Old Town Havana
In its day, prior to 1959, the old town section of Havana must have been one of the most beautiful cities anyone could have imagined. These days everything, unless it attracts tourist dollars, is crumbling from neglect.
Need a project?
On the way to explore Pioche NV there are a few roadside (in my opinion) photo ops.
Long Retired
Car trouble on a lonely road
Driving the backroads in South Dakota we came upon this 1940s vintage Ford which looked like it had been there a very long time. What a great story it could tell, from the proud owner picking it up brand new to its resting place here on this very lonely road.
Nelson Nevada
A wonderful collection of abandoned buildings, various junk and a gold mine.
Color Not Needed
Rust in peace
Very photogenic auto salvage yard in a Georgia forest.
Retired Milwaukee warehouse
Like so many old buildings in Milwaukee this one was constructed out of cream city brick. It was a porous material which over time collected the dirt and soot of industry. In my eye is makes for nice B&W photos.
Retired
Probably produced food, feed and sore farmer butts. Found this in Pine Valley Utah which is a picture perfect town the head of the Santa Clara River in the Pine Valley Mountains, and was settled in 1859. The population was 186 at the 2020 census. Significant landmarks include the Pine Valley Mormon Chapel designed by shipbuilder Ebenezer Bryce (Bryce Canyon National Park is named after him) in 1868 using the scheme of an upside-down boat.It is the oldest Mormon chapel in continuous use.
In its Day
Sad architectural decay in Havana
Keane Wonder Mine
You can find this mine at the end of a very dusty twisted road on the outskirts of Death Valley National Park CA. It produced gold from 1907 to 1942 when it played out. If you hike up 1.5 miles to the top of the visible ridge, you will see a mile long tram that moved buckets of ore.
Neon museum
Las Vegas neon museum opens their yard once a month for photographers.
Radial Aircraft Engine
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk. Many open mines and ventilation shafts-use caution. Man who lived here after the mines closed was a hoarder.
R.I.P.
1950 Super Buick Eight
Nevada Suntan
Nelson Art
Nelson Nevada is a wonderful collection of photogenic junk, cholla cactus, snakes and an old gold mine.
Sun Baked
Nevada sun.....
Rhyolite Nevada
In it’s day this was a large wealthy city until the gold mine stopped producing.
Pastoral Utah
Driving back after a day at Bryce Canyon we came upon this building next to a pond. Climbed a fence which kept the cattle in, took a few photos and continued on.
Early 1900s
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk.
Attached to the earth
Maybe 50 years ago it was parked?
Civilian Conversation Corps
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk. Many open mines and ventilation shafts-use caution. Man who lived here after the mines closed was a hoarder.
Lincoln
Not exactly sure of the year but over 50 years old.
Rust in peace
I found this Hudson I think, covered in rust and moss with plants were growing out of it on a photo trip to the circus museum in Baraboo WI.
Scenic South Dakota
Surprisingly, the town of Scenic, South Dakota is anything but and is currently in a state of ruin and disarray. Currently, the town sits abandoned and empty, as if it is waiting for nature to completely wipe it off the map, which may just make it the most abandoned town in South Dakota.
Window Art
It made walk over..so colorful, strong yet delicate.
Hello hello
Walking through a tough area of Las Vegas there were many signs of trouble.
Havana
This really is a photograph. Sometimes street scenes look like paintings.
Havana Door
Walking in Havana offers wonderful photo opportunities on each and every street.
Plymouth
One of thousands
Decay began in 1959
One of hundreds of buildings in Havana featuring incredible architectural detail.
Barn door
What one stumbles upon
While driving the backroads in Utah and especially Nevada, you may come upon sights like this that really make you wonder. With nothing else around........one can only guess.
Bahia Honda
The Bahia Honda Rail Bridge is a derelict railroad bridge in the lower Florida Keys connecting Bahia Honda Key with Spanish Harbor Key. It was originally part of the Overseas Railway, but the state of Florida purchased it from the Florida East Coast Railway after the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and converted it for automobile use as part of the Overseas Highway in 1938. After a replacement Bahia Honda Bridge was opened in 1972, two spans of the old bridge were removed for the safety of boaters. Wikipedia
Sun Dried Piano
Roadside Art
Somewhere in Utah... I drove past maybe a mile or two, then turned around, got the camera out.......I simply had to.
Godbe mill
An old silver-ore processing mill located in Pioche Nevada, the Godbe Mill was established in the 1920s and abandoned in the 1940s. It used a rather unique aerial tramway to transport the ore in buckets from the mine atop Treasure Hill to this processing plant where it was crushed and the silver extracted.
Public chalkboard
Streetwalking in old downtown Las Vegas and came upon this storefront art.
Chryslers
Hope I look that good in my 80s
Stay tuned
Walking through an area of abandoned warehouses, factories and grain storage near the Milwaukee River. I'm sure in years to come it will be condos, restaurants and shopping.
