an “interesting” little set up of clothes and plushies behind one of the buildings…ew. It would have been really dope to get shots inside the building, but we aren’t about breaking and entering at the moment. I’d rather wait until nature or someone who doesn’t care about getting arrested or heavy fines to do that work for me haha. Will definitely check back on this location in the future!

Street photos-april 19-Philly

Just a few cell phone pics I took on my walk earlier today. Have no fear, social distancing was practiced and mask worn. I think it’s going to be incredibly important for us to document these times for future generations- we are living history right now!
I am heartbroken over how many people I see on the streets with nowhere to isolate or stay sanitary. I often think of all the homeless people that spent their days in the bookstore I worked at downtown before we closed and wonder what they do with their time now, and if they are safe…

The man in the black and white photographs was so friendly-he was dancing in the window to reggaeton music blaring from a car parked on the street and he beckoned us over to take his photo when he saw Michael with a camera. Truly strange times we are living in, but on days like today when the sun is shining and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, I’m reminded that life goes on.