I explored an abandoned workplace.

[AccountingDrone]

"Too far gone" tends to be relative. Sometimes it is not an issue with how solid the building is. Updating the plumbing and electrical can cause more damage. Sometime it is a matter of finding the correct new use, where the upgrades won't damage the building.

Thanks for sharing the photos. Those were interesting.

Very true, the pictures are very nice.

Although in retrospect, you do realize the fluffy whitish crap scattered on the floor is asbestos lagging, and the black powdery crap embedded in the walls is black mold? That since it was an industrial laundry, chlorinated hydrocarbons were dumped onsite [probably in those squarish sumps in the basement in that one picture] as well as any industrial chemicals spilled around can still be subliming after all these decades, and those pretty stamped tiles above the dropped ceiling are asbestos?

Please PLEASE next time you go building crawling you wear respiration protection, eye protection, long sleeves, long pants, solid shoes and good socks, and gloves? Covering your head and back of the neck is a good idea as well...

/ending channeling the hazmat tech I used to be ...

tyvec coveralls, disposable
tyvec booties, disposable
MSA half mask, reusable or full mask
organic filters
nitril gloves

Honest, I don't want anybody to have continuing health issues from exposure to industrial wastes ... I have enough issues from my time working hazmat.

[protege]

Pittsburgh once had many industrial buildings like that. Many have been fixed up and turned into apartments, or retail, or office space. But, quite a few were also torn down during the 1980-1990s period when the city was reinventing itself. Some of those buildings were in pretty bad shape--they'd been neglected, or were heavily vandalized eyesores that weren't worth dealing with. It was cheaper to simply knock them down.

[Midorikawa]

Wow. Neat photos. I've always been a fan of abandoned buildings. Not long ago, got to go through an old elementary school just north of where I live. Land owner was really nice, and gave us unrestricted and unsupervised access to the building.

I'm glad to hear of towns that would rather restore than destroy, as that seems a fair bit of the mentality here in this area. If it's not family history, most simply aren't interested.

[draggar]

Nice pics - you should contact the people who do the show "Life After People", especially if it's been abandoned 10-20 years.

[csquared]

I resist the idea that it's too far gone to save because there are several buildings all over Asheville that were in worse shape and are now restored and gleaming and open for business again.

"Too far gone" tends to be relative. Sometimes it is not an issue with how solid the building is. Updating the plumbing and electrical can cause more damage. Sometime it is a matter of finding the correct new use, where the upgrades won't damage the building.

Thanks for sharing the photos. Those were interesting.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I'm a fan of Life After People.

I love that show.

You should check out a book called The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. It came out around the same time Life After People started (I think) but is not affiliated with the show (as far as I know).

[AccountingDrone]

All the brick and stone areas will need the mortar inspected and I can pretty much state it will need to be entirely repointed. Looking at the amount of paint and surfacing materials spalling off, there has been significant absorbtion of moisture into the walls, and just slapping another coat of stucco and paint on will not work - the moisture has to be driven out which means on the cheap side, a salamander of appropriate size in each space running full bore to heat the masonary body to a degree that the moisture is forced out. All the plumbing will need to be inspected, and lead abatement take place. I don't even want to think about the asbestos abatement or any other chemical abatement that will need to be done. Frequently the drives for the belt systems were built in place before the walls were put up, so you will have to leave them in situ or knock a wall out to remove them. Same with furnaces/boilers and tanks. I don't even want to think of any sort of biohazards resulting from people dumping trash, peeing and crapping around the building, dead animals, rats, bats and bugs.

I love old buildings as much as the next person. I have been absolutely drooling over a 1450 property in Germany I would absolutely kill to have the resources to buy and live in ... but sometimes you have to let go and tear down and rebuild. You could probably tear down and build anew for half what restoration of a space that nobody wants or needs would cost.

[Antisocial_Worker]

I would guess that there are several phases of construction in the building. There is a mill section from the late 1800s, note the power take off drive units with very wide bands sort of twisted up out of the way? Then there is an early 20th century section, looks like about 1910-1920s [the diagonal board sections] then a 50s section with sporadic updating and change in use. Definitely has squatter/break in party problems. Oddly enough, though the owner probably resists the idea, the best use of the land would be to actually tear the poor place down. Buildings that are not maintained tend to get structurally unsound and end up costing way more than it is worth to renovate. There is a lot of brick and metal that could be salvaged and repurposed.

You're forgetting the 1847 church building that was absorbed into the structure as it... metastasized, but other than that and a 1950's facade, you've pretty much nailed the various phases of construction to this building.

I resist the idea that it's too far gone to save because there are several buildings all over Asheville that were in worse shape and are now restored and gleaming and open for business again. At one point, downtown Asheville's vacancy rate was more than 90%, and several buildings had collapsed but for their facades. One such building, now restored as the Broadway Arts Building, even had a large tree growing out of its rubble, and the branches reached out through the empty window frames on the street side. Elsewhere downtown there was a large Victorian mansion that had developed a noticeable lean to the right... I heard the construction crew used a giant pneumatic jack to jack it up level again. Now it's an office building.

Asheville is a city that's very passionate about historic preservation, so I still hold out hope for a buyer and restorer.

[AccountingDrone]

I would guess that there are several phases of construction in the building. There is a mill section from the late 1800s, note the power take off drive units with very wide bands sort of twisted up out of the way? Then there is an early 20th century section, looks like about 1910-1920s [the diagonal board sections] then a 50s section with sporadic updating and change in use. Definitely has squatter/break in party problems. Oddly enough, though the owner probably resists the idea, the best use of the land would be to actually tear the poor place down. Buildings that are not maintained tend to get structurally unsound and end up costing way more than it is worth to renovate. There is a lot of brick and metal that could be salvaged and repurposed.

[Antisocial_Worker]

Second guess would be a laundry facility. You mentioned the church, and there is a church across the street. Possibly for an orphanage?

Your second guess is correct. It was an industrial laundry. That church across the street now owns the building and uses it for nothing more important than storage. There were plans to tear down the building to make way for a parking lot but thankfully those plans are currently on hold. Hopefully someone will be willing to renovate the building... It's a piece of history.

How long has it been abandoned? It's kind of interesting seeing as it's obvious no one has been there for some time to care for the building. I'm a fan of Life After People.

If I remember correctly, the company located here moved out sometime in the early 90's. They're still in business elsewhere in the city though.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to look and comment! I really appreciate it.

[fma_fanatic]

DDD says maybe some kind of manufacturing plant based on the one pic with the evacuation plans (he's looking at the pics over my shoulder).

How long has it been abandoned? It's kind of interesting seeing as it's obvious no one has been there for some time to care for the building. I'm a fan of Life After People.

[Amina516]

Nice pictures.

I like the one of the wood where someone wrote in spanish "Pick up the trash".. Lol.

The one with the dress on the fuse box was kinda freakkkkky.

[csquared]

One of the photos was of the "Fire Escape Plan". It mention several laundry areas and a couple of maintenance areas. The large engine with pulleys and the overhead pulley system would be used to drive light mechanical.

I am going to guess sewing shop/clothing manufacturer.

Second guess would be a laundry facility. You mentioned the church, and there is a church across the street. Possibly for an orphanage?

[Antisocial_Worker]

I'm going to guess that it's an old church and the clothes are old pageant costumes?

Partly right... That gabled roof up on top is all that remains of a church built in 1847. That building was added onto and added onto repeatedly through the years until that scrap of roof was all that remained, as the rest was removed to make way for offices and hallways below.

[mattm04]

Very interesting. I was surprised to see that the electricity is still on, but then I see that it still has people in daily for the sprinklers.