A shame
This is very typical decay found just about everywhere in Havana. One can only imagine what this city looked like back in the 1950s.
.32 a gallon
Boulder Utah gas stop before heading off to Page UT.
Hidden art
I took this while walking between 2 vacant warehouses on an overcast day. Now as I look at the photo It's hard to believe this was not by design. All these random elements haphazardly joined, painted and growing into a perfect composition. To think it began over a century ago as a new brick 20 story building. Then it was bricked shut, abandoned, painted just so with pleasing color as the weeds grew just high enough and the right amount trash deposited. And though it should be out in the open for people to stop and enjoy as the natural art it has become, it exists in a place where very few people ever go. If you saw the area around it you'd agree that I'm probably the only person that ever stopped to admire it. I really enjoy taking photos of the derelict and forgotten as they appear to be time capsules which the camera has finally opened allowing us to study the contents.
Nevada Forgotten
Sometimes black & white works well and some photos just need color. This one was taken in both but the lack of color makes for better edges.
And here it shall remain
At least someone mows around it.
A hard worker in its day
Flat bed truck from long ago
Silver Mine
Pioche NV has lots of abandoned mines. The building contained the machinery to lift the ore up the shaft that is at the base of the wooden structure. I am always very careful where I step anywhere near these things.
Ford
I really like photographing old vehicles.
Pioche Nevada
On the site of an old ore processing plant established in 1891 that's been closed for about 45 years. The mill is intact and very interesting to photograph. This is just one of a few outbuildings on the property.
Lift Engine
Used to lift the ore cart up the mine shaft. This is an old silver mine in Pioche Nevada. These old mines are pretty spooky to explore, have to be very very careful.
Abandoned Hotel
Pioche NV is a dying town with plenty of old building such as this one.
International Harvester
Delivery truck R.I.P. in Nevada
California Dreamin
Middle of nowhere near Bakersfield CA.
Old Godbe Mill Property Nevada
Abandoned mine building
One of many
Walking around downtown Las Vegas on lower Fremont Street almost all of these old motels were boarded up due to the Covid shutdown.
Chevrolet
Sunscreen is a must when laying out in the Nevada sun.
Beauty with age
I love to walk the side streets, alleys and lanes in Key West to photograph the endless character. Like so many that have been left alone they seem to get better with age as sun, humidity, insects and the relentless vegetation create unique looks.
Ore Mill
Old Godbe Mill - A silver-ore processing mill located in Pioche Nevada, the Godbe Mill was established in the 1920s, and abandoned in the 1940s.
Old rolling stock
Soo Line sleeping car #1210 “Rhinelander” was built in May 1902 as a first-class, 12 section sleeper with a smoking room and a state room. The sleeper is of wood construction. Not bad for 121 years old.
Godbe Mill
Old Godbe Mill - A silver-ore processing mill located in Pioche Nevada, the Godbe Mill was established in the 1920s, and abandoned in the 1940s.
Window to the past
Nelson Nevada gold mine has a wonderful assortment of old stuff.
I might be the same age…
Now that hurts.
South Dakota Homestead
The territory that would become South Dakota was added to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The first permanent American settlement was established at Fort Pierre by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804. White settlement of the territory in the 1800s led to clashes with the Sioux, as some of the lands had been granted to the tribe by an earlier treaty. Nevertheless, the territory was incorporated into the union on November 2, 1889, along with North Dakota.
Alien Weed
I've been driving by this truck for years in Wisconsin watching the alien weed slowly digesting it. But this year it has really rooted in and it won't be long before it starts looking for an old tractor or something else to eat.
Las Vegas
Walking for blocks away from the normally vibrant downtown area the economic signs of the pandemic are shockingly evident.
Ford Forgotten
Spotted from a highway somewhere in South Dakota
Once upon a time
Thompson's Opera House, also known as Brown's Hall, Brown's Opera House or the Gem Theater, is a small theater building in Pioche, Nevada. The Opera House is a wood frame building built in 1873, attached roughly to the adjoining brick Gem Theater, a 1937 masonry cinema. Wikipedia
You ask why?
Because I was wandering around this group of about 10 long, very long abandoned houses. They had been beat up, partied in, open to weather and quasi occupied by people I didn't want to meet. When I saw this one square of ancient surviving tough toilet paper just barely hanging on the roll I decided it should be documented. Since I took it, someone burned some of these old houses down. So....that's why. A friend even had this printed and it's proudly hung in her powder bath. There are no rules in photography.
Mountain View Hotel
Built in 1895, this historic hotel in Pioche NV is located next door to the 1872 Lincoln County Courthouse. It has housed guests over the years such as President Herbert Hoover, state and national congressmen, and miner millionaires.
Neglect in Old Town
Unfortunately Havana is crumbling due to neglect by a poor government which owns all buildings. Outside of Havana the towns are similar or better than most Carribean counties but Havana is truly in tough shape.
Old Farm Truck
Found this behind some buildings on an old settlers farm. When a 3 legged very ugly mean dog showed up it was time to quickly get back to the car.
Modena Nevada
J.B. Lund hotel. Founded in 1898 when the railroad first came through the area, water at the nearby Desert Springs made the site an obvious choice for a railroad depot where steam engines could refill their water tanks. In the early 1900s merchants from as far away a Mesquite and St. George would head to Modena to pick up goods shipped by rail.
With the invention of diesel engines that no longer needed to stop for water, however, the depot in Modena was rendered obsolete. The railroad company began to allow workers to live in nearby Enterprise, and slowly the town's population dwindled.
School Bus
Found on an old farm in Utah.
Pioche Nevada
The Mountain View Hotel in Pioche NV had three stories and 18 rooms. Three hot meals were provided daily. It also housed many juries who had come from many miles around the county to attend trials at the courthouse.
This hotel was built in 1895 by the Ely Valley Mines to house their guests, including (U.S. president) Herbert Hoover, a former mining engineer before his days in politics, had mine holdings in Pioche. Many U.S. Senators and Nevada governors, and many other notables. The food, the wines, the accommodations and unmatched service was renowned throughout the old west.”
Nicely aged
I think repainting this wall would make it less attractive but that's the opinion of a guy with a camera that looks for images like this.
Union Pacific
In Nevada with no sign of any railroad tracks.
Las Vegas Signs
Near downtown Las Vegas there is a non-profit organization that has been saving old outdoor signs from destruction. For a donation you can enter their yard and view the signs. Once a month you can make a larger donation and enter after dark for the purpose of taking photographs. About 2/3rds of the signs are lit in some fashion so against a dusky sky they make for some interesting photos.
Rhyolite Nevada
By 1914, Rhyolite was in decline and by 1919, it was a deserted ghost town. Its last resident died in 1924.
Fort Ord California
The base was named in honor of Union Army Maj. Gen. Edward Otho Cresap Ord. Initially, horse cavalry units trained at the camp, though eventually, mobile combat units such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, and movable artillery joined the base.
Before its closure in 1994, it stood as a fascinating army base. It is located on the Monterey Bay of California’s Pacific coast, and after its abandonment, some of the land was converted into the Fort Ord National Monument. This monument is handled by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of the National Landscape Conservation System.
Although it is beautifully situated, the base has a dark history of environmental destruction. It is now one of the most toxic places in America.
Its grounds were the site of 100 square kilometers of petroleum leakages, dump sites, landfills, and a large number of unexploded mines.
During its peak, the base held some 50,000 soldiers, some serving in the Korean War and some in the Vietnam war.
Abandoned school/hospital
St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children (formerly known as "St. Coletta Institute for Backward Youth"). Pretty interesting history if you want to look it up.
Ghost Town
By 1914, Rhyolite Nevada was in decline and by 1919, it was a deserted ghost town. Its last resident died in 1924. In it's day was a producing gold mining town.
Nelson Nevada
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk. Many open mines and ventilation shafts-use caution.
In the Nevada sun
This and other colorful jewels can be found in Nelson Nevada
Rhyolite
Founded in 1904 and dead by 1916, Rhyolite was one of several short lived boom-towns from the late Gold Rush era. People were drawn to the desert on the edge of Death Valley by the promise of gold found amongst quartz in local mines, and by 1906 the town had all the promising indicators of permanence with largest population in the area.
According to the US National Park Service: “The town immediately boomed with buildings springing up everywhere. One building was 3 stories tall and cost $90,000 to build. A stock exchange and Board of Trade were formed. The red light district drew women from as far away as San Francisco. There were hotels, stores, a school for 250 children, an ice plant, two electric plants, foundries and machine shops and even a miner’s union hospital.” Per Atlas Obscura
Photographic Junk
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk. Many open mines and ventilation shafts-use caution.
If walls could talk
Old motel on Fremont Street in Las Vegas
Nelson
Nelson Nevada Mines, active from about 1858 until 1945. Many of the men that created this area were deserters from the Civil War. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Now a gold mine of great junk. Many open mines and ventilation shafts-use caution. The man who lived here after the mines closed was a hoarder. There are maybe 20 of these WWII trainers.
Off the highway discovery
Lots of bullet holes
I had to take a photo
Nowhere Utah
Pine needle blanket
Old auto salvage yard in Georgia.
General Motors Truck
Junkyard art
At least I see it that way
Cadillac
Chevy Impala SS
Once new, long forgotten
Determined tree
Salvage yard beauties
Brave Desperate Cubans
Cubans crossed the dangerous FL straights, came ashore in the Keys in this "boat" made from styrofoam and wood with a Russian diesel engine. By my count it probably held a dozen people, their remaining food and water spread about. The red markings indicate the authorities had checked it.
Been there awhile
Pontiac 1967, maybe
Both steam engined trains and autos used this
Old railroad bridge converted to US1 then abandoned. Bahia Honda FL